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Trench Warfare During World War 1

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“How horrible, fantastic, incredible, it is that we should be digging trenches and trying on gas-masks here because of a quarrel in a far away country between people of whom we know nothing,” Neville Chamberlain once said. Trench Warfare was a common tactic used during World War I. Both the Allies and the Central powers used this type of warfare to try to compete with each other. It was often very bloody and resulted in a huge loss of life. Trenches were dug in two different ways, with a space of land in the middle. Many men died in this “no-man’s land.” Trench warfare was deadly, horribly inefficient, and brutal for the soldiers living there. Trench warfare was deadly because of all the new technologies being utilized during World War I. One of the new and improved technologies was the machine gun. The machine gun was responsible for killing many soldiers when they crossed into “no-man’s land.” The machine gun would fire hundreds of bullets with the pull of the trigger. Another new technology was the tank. The first tank was created in 1815 and was called the British Mark I. They were used to cross the land and get to the enemy. Eventually, the tactics for stopping tanks were …show more content…

The war lasted four years because of the brutal battle tactics taking place. Generals sent out scores of soldiers into the battlefield, and almost everyone would be killed down by guns. The artillery would try to give the soldiers some cover by sending shells over the bunkers and into the enemy's trench. The armies would take turns sending men into battle, which it did not work. This hassle would only gain yards at a time. The Allies and the Central powers also had different strategies with the French relying on speed and surprise and the Germans relying on firepower. This led to firefights in between the trenches. Eventually, with the invention of the tank, armies changed their tactics and progress was easier to see every

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Furthermore, trenches provided a safe place to shelter while on the defensive, one man with a gun in the trench could kill three men approaching and still be safe from fire as he was mostly hidden behind the trench. Additionally, trenches protected and sheltered the men from enemy fire and artillery. Trenches revamped the way wars were fought around the world for centuries and changed the outcome of many wars in the

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In order to analyze and answer the question, we must first understand the context of trench warfare. World War 1 was a time when advanced weapons and technology were invented. Weapons such as machine guns, artillery, tanks, and other long range military weapons were used at the opposing side. To defend against a wide use of artillery and other long range weapons, trench warfare was used by both the allied and central powers. Trench warfare was a very important factor in World War 1, not only because it would defend one’s own trench, but also attempt to attack the enemies at the same time.

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Barbed Wire And its effects on WW1 Introduction World war 1 is undoubtedly one of the most deadly conflicts in human history. Killing an estimated 37 million people over the span of 4 years, this is one of the most deadly wars, to have ever been waged. Many things make world war one stand out, when compared to its predecessors. World war one was the last major european war since the franco-prussian war 40 years earlier.

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Warfare changed significantly from World War I to World War II. One of the most notable changes was the use of technology and weaponry on the battlefield. In World War I, weapons like machine guns, artillery, and gas was used, but in World War II, more advanced weaponry like tanks, planes, and submarines were introduced. Additionally, tactics and strategies evolved, with a greater emphasis on maneuver warfare, combined arms tactics, and the use of airpower. The role of civilians in the war also changed, with many becoming involved in the war effort through factory work and other forms of support.

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Hardships faced in World War 1 War can be compared to an everlasting fever with tremendous side effects, no one, in particular, wants it, but, all at once there it is. Combat before World War 1 had the usage of inefficient had to hand weapons like knives and regular bayonets. Killing mass numbers of people was not as effective as during World War 1 as technology developed to kill more efficiently. Knives and bayonets turned into machine guns, slow marching troops were transported by tanks and submarines, poison gas and barbed wires replaced shields. The novel, ’All Quiet on the Western Front’, written by Erich Maria Remarque, who served in the German army during the war.

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In All Quiet on the Western Front Paul Bäumer and his friends of the second company experience the brutality of trench warfare from a first hand perspective. In the story they had to spend time digging in the mud to get the trenches they needed. After they would fight through enemy bombardments, where hundreds of shells destroy the front line leaving them woke with a constant uncertainty if they would be killed. It is even stated by Paul that in the trenches life is no more than an avoidance of death. Each person must not think about anything but to kill or be killed.

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Here are some of the most important inventions that changed the course of World War

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Why did WW1 last so long? The conflict which is known as „The Great War “started in August 1914, at that time, both of the opposing sides believed that the entire conflict would be over by Christmas of the same year. After four years and extreme horror and bloodshed the war finally ended. The question that is analyzed here is why exactly did World War 1 last so much longer then it was predicted?

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WW1 is known as the first modern war because it saw the incorporation of mechanical weapons. The Central Powers and Allies both used a variety of weapons such as machine guns, chemical weapons , clothing, biplanes, artillery, tanks, grenades, and rifles. These weapons were state of the art for the early 20th century. These weapons caused casualties to skyrocket as the Allies and the Central Powers were in a stalemate.

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From one account of a soldier at Gallipoli, he stated “A few bivvies, excavated in the walls of trenches, but most men only had the floor of the trench upon which to lie” - Colonel Herbert Collett, 28th Battalion. In the movie, it was seen that there were only “a few bivvies” to sit and lie in while there were many soldiers sitting on the dry ground, this is a very accurate recreation of the firsthand accounts and pictures taken at Gallipoli. The trenches were not a pleasant place as they were unhygienic, and disease-ridden because of the constant death in and around the trenches, Weir falsely recreates the trenches with dead bodies buried in the walls and little-seen disease except the flies in the soldier’s food. Another account from 2nd of December describes the trenches as not being under “continuous bomb fighting and bombarding all the time” instead “the chief occupation is the digging of mile upon mile of endless trench” -Dispatch, Commonwealth of Australia Gazette. Weir’s Gallipoli reconstructs life in the trenches as standing around for ages and filling time with activities like smoking and small gambling or betting, this was the case but many soldiers had to be constantly digging more lines of trenches which were not shown in the movie.

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“Imagine yourself in the pitch dark, after two or three days of wet, cold, hunger, sleeplessness, staggering down a trench, knee-deep in mud, carrying various burdens that almost equal your own body-weight” (Ellis, 48). This was the everyday life of the typical soldier involved in the World War I trench warfare. During WWI trench warfare was common. It began in September 1914 with the German army digging themselves in for a battle that would last what seemed like a life time for the soldiers involved. Soldiers on either side alike lived in deplorable conditions.

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In the beginning of World War 1 this form of fighting in which two armies would use their cavalry to charge at one another was very common because of its multiple advantages including that the troops had a greater mobility, a larger impact, and the riders had a higher position. For these reasons this type of fighting was a favorite of many generals, including the British cavalry which in 11918 had over 75,000 horses that were used in charges. However, this type of fighting worked well in the beginning of the war, some may argue that it had become completely useless by the end of the war because of the proliferation of war technology. Although horses were used less often by the end of the war compared to the beginning, it does not change the fact the cavalry battle tactics were still being used until the very end of the war. One example of this attack happened in 2March of 1918 when over 150 horses of the British cavalry charged on German fire.

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