(Perspective) What was it like to fight on land, sea and in the air?

Throughout WW1, battles were fought on land, at sea, and in the air. Soldiers who had fought in the trenches could have never been prepared for the conditions they would face. The trenches were cold, damp and overrun by rats. Soldiers went without cleaning for weeks, which allowed diseases to spread. There clothes were infested with lice and was very cramped in the trenches so diseases would spread quickly. Men would be in constant fear for their lives. Many soldiers suffered psychological disorders and nervous breakdowns.

With airplanes being a new invention, it was very dangerous to be a pilot. Many of the pilots were killed in training due to mechanical failure. The average life expectancy for a pilot in 1917 was only a few weeks. At the beginning of the war, pilots flew alone to report enemy troops movements. Soon, pilots were armed and dropping bombs on the enemy below. Now that pilots on both sides have been armed, they performed aerial dogfights.

Even though Canada’s navy was small, they had a significant role in the war by shipping munitions and food to Britain. Many merchant marines lost their lives crossing the Atlantic because their ships would get attacked.