Trench Warfare Notes

Definition Trench warfare is a form of occupied fighting lines, consisting largely of trenches, in which troops are largely immune
to the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery. Trench warfare occurred when firepower was not matched by similar advances in mobility It is a warfare in which the defense held the advantage. WWI The countries involved in WWI constructed trench and dugout systems opposing each other along a front, protected from assault by barbed wire. The countries first started building trenches at the Battle of the Marne between the France and Germans. By November 1914, an unbroken line of trenches extended from the Belgian ports through northern France. Construction Fighting trenches were usually about 12 feet deep. Trenches were never straight but were dug in a zigzagging or stepped pattern. British dugouts were usually 8 to 16 feet. Whereas German dugouts were typically much deeper, usually a minimum of 12 feet deep and sometimes dug three stories down, with concrete staircases to reach the upper levels. Life in trench An individual unit's time in the front-line trench was usually brief; from as little as one day to as much as two weeks at a time before being relieved. Trench life was terrible. The grenades and bombs thrown by the enemy will create craters. When it rained, the craters would fill up with water, causing high fevers, colds and other horrible illnesses. One common symptom from water was trench foot. These trenches were called waterlogged trenches. There were also many bugs, snakes, and rats in the trenches Usage Early trenches were simple. They were packed with men fighting shoulder to In addition to the trenches themselves, barbed wire was strung up to impede movement, and wiring parties went out every night to improve these forward defenses. The after a few months, the trenches became more complex, gradually becoming vast areas of interlocking defensive works. They resisted both artillery bombardments and mass infantry assaults. The space between the opposing trenches was referred to as no man's land and varied in width. On the Western Front it was typically between 100 and 300.
Tactics The fundamental strategy of trench warfare in World War I was to defend one's own position while trying to breakthrough into the enemy's rear. The popular tactic of a trench assault is of a wave of soldiers going "over the top" and marching in a line across no man's land into a hail of enemy fire. The more common tactic was to attack at night from an advanced post in no man's land, having cut the barbed wire beforehand. In 1917, the Germans used the method of having small groups of highly trained and well-equipped troops to attack vulnerable points and bypass strong points, which helped them drive deeper into the rear areas. Weapons The weapons used included the Rifle, Bayonet, Shotgun, hand grenade, Tanks, Machine guns, Poison gas, Mortars, Artillery, Flamethrowers, Helmets, Wire, and Aircrafts Problems The battlefield of Flanders presented numerous problems for the practice of trench warfare, especially for the Allied forces, mainly British and Canadians. Heavy shelling quickly destroyed the network of ditches and water channels which had previously drained this low-lying area of Belgium. In most places, the water table was only a meter below the surface, meaning that any trench dug in the ground would quickly flood. Deaths during WWI Medical services were primitive and antibiotics had not yet been discovered. 10% of the fighting soldiers were killed. Relatively minor injuries could prove fatal through onset of infection. The Germans recorded that 15% of leg wounds and 25% of arm wounds resulted in death, mainly through infection. The Americans recorded 44% of casualties who developed gangrene died. 50% of those wounded in the head died and 99% of those wounded in the abdomen died. 75% of wounds came from shell fire. A wound resulting from a shell fragment was usually more traumatic than a gunshot wound. A shell fragment would often introduce debris, making it more likely that the wound would become infected.

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Definition Trench warfare is a form of occupied fighting lines, consisting largely of trenches, in which troops are largely immune

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