A big danger of living in the trenches was that the walls would collapse on the soldiers and they would be buried alive. In order to prevent this, the Germans lined the walls of the trenches with wood. This helped ensure that the walls would not collapse. The Germans also lined the bottom of the trenches with wood. This method was called duckboards. This helped because the bottom of the trenches were filled with water, dirt, and urine. Germany did not want the soldiers living these conditions, so this method was a beneficial solution.