How effective were attempts to protect soldiers in the war - Essay Example

Effectiveness of protection of soldiers in World War Several attempts to protect soldiers during the World War 1were not quite effective as thought. The different letters by the soldiers at war reveals the gory details of how the soldiers found it difficult to stay alive at war. The most synonymous feature of all the letters reveals the trench strategy where soldiers hid in trenches in ambush for the enemies. From the narrative of the soldiers at war this as a protective strategy failed to materialize.

The accounts of soldiers reveal that they spend several hours and days in the trenches as they waited the enemies to approach them for them to attack. This protection strategy was dependent on sniper protection who remained vigil above ground at a strategic vantage point where they would fire an enemy who approached the trenches. The safety of the soldiers in the trenches is thus dependent on the sniper. As a protective strategy this was quite ineffective as at sometimes the enemies got unnoticed hence attacking and killing the officers in trenches.

The soldiers taking cover in trenches as a protective strategy for the soldiers was not successful as it resulted in loss of lives of the soldiers ( Grayzel 76). For the prisoner at war, they were kept in deplorable conditions that made them quite uncomfortable. The vivid explanation of the conditions in which they were kept with lack of enough food and general supplies highlight the lack of effectiveness in the protection strategies of soldiers during the World War I period. The letters reveal how they were kept in the barracks where they were quite crowded and no space for sleeping comfortable.

Because of such like deplorable conditions, it resulted in deaths of prisoners of war in the process. Despite the fact that they were prisoners of war, as human right they ought to have been protected and treated in a human way. This however was not the case as they were left for dead and survival like pigs. Many human rights activists were of the opinion that such like treatment of prisoners of war was not an effective war strategy to protect the soldiers. The food was also rationed in one of the letters the soldier describes the condition as “the prisoners will have only 12 ounces of bread a day” ( Grayzel 77).

This shows the great extent to which they were denied the basic human right of survival. Despite the harsh weather conditions the soldiers were not well taken care off as regards warm clothing in the winter. The sanitary conditions in barracks were also wanting. To a great extent the treatment and protection of soldiers during the World War I period offered lessons to the countries on how to better protect soldiers for them to last the war period. From this analysis it is clear that there were no effective strategies that were adopted to protect the soldiers and their families.

It was therefore important for the countries at war to choose the best strategies to protect their soldiers during the times of war. This would go a long way in ensuring that the number of soldiers a war did not diminish hence increasing their chances of winning the war.Works CitedGrayzel, Susan R. The First World War: A Brief History with Documents. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2013.Print