Bringing "Over There" back here
WWI Trench Project offers students a glimpse of the front line

"Have you forgotten yet?
Look up, and swear by the
green of the spring that you'll never forget."

From "Aftermath,"
by Siegfried Sassoon

By Chris McDonald

Lincoln Land Community College students explore the front-line trench at Newfoundland Park, Beaumont Hamel-Somme (France), during a recent Study tour.      Photo courtesy Chris McDonald.

he idea of the Trench Project was born three years ago. After returning from a trip with Lincoln Land Community College students to the battlefields of Northern France, I was reading through their papers and diaries of their trip. The museum exhibit of trench life at London's Imperial War Museum and the remains of trench systems the students had walked through (at Beaumont Hamel on the Somme) made quite an impact. As a topic of conversation, subject of photographs, and in their writing -- the trenches -- emblematic of the Great War, kept resurfacing.

A visit to the newly opened National WWI Museum and Liberty Memorial in Kansas City, and Cantigny Park, the 1st Division Museum in Wheaton, which have impressive "trench exhibits," rekindled this interest. While these exhibits are truly notable, they are also indoor exhibits, and therefore warm, carefully lit, and well organized. Would it be possible to recreate a section of trench outside that might capture some of the missing elements of such a display and help students and others unable to travel to France to appreciate the conditions and experiences of the Western Front?

As a result, the idea for a reconstruction of a small section of entrenchment was included in a grant application made to Lincoln Land Community College's "Grants for Innovative Teaching." This proposal was for a series of educational activities to be conducted over the course of a school year (2007-'08), centering upon the commemoration of the 90th anniversary of the U.S. entry into WWI in 1917, and concluding with the 90th Anniversary of the Armistice. Part of this proposal involves the construction of a section of entrenchments, based, insofar as is possible, upon original plans and designs.

There were almost infinite variations in trench construction and design. Tactical position, terrain, water table, available materials and purpose meant that "trenches" varied from shallow scrapes or parapets of sandbags to deep entrenchments and interconnected dugout systems. Clearly too, safety concerns dictate that reproducing many of the features of the original trench systems would be impossible; however, we hoped that the reconstruction could be sufficiently accurate to create an impression of the subterranean world that stretched, almost unbroken, from the Dutch coast to the Swiss frontier from late 1914 to 1918 and put ideas like "No Man's Land" and battle "front" into common usage.

The design of the exhibit is based upon the plans for entrenchments for a section of men found in contemporary military publications. It has been modified to fit the available space and limitations on construction resources. The front line "Fire Trench" is designed in three sections, each representing slightly different styles; British, French, and German.

German trenches tended to be significantly deeper and more sturdily constructed than those of the British and French (and later the Americans). They were frequently timber-lined and, particularly later in the war had deep reinforced concrete dugouts in which men could shelter during bombardments. One reason for this was that the Germans forces, as the occupiers, frequently were able to choose the terrain upon which they constructed the trenches. The trench systems could be constructed behind the areas of current fighting, well-prepared, constructed in relative safety and on the most favorable ground (ridges and high ground for example) and then withdrawn into.

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WWI gravestone in Tyne Cot Cemetery, Belgium.       Photo courtesy Chris McDonald.

The Allies, in attempting to drive the Germans out, had to construct their trench systems as close as possible to those of the Germans -therefore often on unfavorable ground, overlooked by German observers or in valleys where the water table was higher and thus construction more difficult. The posture of the various armies for this period also influenced designs. From 1915-18, the Germans adopted an essentially defensive posture on the Western Front, holding what they had. The Allies' position was, of necessity, offensive — to push the Germans back — and there is some evidence that Allied forces were discouraged from making their entrenchments too permanent, as this would contradict the strategic aims. While trench construction varied widely, the French often made use of natural/local materials — reinforcing their entrenchments with brushwood and rough timber, while the British used corrugated iron and a variety of prefabricated materials. Sandbags, of course, were ubiquitous. So too, was a relatively new contribution to the situation — massive and complex barbed wire entanglements. The exhibit seeks to illustrate these differences in three sections of "front line" constructed differently to replicate these styles.

Visitors to the exhibit will be led down a "Communication Trench" into the front line and will be able to look out over "no-man's land" towards the distant tree line. In addition, there will be sections of a connecting Communication Trench, an observation post, and examples of the sorts of shelters frontline troops would have used. On their way out they will pass an aid post. The hope is to provide an impression of life in the front line. For particular visits, LLCC students in period uniforms will provide "living history" figures to present information on the various sections and introduce elements of "trench life."

As well as being a traditional exhibit — for general visitors and those interested in military history — the hope is also that the space will be useful for others. Literature or Humanities classes might read works by WWI soldier/poets Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon in something approaching the setting that inspired their war poems. All Quiet on the Western Front or Johnny Got his Gun might have more impact in surroundings of this nature. WWI had a massive impact on art, culture, social and political life of the 90 years that have followed. Perspectives of those who experienced life in a "trench" and survived were forever changed. In creating a recreation of this situation and in real physical terms, experiencing the change in perspective entering a trench (albeit a quiet, sanitized version) creates, the hope is that interest and understanding of the experiences of this generation can be encouraged.

Illinois sent more troops to WWI than any other state except Pennsylvania and New York, yet it remains something of a gap in our collective memory. As the last veterans of this conflict pass (there are less than a handful globally) there is a reawakening of interest in this conflict. Thanks also, to the increased popularity of family history and genealogical research, where WWI draft cards and Honor Rolls are often available, more people are interested in learning about the experiences of their forebears and about the conflict which first brought the U.S. to the fore as a global power.

As is fitting for a Community College like Lincoln Land — this project continues to be very much a community endeavor. The design and organization process has involved individuals from all sections of the college and there have been significant contributions and expertise from local labor unions, construction companies, and veterans groups. Since these plans were outlined at the WWI Symposium in May, there has been a constant stream of inquiries regarding Chris McDonald, its progress. Construction of the exhibit is under way. It is hoped that the "official" opening can take place on the 89th Anniversary of the signing of the Armistice on Nov 11, 2007, the day Americans now celebrate as Veterans Day. A small ceremony of remembrance and public opening of the exhibit is planned for this date, with open days for the general public and interested groups to be held subsequently.

Chris McDonald teaches political science and has led several international study trips at Lincoln Land Community College in Springfield.

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