The extra land between the front line trenches was dangerous. No Man's Land contained miles of barbed wire, and land mines. Sometimes as narrow as 15 yards or as wide as several hundred yards, No Man's Land was heavily guarded by machine gun and sniper fire. Soldiers were forced to cross No Man's Land to advance for enemy positions. Official truces were often necessary to retrieve the wounded or bury the dead.
machine guns and barbed wire covering no mans land.