Suddenly, he's afraid of being buried alive. The man stays put in his hole, helplessly waiting for, hoping for, a miracle. Although soldiers then, as now, lived under conditions it's difficult to imagine, there was more than the threat of death to distress them. According to German officer Ernst Jünger, it was not danger, however extreme, that depresses the spirit of men so much as over-fatigue and wretched conditions. And for most soldiers, especially the British and French, the pay for their efforts was pitiful, so why did they even keep fighting? Duty, nationalism, loyalty to comrades, and fear of being shot for desertion all played a role, but so did alcohol. As one British medical officer said, had it not been for the rum ration, I do not think we should have won the war.