World War One was a global war centred in Europe which started in 1914 and lasted until 1918. It was a modern war with aeroplanes, machine guns and other deadly weapons such as the tank. During this period of time, millions of soldiers were killed, various advancements were made in military technology, and a wide range of different warfare techniques and tactics were developed. Consequently, trench warfare affected Australian soldiers in many different ways. It is evident that trench warfare affected Australians both mentally and physically because 75% of World War One deaths were due to trench warfare. If men were not wounded physically, they would be wounded mentally. Furthermore, the harsh and brutal conditions of the trenches resulted in men developing many diseases and brutal infections such as dysentery, trench foot, lice and even trench fever. .
The great amount of newly advanced military technology of the First World War shaped a war more of stalemate than anything else. The weapons developed specifically for trench warfare had a massive impact on troops. Firstly, all troops in 1914 were not provided with helmets which significantly impacted men as they were unable to have at least a minimal amount of protection from opposing sides and they had a much greater chance of dying ("Slaughter in the trenches", NA). Furthermore, the lack of preparation for World War One impacted the men as they were unaware of the weapons that were being developed to fight trenches (DeamandMedia, 2001-2005). Weapons such as tanks, flamethrowers, poison gas, tracer bullets, catapults, artillery, mortars and bayonets are a few major examples of what men had to fight against (classroomsynonym, 2013). If these weapons did not scare the troops physically, they would definitely scar the troops mentally. One example of the weapons developed that had a significant impact on troops physicality was gases.
