How did WWI soldiers keep clean in the trenches? The answer lies somewhere between "with great difficulty" and "they didn't." Although WWI was known as the Great War, trench hygiene was anything but great. Soldiers in the trenches spent their time in unsanitary conditions among open latrines, others who went days without bathing or changing their clothes, and the remains of many men who lost their lives. Although WWI hygiene and medical issues were notoriously inadequate, the lessons learned during WWI helped improve conditions and responses to sanitation and medicine for future generations, both on and off the battlefield.