Trench Foot

[Jim]

Trench foot was a big problem during WWII with a reported 45,000 cases been reported during the Western European Campaigns. Sometimes men were permanently crippled by the effects of "trench foot," or spent months in hospitals recovering. During the Hurtgen Forest trench foot accounted for more casualties than all other causes combined. The disease manifested itself when troops were confined in foxholes for over forty-eight hours, their feet cold, wet, and immobile. Casualties arrived at the hospital unable to walk. The condition was extremely painful and demanded a high level of nursing care. In some case as the nurses/medics were removing the soldier’s socks their toes would often come away with them.

[brandon05]

I have never heard of this before. Going by the above pictures I would imagine that a lot of soldiers might have actually had to have amputations? I wonder if they knew right away what was causing this to happen? Thank you for sharing this because I had never heard of this before.

[Dave]

Gruesome ! Looks as bad as frostbite. The scabies these men suffered I have also read about, driven insane with itching so bad you would scratch your skin off in search of relief...