The nature of trench warfare and life in the trenches dealing with experiences of Allied and German Soldiers
The Allies used four "types" of trenches. The first, the front-line trench (or firing-and-attack trench), was located from 50 yards to 1 mile from the German's front trench. Several hundred yards behind the front-line trench was the support trench, with men and supplies that could immediately assist those on the front line. The reserve trench was dug several hundred yards further back and contained men and supplies that were available in emergencies should the first trenches be overrun.
Connecting these trenches were communication trenches, which allowed movement of messages, supplies, and men among the trenches. Some underground networks connected gun emplacements and bunkers with the communication trenches.
German trench life was much different. They constructed elaborate and sophisticated tunnel and trench structures, sometimes with living quarters more than 50 feet below the surface. These trenches had electricity, beds, toilets and other niceties of life that contrasted sharply with the open-air trenches of the Allies.
http://www.pbs.org/greatwar/chapters/ch1_trench.html
Connecting these trenches were communication trenches, which allowed movement of messages, supplies, and men among the trenches. Some underground networks connected gun emplacements and bunkers with the communication trenches.
German trench life was much different. They constructed elaborate and sophisticated tunnel and trench structures, sometimes with living quarters more than 50 feet below the surface. These trenches had electricity, beds, toilets and other niceties of life that contrasted sharply with the open-air trenches of the Allies.
http://www.pbs.org/greatwar/chapters/ch1_trench.html
No man's land
- Between the front lines
- 8-10 km wide to 50 m
- Nightmare scenario for a soldier was to have to go over the lines presenting a huge target
- Consists of craters, mud, rain, artillery - making it hard to fight or walk even but easier to kill.
- Often mined which meant that a wrong step could kill.
- At night small groups were chosen to go out and raid the other sides trenches. That had the risk of getting shot and running into the other side being sent out to do the same. Flares would be sent up to light up the field and then they would be shot.
- Getting stranded in no mans land was their worst nightmare
The trench system
- Main form of warfare in ww1
- defensive and dramatically different from the war of offensives and cavalry charges expected.
- three parraellel lines of trenches
- the front line for attack and defense
- the support line to which front line soldiers could (if possible) retreat during bombardment
- the reserve line where troops waited for their leaders call to battle
- rear wall of the support had dugouts
- communication trenches dug at right angles linked all three trenches
- distance between the lines changed with every army. It went from 60-90m between front and support and 300-500m between support and reserve. Also armies partially constructed trench systems several ks back just in case they were forced out
- distance between allied and German trenches was roughly 100-300m. Separating area was no mans land
- Zigzag line as a defensive measure - minimised impact of a shell landing in the trench and meant that attackers didn't have a clear line of fire down the whole trench
- Sometimes a trench was salient causing more danger
- condition of the trench depended on = how long and how quickly it had been established/if it was seen as temporary or permanent/nature of the ground where it was located/local weather conditions/military goals at different times/extent of military bombardment
- German were generally stronger, more complex and better equipped
- German dugouts were made of reinforced concrete from 3.6m to three stories in depth. British dugouts were 2.4-4.8m in depth
- each trench was manned differently,
- England - most men in front line (theory of that there would be the advantage that they would be well defended against enemy attacks. Disadvantage was that many men could be killed or injured in the initial bombardment)
- French - heavily manned certain sections. others had small no.s and reinforced the barbed wire (enemy attack was slowed due to this wire and meant that help could be sent for.
- 1916 can along the Hindenburg line. between 5-7 lines of trenches and kept 2/3 of troops behind front line.
Methods of trench warfare
- devolped into a war of attrition rather than a breakthrough
Stalemate
Why did it prove so
difficult to break the stalemate along the Western Front.?
The War on the western front was mainly a war of
attrition which is the act of weakening ones enemy to the point of exhaustion,
making the other side win due to them having greater reserves and resources.
This made it difficult for any country to achieve victory due to the difficult
nature of trench warfare. The
Allied forces and the Germans used a great variety of tactics and strategies
which included ones such as ‘bite and hold,’ ‘leapfrogging’ and the latest
technology such as the tanks, machine guns and gas.
There were three major battles in World War one in which they
incorporated these tactics, they were the Battle of Verdun, the Somme and
Passchendaele.
The
Battle of Verdun happened in 1916 and lasted from 21st February-18thDecember. The war occurred due to the
German commander, General Erich Falkenhayn whose idea was to ‘bleed the French
white’. Their goal was to attack the fortified fortress at Verdun, as it was a
symbol of French pride.
It would be a blow to French morale to have it fall
under the Germans. It was fought through a campaign of attrition. The attack
began on the 21st with a huge German artillery bombardment
and some use of flame throwers. There was a campaign designed to boost the
French morale called “They shall not pass” which became inspirational propaganda
to encourage the French to continue to defend Verdun.
The Germans also introduced Diphosgene gas a new weapon of chemical
warfare, this helped them gain control of a fort.
Despite this, Germany faced difficulties such as General Von Hindenburg
and his co commander, General Erich Ludendorff replacing Falkenhayn, this led to
the French recapturing most of the land the Germans had captured.
However at the end of the battle in December
neither side had made any specific military gains and both had high casualty
rates.
