Trench Warfare in WWI
World War I began the horrific sequence of world conflicts that characterize the 20th century. It caused the Russian Revolutions of 1917 that made Russia communist, and led directly to World War II, Adolf Hitler's "war of revenge"�. The Cold War continued the sequence, fought covertly between the capitalist U.S. and the communist U.S.S.R. Previously isolated with World War I; the United States entered the world stage to join Britain and France in the First World War against Germany. But WWI changed the way war was fought with the revolutionary technological advancements like the advancements in guns, specifically machine guns, tanks, airplanes, etc. This paper will demonstrate the use and designs of trench warfare and how it was one of the most technological advancements in World War I and the diseases that life in the trenches would lead to.
In September 1914, the German commander, General Erich von Falkenhayn ordered his troops to dig trenches that would provide protection from the allied troops�.
An aerial reconnaissance photograph of the opposin...
English: German mortar emplacement in preserved tr...
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.When the allies reached the trench, they soon realized that they could not break through the line that the trench provided�. They also realized that the trench provided the Germans with shelter from their fire�. Soon after, the allies began to dig their own trenches and, therefore, trench warfare began�. Not very long after the first trenches of the war were dug, a network of trenches arose�. This network spread across France and Belgium for many miles�. Within the network, there were three different types of trenches: front line trenches, support trenches, and reserve trenches�.
The first line of trenches was called front line trenches�. These were usually two meters deep and had a zigzag pattern to prevent enemy fire from sweeping the entire length of the trench�. In order to prevent the...