World war I is considered one of the bloodiest wars ever fought in the history of the world. A major contributor to the death toll of this war was the new tactic of trench warfare. Trench warfare is a battle strategy using man made trenches and weapons to attack and take the enemy’s trench. This battle strategy combined with the use of new war technology, and the living conditions in the trenches resulted in one of the deadliest wars ever fought by mankind.
For about four years France and Germany used trench war as their war tactic. The soldiers were told to dig the trenches for temporary shelter from gunfire. The trenches would provide a sufficient amount of cover as long as a soldier would duck. The trenches where long zig-zagging
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Another way that this was an inefficient method was the tedious action of putting on masks. In 1916 tanks started being used as an offensive battle method. At first they were used incorrectly by the british, but in 1917 they helped them shatter a six mile front. The tanks were deadly and almost invincible when used correctly.
The technology used to defend the army against the attacking enemy also used different weapons. For example, Barbed wire would protect against enemy attacks on the trenches. The barbed wire was a very intimidating tactic to the soldiers because of the fear of becoming entangled. If a trench is taken over, there are second and third lines of trenches that the soldiers can retreat to. When their trench is taken over, the army that was pushed back would try to regain their trench and advance upon the enemy.
The living conditions in the trenches where never sufficient enough for living in, especially when the soldiers had to stay in them for a few years. The trenches where just ditches in the ground with no sleeping arrangements. Many of the soldiers would go days without sleep. The rations of food that the soldiers received were often boring and sometimes inedible because they were rarely given fresh food. This would limit a soldier’s stamina in battle and make it more likely for that soldier to get killed. The
Men were living outside for days or weeks on end, with limited shelter from cold, wind, rain and snow in the winter or from the heat and sun in summer. Artillery destroyed the familiar landscape, reducing trees and buildings to desolate rubble and churning up endless mud in some areas. The incredible noise of artillery and machine gun fire, both enemy and friendly, was often incessant. Yet soldiers spent a great deal of time waiting around, and in some quiet sectors there was little real fighting and a kind of informal truce could develop between the two sides. Even in more active parts of the front, battle was rarely continuous and boredom was common among troops, with little of the heroism and excitement many had imagined before the war. The Italian infantry officer Emilio Lussu wrote that life in the trenches was ‘grim and monotonous’ and that ‘if there were no attacks, there was no war, only hard work’.[1] The order to attack – or news of an enemy assault – changed
There was a numerous amount strategies that an abundance of countries came up with and used during World War I and World War II these countries came up with these strategies to help better their chances of winning the war. Some of these strategies include Trench warfare, Island hopping, Kamikaze and Atomic bombs, all of these strategies were very effective and helped their country. Trench warfare and Island hopping were the most effective strategies during World War I and World War II because they helped better the United States.
World War 1 is perhaps best known for being a war fought in trenches, ditches dug out of the ground to give troops protection from enemy artillery and machine-gun fire. The trenches spread from the East to the West. By the end of 1914, trenches stretched all along the 475 miles front between the Swiss border and the Channel coast.
During World War I, trench warfare was very common. It was a newer technique in battles as in wars prior to the Great World War, fighting was less invasive and men merely marched at each other from opposite ends of fields and fought until only one side remained standing or a white flag was hung high in surrender. In fact in older wars, the fighting was far less dangerous to the point where battles were often times viewed by locals who watched from side lines with really no threat of getting hurt. In World War I however, the fighting had upscaled to the most sadistic type the world had ever experienced. With the industrialist wave that had overcome us in the late 1800s into
Trench warfare was adopted to maintain an area of land, to prevent the enemy from capturing that land. The importance of this investigation was to show the significance of trench warfare during the First World War and how effective it was on how it had prevented many full on, front lined, assaults. World War I could have had a great impact in history with the amount of war casualties, which would have been historically shocking, but instead it created the stalemate, which prevented such numbers of deaths from happening.
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.
The tactics used in World War II had to come from somewhere and that was the past. The main reason for this was because most high ranking officers only knew old tactics. One of the biggest strategies that most are familiar with is the use of trench warfare. The many problems both sides faced when using trenches was how vulnerable soldiers were inside them. They were prone to constant chemical attacks, artillery barrages, and tanks. Trench warfare was not a pretty fight but it was one of the most used tactics throughout the war. An offensive at Somme was a prime example of the use and tactical advantage tools of war gave a side. In the summer of 1916, General Douglas Haig ad ordered and eight day artillery bombardment to soften up the German
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.
The use of tanks allowed an attack to be carried out without threat from machine guns or rifle fire, as Richard Haigh, a British tank commander, details in Life in a Tank (Document 7). Thick, metal armor protected the crew of a tank from all but the most powerful artillery shells. Tanks were armed with machine guns to attack exposed enemy infantry and artillery to destroy enemy fortifications. The tank’s use as a purely pragmatic weapon was not as devastating as its effect on the spirit of soldiers defending against armor, German General Hindenburg remarks in his report on the Battle of
Intro: The life for the average soldier in the WW1 trenches was pretty horrible. They had to live in mud, fellow dead soldiers and lots of rats, some the size of your hand. Life of a soldier was very tough, having to see your best mate get shot and he left to rot. Any soldiers that made it out of the war would have suffered either shell shock or post-traumatic stress disorder and living with either of these would have been terrible.
Trenches were dug out in the ground for protection, against machine guns and bombs, however the trenches were not made for comfort or for soldiers to live in for a long time. Most trenches were muddy and wet and soldiers had terrible living conditions which would cause disease, and eventually death. In document two, by Robert Donald, he exclaims that “I do not see why the war in this area should not go on for a hundred years.” Usually, life in the trenches meant consent fighting and battles, no side ever won because each side would encounter a bomb or some kind of causality and make their trenches deeper, and deeper. This was one cause of a stalemate, and why it was predicted that war in the trenches would continue for years and many more soldiers would die. In an outside source, a diary written by a man named Endy, talks about his life in the trenches and how their were many deaths. Although, this was not the only reason the trenches were deadly. The use of poisonous gas was also used in trenches caused many
Almost all attacks were awful failures, with mass slaughter being the result. Some were killed outright; others would take days to die from their horrific injuries, lying alone in the mud. Technology was a main part of trench warfare. Heavy artillery gave many men shell shock. It was generally used for creeping barrages when it would fire just in front of the men creeping forwards to try and get into the enemy trenches.
During World War I, there became a new way of warfare that changed our thoughts on how wars are fought. On the Western Front, armies of millions faced each other in lines of trenches and fought over the course of four years. Trenches are large ditches that were dug in the ground to protect the soldiers from artillery. Trench warfare lead to disease, fatigue, and horrible times for the countries involved.
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
Before World War 1, the tank didn’t exist. The very first attemps at making a tank was by the Allies. September 8th, 1915 the first model was finnished. But its tracks (how it moved) fell off. The same thing happend on the 10th and 19th of 1915. Once in front of government officials. But they recognized that every prototype had issues and so they continued to back the project. They soon figured a new track system and presented it on January 29th ,1916. It was liked so much that they ordered a hundred of the tanks that would be known as “big willies.” Fast forward a couple months and you will see all countries making and designing tanks. And when those tanks became outdated they would make them better. The tank helped break the trench stailmate and probably helped to end the war sooner.