Trench Warfare:

The Horror, the Filth, the death

Trench Warfare• Standard war tactic

• Emerged because of the limited use of the airplane and non-existence of tanks at the beginning of the war

• Trenches varied in size, purpose and quality– Some were quite elaborate with underground

bunkers while others were nothing more than a muddy ditch

How Trenches Were Built• Usually built about 400 meters apart • Began simply as large ditches dug by infantry

soldiers – often measured between 6-8 feet deep

• Where time allowed:– trench walls were fortified with wood to keep them

from collapsing – the bottom of the trench was lined with wood or

bamboo to avoid a build-up of mud– underground bunkers (rooms) were built to house

officers

How Trenches Were Built• Parapet: a standing post for a sniper or a place for

a lookout (very dangerous)• Machine Gun Nest: machine gun built into the top

of the trench; surrounded by concrete or sandbags

• No Man’s Land: narrow strip of land between the two lines of trenches; covered with barbed wire, netting, mines and shell holes

• Reserve trenches: built in case the front line trenches were surrendered; also where soldiers spent their “free” time away from the front line

Life in the Trenches• Soldiers fought, ate and slept in the trenches for weeks at

a time - completely exposed to the elements

• Trenches were cold and damp in the winter and were often flooded with rain and mud

• While soldiers were protected from direct fire, they were not protected from shelling (bombs)

• Death was a constant companion– Estimated that 1/3 of all deaths during World War One

happened in the front line trenches

Life in the Trenches

• The trenches offered little protection from enemy fire

• More “sophisticated” trenches included holes dug into the sides for soldiers to hide in during an artillery attack

Life in the Trenches

“The air is full of shells...the small ones whistling and shrieking and the heaviest falling silently, followed by a terrific explosion which perforates even the padded eardrums, so that a thin trickle of blood down the neck bears witness that the man is stricken stone deaf. The solid ground rocks like an express train at full speed, and the only comparison possible is to a volcano in eruption with incessant shudder of earthworks and pelting hail of rocks”

Source: Toronto Globe, April 15, 1916

Life in the Trenches• Often cold, wet

and cramped• Trench floors

were often flooded with mud and water

• Supplies such as food and basic medical supplies were low

Life in the Trenches• Wounded soldiers were cared for

by medical officers in the trenches

• Often they had to wait days before they could be taken to a field hospital

• Those who died were often left in the trenches to rot – unable to move the bodies

• Those soldiers wounded in No Man’s Land were often left to die as it was too dangerous to try and retrieve them

Life in the Trenches

• Trench foot: a painful condition caused by prolonged exposure to mud– Caused soldier’s feet to swell and turn black

“Going Over the Top”

• An advance ordered by officers – an attempt to cross No Man’s Land to take control of the enemy’s trench

• Thousands forced to run across completely exposed to machine gun fire– Machine guns mowed down soldiers by the

hundreds – 1000 shots per minute– Use of the machine gun was the main reason for a

three-year stalemate

Changing Face of War

• Battles of Attrition – battles were no longer decisive victories, rather attempts to grind down the enemy while hopefully outlasting them– Superior defensive weapons made it difficult for

soldiers to win any land• Total War – all of the resources of one nation

are organized for the war effort– Includes the battle front as well as the homefront– Contributions of the homefront were vital to the

overall war effort

Technology on the Battlefield

• Tanks: first used at the Battle of the Somme– Developed to solve problems of trench warfare– Could roll through barbed wire and machine gun fire– Seen as a major reason for Allied victory

• Poison Gas: first used at the Battle of Ypres– Chlorine gas pumped into No Man’s Land; used the

wind to travel to enemy trenches– Caused blindness, burned away the lining of the lungs

and caused soldiers to drown

Technology on the Battlefield

• Machine Guns: used to efficiently and effectively kill advancing troops– Machine guns accounted for most deaths throughout the war

• Submarines: used primarily to sink merchant vessels bringing supplies

Technology on the Battlefield

• Airplanes: in the experimental stage during World War I– Often used to scout enemy positions– Would play a much larger role during WWII