Flanders was one of the hardest-fought regions in the First World War. German, French and British troops made a grim static warfare. Thousands of soldiers died. Here the conflict between the middle powers and the allies.
During the excavations for a motorway near the Belgian town Ypern archaeologists and historians find traces of the war. In this region the first trenches were built, which later became a system of trenches with a length of about 800 km. Life in these trenches was cruel. The soldiers had to live with rats and vermin, always expecting a possible attack.