The trenches had a horrible smell. This was because of the lack of bathing, the dead bodies, and the overflowing toilets. The first thing a new recruit would notice on the way to the Frontline was the smell. Bodies were rotting in shallow graves, men had not washed in weeks because there were no facilities, cesspits were overflowing, and creosol or chloride of lime was used to stave off the constant threat of disease and infection. They could smell cordite, the lingering odour of poison gas, rotting sandbags, stagnant mud, cigarette smoke, and cooking food. Although overwhelmed at first, new arrivals soon got used to it and eventually became part of the smell with their own body odour.