The Importance Of Trenches In World War One

World War 1 was the start of the biggest fight the world had faced this war was mainly based in Europe and the middle east which began in 1914 and ended in the year 1918. Within the fighting trench warfare was introduced to World War 1 and the living conditions, tactics and the technology used in the trenches. To know how trench warfare had an impact on the Australia soldiers and their experiences during World War 1, it is important to discuss what sort of living conditions were in the trenches, some advanced technology used in the trenches and the tactics used by other countries around the world.

Trenches were long, narrow ditches that were dugged into the ground where soldiers lived all day and night.

The most common weapon used in the trenches by the British were rifles. The rifles that the British used were robust and were ideal for the harsh conditions in the trenches. This rifle was called the bold action rifle which could fire 15 rounds per minute and could kill a person from 1400 meters away. Machine guns in WW1 needed approximately 4-6 men to work it, they also had to be on a flat surface. The machine guns had roughly the firepower of 100 guns. The artillery

World War I was known for its very slow-paced battle and the stage of stalemate. After advancing from Germany on France, battle turned into trench warfare. Trench Warfare is a defensive strategy in a field where the army stays in rows of trenches that were placed along the Western Front during the war. The use of trenches during the Great War was a very significant tactic during battle, by making soldiers hidden but exposed just enough to be able to attack the enemy. On a daily basis, life in the trenches was very scary and filled with horror. Death was upon the soldiers even if there was nobody attacking them. There was a continuous shell fire that would randomly take the lives of many. Some men died on their first day in the trenches, and very few were lucky to make it out unharmed. Shell fire was not the only issue in the trenches. There were plenty of diseases and infections spreading around like a wildfire. Many soldiers got infections and diseases that could not be treated such as Trench Foot or Trench Fever. Although trench warfare acts as a great defensive and offensive measure, it became very dangerous because of the many different causes of death including shell fire, diseases, and infections.

World War I was known for its very slow-paced battle and the stage of stalemate. After advancing from Germany on France, battle turned into trench warfare. Trench Warfare is a defensive strategy in a field where the army stays in rows of trenches that were placed along the Western Front during the war. The use of trenches during the Great War was a very significant tactic during battle, by making soldiers hidden but exposed just enough to be able to attack the enemy. On a daily basis, life in the trenches was very scary and filled with horror. Death was upon the soldiers even if there was nobody attacking them. There was a continuous shell fire that would randomly take the lives of many. Some men died on their first day in the trenches, and very few were lucky to make it out unharmed. Shell fire was not the only issue in the trenches. There were plenty of diseases and infections spreading around like a wildfire. Many soldiers got infections and diseases that could not be treated such as Trench Foot or Trench Fever. Although trench warfare acts as a great defensive and offensive measure, it became very dangerous because of the many different causes of death including shell fire, diseases, and infections.

Trenches were long, narrow ditches dug into the ground where soldiers lived day and night. There were many lines of German trenches on one side and many lines of the trenches on the allied side. In the middle there was no-man’s land, so called because it didn’t belong to either army. Soldiers crossed no- man’s land when they wanted to attack. Soldiers in the trenches did not get much sleep, but when they did it was in the afternoon during daylight and at night for only 1 hour at a time. They were woken up at different times, either to complete one of the daily chores or the go to fight. The system of trenches was employed because a German commander, General Erich von Falkenhayn, decided that his troops must at all costs hold onto those parts of France and Belgium that Germany still occupied. Falkenhayn ordered his men to dig trenches that would provide them with protection from the advancing French and British troops. The Allies soon realised that they could not break through this line and they also began to dig trenches.

Trench warfare was implemented to provide cover for soldiers during battle in WW1 seeing that most battlefields were open field & farms, so soldiers had little or no cover from rifle fire. After suffering thousands of casualties, soldiers began to dig into the ground creating cover. Over the months the trenches grew & evolved to hold barracks & equipment. Within a few months trenches were equipped with all essentials to ensure there was no need to leave them unnecessarily. Trenches were first dug by hand but soon soldiers would be equipped with shovels to increase productivity. Trenches were also mainly built at night to avoid detection by enemy troops.

