The First World War was one of the most revolutionary and innovative changes the world experienced in the 20th century. Thanks to the causes of World War I and the intense preparations, a whole new world emerged, filled with complete and utter heartbreak. While it is no surprise that young men are certainly the largest group who have experienced the worst of the worst in the trenches, all over the world people of all ages and genders have also endured other major changes in all aspects of their lives. Among them were women and children who had not yet faced the horrible truths and suffered the devastating consequences of the war, both socially and economically. While men fought for their country on the battlefields, women and children were left behind to fulfill their roles in society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The war on the Western Front was a kind of modern warfare, something no one had experienced before. The main changes that soldiers had to adapt to were in the techniques used during the First World War, particularly related to trench warfare. With new technologies, new consequences have emerged. Soldiers were subject to dangerous attacks, resulting in inhumane deaths. The constant bombings and gas attacks left many men feeling like death was imminent while others suffered mental breakdowns and illness. But the worst was yet to come for those who survived. Life in the trenches was far worse than any human should have to endure. With mud rising up to their knees and up to their feet in pools of bloodstained water, thousands suffered from "trench foot", caused by standing in water for long periods of time. In summer, the smell was terrible due to a combination of sewage from rotting corpses and unwashed soldiers. In winter, the trenches provided little or no protection from the cold, causing frostbite. The trenches were also infected by rats. Hygiene was practically non-existent. In addition to the extremely basic food rations and designed only to keep the soldiers alive, the living conditions were definitely far from ideal living conditions. Above all, what caused men the most grief and pain was the constant fear of death and the struggle to retain their humanity. In a previously unpublished transcript, a German soldier recalls the moment he killed an enemy with a bayonet, quoting: "I then remembered that we had been told that the good soldier kills without thinking of his adversary as a human being... he was nothing like me but a poor boy who had to fight, who had to face with the cruelest weapons a man who had nothing against him personally, who only wore the uniform from another nation, who spoke another language, but a man who had a father and mother and a family perhaps and that's what I felt... I woke up at night sometimes in a sweat because I saw the eyes of my fallen adversary, of the enemy, and I tried to convince myself of what would have happened to me if I had. "I wasn't faster than him... We were civilized people after all." This quote is too long but I don't know what to cut. (Westmann, Stefan 2014) It goes without saying that the soldiers suffered, carrying out their duties to their country in unimaginable conditions,.