L6: Trench WarfareAgenda

Objective: To understand… 1. What trenches and

trench warfare were.2. Why trenches

emerged and the role of technology in that process.

3. What fighting a trench-based war was like.

Schedule: 1. Introduction to

Trenches2. Trenches and

Technology

Homework1. Read selections

from All Quiet on the Western Front Due L7 (Mon 1/7)

2. Read selections on Total War from Rites of Spring Due L8 (Tues 1/8)

3. Creative Project Due L17 (Tuesday 1/29)

The Trenches Become a Fixture of the War

• By late 1914, just a few months after the start of war, two massive systems of trenches stretched 400 miles across Western Europe from Switzerland to the North Sea. – This trench system defined the Western Front.– Trenches would also be used on the Eastern Front.

• Purpose of the trench system was to:(1)Defend territory you “gained” during advance(2)Attack the enemy

Tour of the Trenches • We will watch a short clip of a

historical re-enactment of British soldiers in a World War One trench.

• You will want to watch for how the trench is constructed and laid out.

• FYI: Gerry is a the generic name British soldiers used to refer to German soldiers.

Why did Trench Warfare emerge?

• How did World War One go from being a war of movement to one of fighting in fixed positions in the trenches?

• The answer lies in new war technologies…– Discussion:

“Technology and the Trenches”