CANORA – While studying the First World War, Olivia Dereniwsky challenged her History 20 class to create dioramas exploring the theme of trench warfare.
Students were given a week of class time to work on their projects, as well as well as after school and at home as they saw fit. They could work in pairs, as a threesome, or on their own.
On Nov. 5, the projects were set up in the CCS gym for viewing by other CCS students, staff members and the general public. History 20 students stayed with their displays to answer any questions.
Tactile input
River Crane said the main focus of her display was tactile input (sensory information received through touch).
“Observers are encouraged to feel all the details,” said Crane.
“There are more realistic elements, like the dirt and bandaged toy soldiers, while some things like the glue dots and sticks were implemented just to be touched. This creates a sense of immersion. You're not just looking at a trench simulation, you're feeling it, which makes what you're seeing feel much more personal.
“The wall is covered in small sticks you can run your fingers over. There is dirt and blood caking the ground where soldiers lay and stand, some covered in blood. There is a small puddle of oobleck in the box, which is red to mimic the blood.
“These sensory features were created to engross you into the world of these trenches, and teach you more about how these men lived.”
Trench raid
Teagan Jones and Jaden Lepine created a diorama to represent a trench raid which was a “strategic movement to overtake trench networks and stop stalemates. The problem with trench warfare is that both sides are well dug in, and refuse to move. It quickly turns into attrition warfare, with decisive strikes in the night or day to turn the tide quickly. Raids must be incredibly orchestrated, as men would either be crawling through No-Man's-Land, or charging through that unprotected ground, open to enemy fortifications.
“One strategy Canadians made use of was the creeping barrage, where artillery was used to cover the advancement of Canadian troops. Gun placements and fortifications would be abandoned as the enemy retreated into cover for the duration of the barrage. When the barrage ended, and troops exited from their dugouts, they would be met by the end of a rifle. Germany even took to calling Canadians "Stormtroopers," due to their unparalleled speed and ferocity in comparison to their allies.”
Stuck tanks
The scene created by River Kozmanuik shows a situation that probably took place countless times during the First World War.
“As the first squad of Germans crept up to the allies’ trench the German tank got stuck on a rock and suddenly stalled out, leaving them stranded,” said Kozmanuik.
“The Germans evacuated from their tank to take cover behind it with one soldier running to a bush and taking position behind it. The first thing this soldier sees isn't the enemy's gun barrel staring at him from a couple yards away, but the bullet-ridden man only a couple of metres away from him. Even though that man was the enemy, the soldier can't help but mourn for his fellow man.”
Kozmanuik said the conditions in the trenches were probably just as horrible as the war itself.
“They were disease ridden, wet, muddy, dirty, cold, and infested with rats. With these conditions many soldiers would get trench foot from all the mud. Rats would gnaw at soldiers while they slept because they were the only things hungrier than the soldiers.
“All this close contact with rats made many soldiers get sick and it led to many deaths because of the lack of supplies. Even though my diorama might not be the most accurate to what would really happen, I still wanted to represent how intense war could be.”
Soldiers’ life
Obrien Smith and Reein Godhe focused their diorama on “learning what life was like for the soldiers who fought in the trenches during the First World War.
“The trenches were long, narrow ditches dug into the ground, often filled with mud, rats and insects. When it rained, the trenches could flood and soldiers sometimes got trench foot, a painful infection caused by standing in cold, wet conditions for too long. The smell was terrible because of garbage, unwashed bodies and sometimes even dead soldiers nearby. Food was limited, and meals were often cold and basic, such as canned meat and hard biscuits.
“Soldiers also had to deal with constant danger. Enemy attacks, explosions and poisonous gas made every day stressful and scary. They had to stay alert all the time, even when they were exhausted. Many soldiers missed their families and felt lonely or afraid.
“Despite all this, soldiers tried to keep their spirits up by writing letters, singing songs, or sharing jokes with each other. Life in the trenches showed how strong and brave people can be, even in the toughest situations.”
Layered trenches
For their trench warfare scene, Delta Salkin and Storey Fehr used a wide range of items, including: a shoe box, dirt, moss, rocks, Popsicle sticks, brown paint, hot glue, wire and little plastic soldiers.
“We used a Nike shoe box and painted the outside brown. We then took Popsicle sticks and painted them the same kind of brown as the box and attempted to give them an "old" type of look.
“Once the paint had dried we took the painted Popsicle sticks and hot glued them to the inside of the box walls. We opened the shoebox and grabbed' two pieces of cardboard and glued them to the side of the box lid so that the lid would stay in place without us holding it. The sticks were glued to the bottom part of our two story trench project. We then carved out an opening on the bottom back wall of the box where the first story is, so it leads to an underground section.
“We then added two ladders on each side of the trench, so that the soldiers could climb up and go out onto the front line on the battlefield.
“The soldiers most often built trenches in layers with front line trenches for fighting, support trenches behind them (the second line of defense)' and reserve trenches further back (the third line, over 100 meters behind the support trench).”
Passchendaele re-creation
The trench warfare display created by Ferlyn Brass recreated the Battle of Passchendaele, referred to by some as “The Muddiest Battle in History,” where the Canadian/British coalition fought the Germans. Brass said conditions in the trenches were especially horrific when it was wet, which seemed to be pretty much all the time.
“The trenches were filled with mud and water. This made it especially hard for the soldiers to live as they had to sleep and fight in wet, dirty conditions for months. Many got sick due to infections, and it was difficult to recover as it was pretty much impossible to stay dry.
“In the middle of the diorama is a battlefield that was called No Man's Land. This was a dangerous open area between two trenches. It was covered in craters and dead trees, and these craters usually came from mass artillery attacks.”
Brass said he used dirt and Popsicle sticks to create the trenches. He made the sandbags from sculpted clay. He created the wire coils by finding some salvage wire and then winding it around a marker to give it that coiled look.
In his research for the project, he found an old interview with a First World War soldier, who said that when they went back to get the dead bodies for a proper burial, most of their faces were gone as the rats would eat the faces in the mud.
In spite of all the obstacles, Brass said, “After months of battling, the ridge was captured by the British/Canadian forces but unfortunately the cost was the loss of lots of good people.”
Olivia Dereniwsky said this is the third consecutive year she has assigned this trench warfare project to her History 20 class, and said she continues to be impressed with the creativity of her students.
“In a world influenced by AI, this assignment provides a challenge, encouraging students to independently apply the knowledge we’ve studied to complete their work entirely on their own.”
During the viewing of the dioramas on Nov. 5, visiting staff and students were directed to vote for their favourites. The winner was Ferlyn Brass.
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