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"Over The Top" by Mark Keiller
Through this report I intend to prove that Trench Warfare contributed largely to the colossal loss of life in the First World War. The First World War was triggered by a series of events leading up to 1914. Great rivalry had always been present and the colony race along with other advances had created a uncertainty as to the peace of major European countries. Alliances were therefore set up between various countries and after a long time , two armed camps were almost ready to go to war should another country in their alliance declare war and such. The two main camps were :
The trigger came when the Archduke of Austria ( Franz Ferdinand ) and his wife Sophie were visiting Sarajevo. Austria had been waiting for an excuse to declare war on against Serbia as the Serbs had been planning to take over part of Austria to complete their plan of creating a greater Serbia. Franz Ferdinand was assassinated by a Serbian group called the ‘Black Hand’ and Austria declared war against Serbia. Therefore every country on Austria’s alliance were dragged into the war. Russia , due to strong Serbian links , declared war on Austria and the rest followed. Britain following after Germany fought through Belgium , opposing British threat , as part of their Schleiffen Plan and the First World War began. Trench warfare began when countries realised the war would not end quickly and this method of fighting lead to a huge amount of deaths on the battlefield. I intend to prove exactly that point through investigating a series of topics dealing with Trench warfare and extensively stating facts that inevitably lead to mass slaughter.
The layout of a trench and trench systems Trenches
were often described as ‘complex labyrinths’ and this is indeed the
best way to describe the trenches. As the picture below shows , the
trenches were indeed ‘mazes.’
The soil that was dug out of the ground to form the trenches was used to pile on the sides of the trenches to provide a little bit of extra cover from enemy fire. Some trenches were strengthened with iron and such to give more support to the soil to prevent it falling in. The most noticeable feature of the trenches is the way they are dug in a zig-zag line. This can be seen in the picture above and there was a reason behind it. If the enemy was to capture one part of the trench , they would not be able to shoot down the trench killing at ease. The enemy would be forced to fight all the way down the trench and this was extremely difficult. In addition to the zig-zag effect of the trenches , some had ‘firing bays’ which were slightly forward into no-mans land so if enemy did get to the front line , they could be attacked from the sides. Most British trenches also had the distinct feature of ‘duck boards’ which were in place to save men having to walk through the mud due to the weather conditions. Small dug-outs were also in place for the men to sleep in. They were dug into the sides of the trench and planks were placed to create a type of bed. Officers had slightly better ‘quarters’ , sleeping in dug-outs lower underground guarded by a sentry. German trenches were considered as much superior to British or other countries. They were much better built and had much deeper dug-outs which is shown in the diagrams for ‘The Main Battles’. 100 metres back from the front line were the secondary trenches of the troops were forced from the front line by attackers. There were also communication trenches and supplies which were about 8km behind the front line. Communication was vital in the trenches was vital and so telephone lines went along the trenches. They were often damaged by exploding shells which caused major problems when communication between officers was essential which lead to many mix ups. Also behind the front line lay the artillery. This was often the target for enemies.
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