Preview

Trench Warfare In The Trenches Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
893 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Trench Warfare In The Trenches Essay
2. Introduction
Trench warfare played a major role in the outcome of world war one (WW1). Millions of soldiers died due to this method of fighting and many more were wounded. Since then they have not been used in wars dues to their ineffectiveness against modern technology such as planes, helicopters and nuclear weapons.

3. The Trenches and why they were Employed
Trenches are ditches in which soldiers can fight. The trenches in WW1 were built about two – three metres deep and measured two metres wide. They could be any length and were all interconnected. Trenches were used because they provided substantial cover from the enemies’ artillery and small arms fire. (BBC, 2015)

4. Armies involved and The Western Front
Both the allies and the central powers fought in the trenches with both sides suffering extreme casualties.
…show more content…
A soldier that was wounded would be transported by stretcher bearers to the makeshift hospital where they would receive treatment for their injuries from nurses and medics. Many men also went to the hospital if they were ill, often with diseases from the battlefields. However since the trenches caused many new diseases to arise, some hospitals didn’t have the required medicine. In severe cases men would be taken back to their home country away from the fighting so they could heal in more suitable, hygienic conditions.

7. The constant bombardment
Either side would be bombarded with all types of weapons in the trenches. Many soldiers carried rifles, machine guns, bayonets, pistols, and other weapons in war. However, tanks were also used as well as artillery. Tanks proved to be fairly useless in WW1, as they were still being developed and were extremely susceptible to breaking down. Artillery, however had the biggest impact. After being developed to be more accurate, bigger, and mobile, they were responsible for more deaths than any other weapon in WW1.

8.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Ww1 Syllabus Nootes1

    • 4241 Words
    • 17 Pages

    The nature of trench warfare and life in the trenches dealing with experiences of Allied and German soldiers…

    • 4241 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The opposing sides fight each other from trenches. The Allies dug a front--line to attack, behind that has a support trench for additional trooops and supplies, and a reserve trence for emergency men and supplies at far behind. Trenches was all connected to transport messages,troops, and supplies throughout the system. They also have bunkers and toilets. Germany trenches was more deeper and stronger. They have beds and sometimes even electricity. They buit as zig-zags so that they couldn't fire straight down the trench.…

    • 204 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Trenches In Ww1

    • 865 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Features of trenches included, sandbags, ammunition, dugouts, parapet, duckboard, fire steps and barbed wire. Trenches were a complex network and extended across many kilometres with the front line positioned to launch at the enemy. They were constructed in a zig zag structure. Communication trenches connected each line. They were expected to be temporary at the beginning of the war. The area between allies and Germans was called no man’s land. There was not set distance between the lines. No man’s land had deep craters, mud, heavy rain, artillery bombardment. Weaponry changed throughout the war, machine guns, rifles, grenades, flamethrowers, mortars and gas were used. The battle tactics began as offensive and later changed to defensive. The life in trenches was horrible, there were many rats, mud and diseases that were evident within the trenches. This lead to battle fatigue and shell shock. Many soldiers experiences unhygienic living conditions, Illnesses such as dysentery, trench foot and PTSD. 80% of the time solders were bored stuff, 19% of the time frozen stiff and only 1% of the time scared…

    • 865 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Trench warfare was an interesting thing, he technology changed how well it worked, and he attitude of leaders changed trench warfare as well. The war was brutal and killed millions of…

    • 385 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    WORLD WAR 1 introduced for the first time widespread use of machine guns, modern artillery and airplanes to the battlefield. Railroads made the supply of vast, stationary armies possible, and even the taxi cabs of Paris were employed to bring men to the front in 1914. Horses were removed from…

    • 1287 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Here in the trenches condition are very terrible. Things I had seen is unbearable, these trenches are overflowed with water and things I have to do to live in these conditions. About the overflow as it rains, us standing in these large puddle. Your socks will be completely wet, which is a uncomfortable feeling. In order to survive I had to find a dead man socks to use for my own. We also went several weeks not showering because during these conditions they needed a excessive amount of soldier to fight. Having twenty guys crowded on top of you, these trenches are very narrow only enough to have bit of room for the person next to you. This made diseases to easily spread such as influenza, fever, typhoid, and malaria. One of my buddies I share a spot within the trenche just died, right in front of me.…

    • 343 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The purpose of the trench warfare was so that defending units could be protected by small arms fire and provide sheltered against artillery. This shows they would protect as much land from the enemy. Trench warfare was very important in WW1 this is because when the Germans realized that they were going to lose due to Russia and France they dug in and tried not to let the enemy take any of their land back so that their country would grow bigger and stronger. I will be answering the question about, how effective was Trench warfare in World War 1, and how effective was it as a method used by both sides in war Triple Entente and Triple Alliance.…