The Battle of the Somme was the next major battle in
World War One lasting from July-November 1916. It was the British goal to break
through German defense. The strategy was to engage central powers in a
simultaneous battle on all fronts, with its main aim to withdraw troops from
Verdun. The tactics involved were a mixture of frontal attacks which aimed at
achieving a breakthrough. The Allied forces began with a 5 day artillery
bombardment on German troops, however due to the bad weather it went on for 7
days. This failed to achieve the goal as it launched 1.5 million shells on the
German line, which failed to destroy the barbed wire that protected German
trenches. Germany had heavily fortified dugouts, which made the allies easy
targets. The French General Haig
took over planning and came up with a tactic called ‘creeping barrage’ which is
the use of a wall of artillery fire immediately in front of the advancing
infantry, as gunners moved forward to destroy enemy trenches, infantry followed
behind. The purpose was for greater protection for the infantry advancing in the
frontal assault, and could take an enemy trench before the enemy had time to
attack. However the weakness of this tactic was that it had to be precisely
timed and soldiers had to advance at a pace of 50m per minute which was too fast
and made some become victims of the attack. In August and September tanks were
brought in from the British, they could break through barbed wire and withstand
gunfire. However at the start they were slow and unreliable. Due to heavy
weather conditions by snowfalls, Haig called off the campaign from this battle,
however the allies had gained 12 Km of territory.
The last major battle of world war one was
Passchendaele “the war of mud” in 1917. The aim was to engage the Germans to
help draw pressure off the French army due to the French army experiencing
mutinies. General Haig commanded the campaign and came up with the ‘leap frog
tactic’ which was moving from one stage to another, with new soldiers moving
forward to take on each stage. The allies’ objective was to take control of a
village called Passchendaele which was near Ypres. The Germans however had
advantage on higher ground and the land became like a swampland full of mud due
to the excessive use of artillery, combined with the rain, tanks couldn’t work
and became stuck in the mud. Canadians began an advance in November
helping the allies. There were high casualty rates due to people falling in the
mud. This war symbolized the
futility of fighting in the western front due to both sides suffering from heavy
casualties. The allies won however all they reclaimed was swampland.
Therefore it can be seen that breaking
the stalemate proved to be difficult in world war one due to the many tactics
used, casualty rates and new technology introduced such as the tank. The three
major battles that took place also wore down both sides, and the allies
eventually won due there use of tactics and extra help from the
Canadians.
difficult to break the stalemate along the Western Front.?
The War on the western front was mainly a war of
attrition which is the act of weakening ones enemy to the point of exhaustion,
making the other side win due to them having greater reserves and resources.
This made it difficult for any country to achieve victory due to the difficult
nature of trench warfare. The
Allied forces and the Germans used a great variety of tactics and strategies
which included ones such as ‘bite and hold,’ ‘leapfrogging’ and the latest
technology such as the tanks, machine guns and gas.
There were three major battles in World War one in which they
incorporated these tactics, they were the Battle of Verdun, the Somme and
Passchendaele.
The
Battle of Verdun happened in 1916 and lasted from 21st February-18thDecember. The war occurred due to the
German commander, General Erich Falkenhayn whose idea was to ‘bleed the French
white’. Their goal was to attack the fortified fortress at Verdun, as it was a
symbol of French pride.
It would be a blow to French morale to have it fall
under the Germans. It was fought through a campaign of attrition. The attack
began on the 21st with a huge German artillery bombardment
and some use of flame throwers. There was a campaign designed to boost the
French morale called “They shall not pass” which became inspirational propaganda
to encourage the French to continue to defend Verdun.
The Germans also introduced Diphosgene gas a new weapon of chemical
warfare, this helped them gain control of a fort.
Despite this, Germany faced difficulties such as General Von Hindenburg
and his co commander, General Erich Ludendorff replacing Falkenhayn, this led to
the French recapturing most of the land the Germans had captured.
However at the end of the battle in December
neither side had made any specific military gains and both had high casualty
rates.
The Battle of the Somme was the next major battle in
World War One lasting from July-November 1916. It was the British goal to break
through German defense. The strategy was to engage central powers in a
simultaneous battle on all fronts, with its main aim to withdraw troops from
Verdun. The tactics involved were a mixture of frontal attacks which aimed at
achieving a breakthrough. The Allied forces began with a 5 day artillery
bombardment on German troops, however due to the bad weather it went on for 7
days. This failed to achieve the goal as it launched 1.5 million shells on the
German line, which failed to destroy the barbed wire that protected German
trenches. Germany had heavily fortified dugouts, which made the allies easy
targets. The French General Haig
took over planning and came up with a tactic called ‘creeping barrage’ which is
the use of a wall of artillery fire immediately in front of the advancing
infantry, as gunners moved forward to destroy enemy trenches, infantry followed
behind. The purpose was for greater protection for the infantry advancing in the
frontal assault, and could take an enemy trench before the enemy had time to
attack. However the weakness of this tactic was that it had to be precisely
timed and soldiers had to advance at a pace of 50m per minute which was too fast
and made some become victims of the attack. In August and September tanks were
brought in from the British, they could break through barbed wire and withstand
gunfire. However at the start they were slow and unreliable. Due to heavy
weather conditions by snowfalls, Haig called off the campaign from this battle,
however the allies had gained 12 Km of territory.
The last major battle of world war one was
Passchendaele “the war of mud” in 1917. The aim was to engage the Germans to
help draw pressure off the French army due to the French army experiencing
mutinies. General Haig commanded the campaign and came up with the ‘leap frog
tactic’ which was moving from one stage to another, with new soldiers moving
forward to take on each stage. The allies’ objective was to take control of a
village called Passchendaele which was near Ypres. The Germans however had
advantage on higher ground and the land became like a swampland full of mud due
to the excessive use of artillery, combined with the rain, tanks couldn’t work
and became stuck in the mud. Canadians began an advance in November
helping the allies. There were high casualty rates due to people falling in the
mud. This war symbolized the
futility of fighting in the western front due to both sides suffering from heavy
casualties. The allies won however all they reclaimed was swampland.
Therefore it can be seen that breaking
the stalemate proved to be difficult in world war one due to the many tactics
used, casualty rates and new technology introduced such as the tank. The three
major battles that took place also wore down both sides, and the allies
eventually won due there use of tactics and extra help from the
Canadians.