As trenches were built like this, nearly all the battles fought were defensive. Along the trenches were dugouts were the soldiers slept, socialized and ate their meals. These dugouts were cramped most of the time and a lot of diseases were passed on through them. They were normally filled with sandbags for the protection of the soldiers. Also there were ammunition ledges, which the soldiers used to keep spare ammunition when they needed a quick refill. It was the difference between life and death for some soldiers. At certain places along the sides of the duckboard were fire steps. This was where a soldier stood to fire at the enemy.
Being in the front line was extremely dangerous and many of the casualties occurred in these trenches. The soldiers did not spend all their time in these trenches since they had a 32-day timetable: they could spend up to eight days in the front line where they were at risk of injury or death during an offensive. Then a further eight days in the reserve trench incase of an emergency attack. The other sixteen days would be spent away from the battlefield in a nearby village or town. This timetable was almost certain to change in the case of an offensive taking place. In this case, soldiers may spend up to six whole weeks in the trenches before relief. Because they stayed for so long in the trenches at one time, living conditions became unpleasant and dangerous. Other than when a major action was underway, trench life was usually very dreary and hard physical work. The main enemy was boredom, and the loss of concentration - leaving oneself exposed to sniper fire, for example - could prove deadly. Whether a infantry man was in the line or out of it, unless he was a specialist such as a signaler he would inevitably be assigned to carrying, repair or digging parties, or sent under cover of dark to put out or repair barbed wire defenses. Men would be posted as lookouts or sentries, often in saps dug a little way ahead of the main fire trench.