The Trench Warfare

The British Army’s trench

British Army with periscope watching the line

German Army’s trench

In the early weeks of the First World War (late in the summer of 1914), both German and French commanders anticipated a war that would involve a large amount of troop movement, as each side sought to gain or defend territory. The Germans initially swept through parts of Belgium and north-eastern France, gaining territory along the way. During the First Battle of the Marne in September 1914, however, the Germans were pushed back by Allied forces. They subsequently "dug in" or foxholes to avoid losing any more ground or territory. Unable to break through this line of defence, the Allies also began to dig protective trenches, this is the initial part of starter of Trench Warfare. By October 1914, neither army could advance its position, mainly because war was being waged in a very different way than it had been in the nineteenth century as fighting with old armament such as musket and bayonet. Forward-moving strategies such as head-on infantry attacks were no longer reliable or good-for-nothing against modern weapon like rifles, machine guns and heavy artillery. The dysfunction to move forward created the halt and stalemate to the both side. What began as a temporary strategy or so the generals had thought evolved into one of the main features of the war at the Western Front for the next four years.