All trenches were similar but the German trenches were stronger and built to a higher quality than the British and this was proven in the battle of the Somme. Along the top of a trench there would be sandbags which soaked up water but also protected the soldiers from bullets and bombs. There would also be barbed wire this stopped the enemy approaching the trenches. In the trench itself there was an ammunition shelf which is self-explanatory; below this there was the fire step to shoot from. To prevent their feet from getting wet/muddy there were duckboards laid down on the ground. A place for the soldiers to keep dry was the dugout in here there was a table, chair and bed where they could get some rest. A soldier would spend one week in a front line trench they would then go back one hundred metres and spend four weeks in a support trench then the soldier would go to a reserve trench for eight weeks which is three hundred metres behind the support.

World War I, otherwise known as The Great War, is considered by many as the first modern war. Poison gas, heavy artillery, armored tanks, mortars, ground breaking military guns, advancement in war machinery, and shell bombardments were all newly utilized weapons that caused mass destruction that was never seen before at the time. However, a lot of deaths and conflict occurred in the man-made trenches. Both strenuous and unproductive, living and fighting in the trenches cost soldiers who endured them both severe physical and psychological injuries. Most soldiers were not even lucky enough to make it out of the trenches alive. All Quiet on the Western Front portrays an accurate picture of trench warfare and how gruesome it was.

The trenches were long, narrow paths and walkways used to protect both sides from open fire from the enemy. They were dug into the ground and were often two to five meters

World War 1 changed the world around it. More men fought than one could comprehend. World War 1 almost destroyed an entire generation of men. The battlefield for Australians were lined with trenches filled with disease, pests and the fallen where they had medical aid. They experienced traumas not yet known commonly at all. The war was not embellished for its inhumanity in its time but as we see now the men and women who helped with the war effort lived with fear of death, disease and infection.

Even though the soldiers were supposed to only spend four days at a time in the trenches it often ended up being longer. In fierce battles the men were sometimes in the trenches for up to twenty days with practically no food or water, and very little sleep. When the soldiers came out of the trenches they were "enclosed in a practically bullet-proof casing of mud"�. The men then had to march from the trenches to the billets and were often shot down on their way.

World War I left a lasting impression on the world. New weapons such as tanks and poison gas turned the war into a “war of attrition.” Trench warfare was primarily used in this war and the conditions there were part of the reason why millions of people died. The war remained a stalemate between the opposing sides until the United States made the decision to join the war on the side of the Allies. This changed the course of the war and the Allies beat the Central Powers. Many factors in Europe contributed to the start of the war. Later, other reasons forced America to join the war which would leave drastic results.

Trench Warfare is a form of war consisting of the use of long dug-up sections in the ground, called trenches; these would protect soldiers from enemy gunfire and would substantially shelter from enemy artillery. In the summer of 1914, the British had been pushing the Germans back for weeks, eventually they decided to dig-in, to stop the enemy from advancing, the British then were forced to create similar trenches; this was the first time trenches were used. Although trenches were significant protection from enemy fire, the trenches were very harmful in the wide-spread of physical and psychological disease due to insufficient hygiene, unstable weather, and the terrible experiences soldiers had every day. Trench Warfare is important to investigate the conditions and strategies of soldiers during World War 1 because soldiers spent approximately 55% of their time in trenches. This will help us learn more about the sacrifices of Canadian soldiers as well shows us about the evolution of modern warfare.

The majority of fighting on the Western front during World War one was fought in trenches. These were long, deep ditch like structures where soldiers would live, fight and most likely die. The two armies would be stationed on parallel trenches where they would face each other in a long battle of attrition, there would be many different lines of trenches where armies would retreat to or advance to a captured trench. In between The two armies trenches would be no mans-land where the fighting happened.