    • 1918 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The most used was the bolt action rifle, it fired 15 rounds a minute at a person 1,400 meters away. The second new weapon was the machine gun. Machine guns needed 4-6 men to work them and it had to be on a flat surface. They had the fire power of 100 guns. There was also large field guns that had a long range and could drive devastating blows to the enemy but they needed up to 12 men to work them. They fired shells that exploded on impact. Next there was gas. The German army were the first to use chlorine gas at the battle of Ypres in 1915. Chlorine gas causes a burning feeling in the throat and you got chest pains. Death is painful, you would suffocate. The problem with chlorine gas is that the weather must be right. If the wind is in the wrong direction it could end up killing your own troops rather than the enemy. Mustard gas was the most deadly weapon used. It was fired into the trenches in shells. It is colorless and takes 12 hours to take effect. The effects were: blistering skin, vomiting, sore eyes, internal and external bleeding. Death can take up to 5 weeks. In Document Four Henry says “ on top of this, I encountered mustered gas for the first time last week. Fortunately, I had my gas mask ready. The same could not be said for my friend, Heinrich. To see someone die such a death is a horror I will never forget,” Henry saw his friend die from mustered gas. It was a horrible…

    • 1477 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    During World War I warfare was carried out using one the most familiar elements of modern warfare and soldiers were forced to live in the extremely horrible living conditions of The Trenches. A trench warfare is a kind of fight where each side digs deep trenches down in the ground to defend themselves against the enemy. The trenches of World War 1 stretched for miles in order to enable one side to get the upper hand on the other. The trenches were dug by soldiers themselves they would make the trenches by digging directly down into the ground which speeded up the digging process , but at the same time left the soldiers exposed to be fired on by the enemy as they dug. These trenches were sometimes even formed in places where you couldn’t break…

    • 163 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ww1 Trench Life

    • 1561 Words
    • 7 Pages

    A rifle and a pistol were the main two weapons. The standard issue rifle for British infantry was a Lee Enfield and the standard issue pistol was the Webley Mk IV revolver. The soldiers normally had a bayonet attached to the end of their rifle and a grenade. The most common grenade was the Mills bomb which had grooves cut into it so that when it exploded it blew metal fragments in all directions, this was good for clearing trenches. The British used canvas buckets to carry these grenades so that they could have more. Soldiers always had a gas mask on hand to defend themselves against gas attacks which became common in WWI. Soldiers also carried a shovel and wire cutters. The shovel was important if there was not enough cover in the trench or if you needed to expand the trench. Wire cutters were used to repair or take down barbed wire. You wouldn't think of a kite as a war tool or weapon however, with a sniper ready a kite could be used to distract the enemy and lure them into lifting their head to look at the distraction. Once this movement was spotted it gave opportunity to the sniper on your…

    • 1561 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Life In Trench Warfare

    • 1453 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Trench warfare was one of the biggest parts of World War One, it is why World War One is sometimes referred to as a ‘War of inches’. It is referred to that because taking shelter from enemy fire they would have built these parallel lines of trenching around with tunnels connecting the two…

    • 1453 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    | 1.) Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, Russia got involved to defend Serbia. Germany seeing Russia mobilizing, declared war on Russia, fearing an attack from the north. France was then drawn in against Germany and Austria-Hungary. Germany attacked France through Belgium pulling Britain into war because of location. Then Japan entered the war. Later, Italy and the United States would enter on the side of the allies.2.) It ruined the Schlieffen Plan once and for all, France would not be knocked out in six weeks, and all hopes of a shot war were dashed.3.) The Germans would have to face full scale war on two fronts, which they had never intended. 1.) The First Battle of the Marne effectively halted the German offensive towards Paris and thereby keeping France in the war. Both the Allies and the Germans suffered a tremendous amount of casualties and were quite exhausted. 2.) There was time for the British navy to bring its crippling blockade to bear on Germany's port. 3.) The immediate cause of America's entry into World War 1 in April 1917 was the German announcement of unrestricted submarine warfare, and the subsequent sinking of ships with Americans on board (the…

    • 345 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Artillery was the best way to hit enemy infantry that were in trenches . This…

    • 644 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Emergence of trench warfare - T- T- Trench warfare is a type of combat in which opposing troops fight from trenches facing each other. Troops are significantly protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery. E- Germans forced to retreat because Britain had bigger army- to stop they dug trenches and made huge defence lines –British couldn’t break line so they dug their own trenches.…

    • 315 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    * Nearly 10 million soldiers died during the four years of the war. Most of the battles took place in Europe. They were fought on land, at sea, and in the air.…

    • 3214 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Better Essays