Trench Warfare Research Paper

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.

During the portions we viewed in class, The Last Voices of World War I covered the dangers of trench warfare, as well as the medical system devised to treat casualties. Trench warfare developed as a result of the old style of fighting, where formations of soldiers would battle on open fields, met modern weaponry such as artillery and machine guns. This led to extreme danger, not only during, but after battles. Filth, and vermin developed quickly due to the close quarters or the trench. Thus, a strong effort was made by the British to develop top of the line medical care for the wounded. This included stretcher bearers to move the men to first aid tents, then to hospitals. Consequently, World War I became one of the first wars where disease was not the primary cause of death. Disease, notwithstanding, was still a factor, as well as ailments such as trenchfoot.

The First World War, thought to be at the time, the war to end all wars, was the first global scale conflict, predominately fought between [British Empire, France, Russia, Germany and Austria-Hungary] 28 July 1914 – 11 Nov. 1918. A major part of this war was Trench Warfare, impacting men strategically, physically and mentally. Trenches protected soldiers, helped soldiers strategically and ended up being known as one of the most brutal parts of war. When examining the devastating impact that trench warfare had on the soldiers it is important to look at the strategy, living conditions, and medical implications. Trench warfare was how the soldiers protected themselves from artillery and the enemy, in trenches. There

These trenches were as long as three miles on the British Front by 1917. In between the allied trenches and the enemy trenches was "no man's land", which was as long as a football field. When making the trenches, no one stopped and realized the consequences it was going to have on the war and on the soldiers that fought in the war. Trench Warfare devastated the British and French soldiers fighting in France during World War One through psychological, physical, and environmental effects.

During World War 1 this type of warfare was invented which included a few important factors. The allies and the axis would both dig trenches roughly six feet deep opposite to each other. They would dig the trenches creating paths seven feet deep and six feet wide . These trenches would create cover from the men from shooting, allowing them to prepare for battle in safety. The idea of trench warfare was that you would be safe behind your line of defence and when the enemy was not expecting attack you would climb over the top of the trench and run across what is known as no-mans-land. No-mans-land was the strip of land between the allies and the axis trenches where millions of people were killed in WW1. In the battle of the Somme it was particularly evident how awful this warfare was with 19,240 British dying on the first

The Trench Warfare was certainly one of the major events of World War 1. The Trenches were a tactic which protected the soldiers from the artillery and other deadly weapons which they could find on the battlefield above, however, the trenches killed as many soldiers living below as they did on the battlefield above. The trenches were a safe shelter for the soldiers, yet a deadly grave caused by the hygiene. Many soldiers caught the numerous deadly diseases which they could find down in the trenches below and these spread to cause many unsightly deaths for the soldiers. However, overall the trenches still provided adequate protection for the soldiers and without the idea of these underground holes, the war would have been far more gruesome.

Combat during World War 1 was a strange mix of brutal combat and boredom. WWI is mostly known for its trench warfare. Soldiers would dig trenches in the ground and fight from there. Trench warfare was extremely boring, and sometimes, the soldiers would act like they aren’t fighting a war at all. The movie, Gallipoli, showed men skinny dipping on a beach with the fighting taking place nearby. The movie showed men hanging out in the trenches, and some of them were even sleeping in small holes in the trenches. The area between opposing trenches was known as no-man’s land. Traversing this landscape was extremely dangerous and fatal. There was no cover, and the area was a kill zone with all the machine guns and enemy troops in the opposing trenches.

Trenches are a long narrow ditch in the ground that were used to protect troops from the enemy’s fire. When trenches were invented in World War One they made hiding and staying protected from the enemy troops easier, they also made it safer. With the invention of trenches the death rate decreased, as the troops now had a safe but still efficient way to fight the enemy troops.Even tho the trenches did keep the soldiers safe from the enemy troops, they weren’t the best place to be either as they could fill with water up to as high as the soldiers knees meaning it would go into their boots, leaving them with trench foot.The water in the trenches also wasn't great as it could carry disease that may cause the soldier or soldiers to become very sick. “The idea of digging into the ground to give some protection from powerful enemy artillery and small arms fire was not a new idea or unique to the Great War. It had been widely practiced in the US Civil War, the Russian-Japanese war and other fairly recent wars. Trench warfare of the First World War can be said to have begun in September 1914 and ended when the Allies made a breakthrough attack that began in late July 1918. Before and after those dates were wars of movement: in between it was a war of entrenchment. The massive armies of both sides dug in to take cover and hold their ground. By November 1914 there was a continuous line

Trench warfare defined World War One. It was one of the most unique battle styles in the history of war. Life in those trenches was anything but cozy. The trenches were dug on the front line, the most dangerous place to be (Life in the Trenches of the First World War). People in the trenches faced heavy artillery, machine gun fire, and small weapon fire as well.

During world war one, there had been many strategies that have been used during the war, one of them being Trench warfare. Trench warfare has been an important strategy that soldiers used to protect themselves and their comrades.

Soldiers within the trenches would illustrate their despair by singing, “ We’re here because we’re here, we’re here because we’re here, we’re here because we’re here, we're here because we’re here.” World War 1 was ignited and many perceived it would be quick and easy. However, as trenches were dug, stalemate developed. The growing development of trench warfare was evident in the Western Front. As it revolutionized, the war slowed down, causing little victory, but high casualties within the Allies fighting in the Western Front- Britain, France, and the United States- as well as the Central Powers, consisting of Germany and Austria-Hungary. During World War 1, as trench warfare progressed, a system began to develop, new weaponry was introduced,

On the Western front trench warfare was commonly used to protect the soldiers from enemy fire. Although, it protected soldiers it did not move the war along thus leaving the war at a stalemate. In between the two fighting armies laid No Man's land, No Man’s land was pocked with shell holes and dead rotting humans. No Man's land was feared by every soldier only when the soldiers were ordered to “go over the top” of the trenches was when people ventured into No Man’s

the trenches were narrow open tunnels that were used protect troops from enemy fire and to transport troops to the front life. They were originally dug in straight lines but this was changed a pattern of zigzags for a number of reasons. Some of these seasons included to prevent the enemy from firing down the length of the trenches killing large numbers of soldiers and to prevent gas attacks from spreading down the length of the trenches. Trenches were on the front line and they were most dangerous place to be in world war one. Behind the trenches on the front line were a mass supply of reinforcement troops, training camps, stores and workshops. For 450 men to build 250 metres of trenches it took 6 hours. These 6 hours did not include adding the board walks, barb wire and sandbags. Trench warfare consisted of three lines of trenches generally two

Trench warfare had soldiers fighting hand to hand. This was one of the worst types of fighting. Trench warfare resulted in huge losses of human life for small amounts of land. Life in the trenches was horrendous. They had to sleep next to rats running around and bomb shells going off. They said that sleep was impossible. Along with that fresh food was nonexistent. Then, on top of all of that they went to attack and got greeted with murderous rounds of machine gun fire. A French soldier described it as “the air being unbreathable and living hell with the injured crawling while screaming.” It was a “terrain of death” said a British soldier.

The trenches were dug by soldiers and there were three ways to dig them. Sometimes the soldiers would simply dig the trenches straight into the ground. A method known as entrenching. Entrenching was fast, but the soldiers were open to enemy fire while they dug. Tunneling which is digging a tunnel and then removing the roof to make a trench when it is complete was the safest method, but it was the most difficult too.