What was life really like in the trenches of the First World War? In this episode, we step into the mud of the Western Front to hear about the horrors that soldiers faced; from artillery bombardments and sniper fire to disease, rats and relentless weather. Joining us is Joshua Levine, author of "Forgotten Voices of the Somme", to explain the daily dangers soldiers faced, and the remarkable ways they survived. 0:00 Introduction 1:20 Interview with author Joshua Levine 2:02 What did a First World War trench actually look like? 3:11 The origin of the trench systems and the race to the sea 4:01 Weaponry developments and the firepower revolution 5:34 Communication networks and defensive barriers 6:04 Why the trench was the ultimate defensive system 7:35 Debunking the myth of continuous front-line service 9:48 Disease and the reality of trench foot 11:40 The grim reality of unburied dead in the trenches 12:57 How troops rotated through the trench lines 15:56 The medical triage system and the Thomas splint 19:15 The postal system and maintaining troop morale 21:15 Daily dangers, sniper tactics and avoiding artillery 27:54 The routine of stand two and the morning hate 31:47 Did some soldiers actually enjoy life in the trenches? Produced by Mariana Des Forges, James Hickmann and McKenna Fernandez, edited by Matthew Wilson & the channel manager is Vilde Øksnes. Start your summer trip right with a Klarna membership. Get travel perks and protection all in one membership, sign up to Klarna Premium or Max for 30% off your first three months today: https://l.klarna.com/22XC/dan-snow-podcast. You can find more Dan Snow's History Hit on the audio podcast here: https://podfollow.com/dan-snows-history-hit/view Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. All music from Epidemic Sounds. #DanSnowsHistoryHit #HistoryPodcast #WW1