Trench Warfare
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Trench Warfare and soldiers fighting in No Man's Land
As World War I started, many nations still relied on physical manpower to fuel their industries, and weaponry and warfare were not advanced. The war was fought mainly by soldiers on foot, armed only with rifles, bayonets (a long knife that could be attached to the barrel of a rifle), and sometimes hand grenades.
Wherever the two opposing sides met, three lines of trenches were dug by each side, with a "No-Man's Land" between. The trenches were ditches where the soldiers could huddle out of the way of the bullets and, they hoped, the exploding shells of the enemy artillery.
Each trench was about two metres deep and two metres wide. They were dug in a zigzag pattern so that if a bomb or grenade exploded in one area of the trench, the killing would be restricted to that part of the trench. Each line of trenches had lots of barbed wire in front to entangle enemy soldiers. The three lines of trenches were built as follows:
- The first lines or "front lines" were built with firing steps and elbow rests to help the soldiers shoot at the enemy lines.
- The second line of trenches were the support trenches for the front lines—extra ammunition, equipment, food, and other supplies.
- The third line of trenches were the reserve trenches where extra soldiers were stationed if needed. The third line was also a fall-back position in case the front lines were captured by the enemy.
- Ahead of the front lines were shallow trenches used to spy on the enemy or house men with machine-guns. A small machine gun crew was capable of mowing down several hundred attacking enemy soldiers. Many such crews were scattered along the lines.
- The "No-Man's Land" was the area between the opposing side's trenches, and it was anywhere from a few tens of metres to several hundred metres wide. "No man" could go there without a very high possibility of immediately being exterminated. No-Man's Land was usually a land cratered by artillery shells, and it was swept almost continually by machine gun fire. This nightmarish scene was constantly illuminated by flares at night to keep the enemy from attacking during darkness.
The purpose of each side
was to capture as much territory as possible. Immediately before an attack on the enemy line, their trenches were bombarded with shells from heavy guns. This was to try to kill the enemy's front-line troops and tear holes in the line of barbed wire guarding
their trenches. Next, the attacking front line soldiers climbed out of their trenches, a procedure called "going over the top". The men had to jump over the barbed wire protecting their own trenches, run across No-Man's Land, get through the enemies
barbed wire, and hope they could capture the enemy's trench.
A stalemate developed where neither side was able to capture enemy territory and keep it for long. In this case, neither side could break through the others' defences despite the use of new weapons such as poisonous gas, air warfare, and tanks. Casualties grew at an alarming rate as the soldiers from all nations died in the killing grounds of No Man's Land.
A stalemate developed where neither side was able to capture enemy territory and keep it for long. In this case, neither side could break through the others' defences despite the use of new weapons such as poisonous gas, air warfare, and tanks. Casualties grew at an alarming rate as the soldiers from all nations died in the killing grounds of No Man's Land.
Digging DeeperIf you would like to explore trench warfare during World War I in more detail, this site is an excellent resource: The Western Front, 1914 - 1918 Animation |
Life in the trenches
was difficult at best. If a soldier survived going over the top, he could be killed when the enemy bombarded his trench or in the attack that was sure to follow.
The everyday conditions were difficult. Peek too far over the top and you could get a bullet in the head. During long periods of rain, a soldier could spend days knee-deep in mud or water, sometimes freezing mud or water. This could lead to "trench foot", which meant the feet swelled two to three times their normal size and went completely numb. Trench foot often led to amputation of the feet and perhaps also the legs of the victim. Rats would often be as large as small house cats, and the trenches could be overrun with them. Because the soldiers often had to go weeks without washing or changing their clothes, most soldiers were infested with lice.
The war on the Western Front raged like this for twenty-four hours a day every day between 1914–1918 along the opposing trench lines for over 700 kilometres in eastern France (from Switzerland north to the North Sea).
The everyday conditions were difficult. Peek too far over the top and you could get a bullet in the head. During long periods of rain, a soldier could spend days knee-deep in mud or water, sometimes freezing mud or water. This could lead to "trench foot", which meant the feet swelled two to three times their normal size and went completely numb. Trench foot often led to amputation of the feet and perhaps also the legs of the victim. Rats would often be as large as small house cats, and the trenches could be overrun with them. Because the soldiers often had to go weeks without washing or changing their clothes, most soldiers were infested with lice.
The war on the Western Front raged like this for twenty-four hours a day every day between 1914–1918 along the opposing trench lines for over 700 kilometres in eastern France (from Switzerland north to the North Sea).
Digging DeeperIf you would like to explore World War I in more detail, this site is an excellent resource: The BBC Online: World War I |