TRENCH WARFARE ON WESTERN FRONT

TRENCH WARFARE ON WESTERN FRONT

1. BRITISH WEAPONS

   • Grenades & Shells
     • Initial shortage of grenades and bigger shells called howitzer By 1916 - 17 they were widely available
   • Stokes Mortar
     • Could fire 22 shells per min
   • Lewis Gun
     • light & effective in trench warfare. Initially Germans had nothing similar
   • Vickers Machine Gun
     • Range 3000 yards
     • Could fire 450-550 rounds per min
   • Lee Enfield Rifle
     • Very efficient gun issued to infantry soldiers

2. TACTICS OF TRENCH WARFARE

   • The Germans were occupying Belgium & French territory. It was British & French who had to launch attacks and try and dislodge the Germans
   • Going over the top through no mans land
   • Bombarding opposing forces with shells
   • Germans began to use poisonous gases eg mustard gas from 1915
   • By the end of the war tanks were being used by British as a method of breaking thru enemy lines
   • Another tactic used by British at Messines Ridge near Ypres was to dig towards towards German linesand detonate mines underneath them
   • Creeping Barrage where advancing infantry would be protected by an arc of artilary fire landing infront of them

3. CONDITIONS IN THE TRENCHES

   • Trench foot, rats & lice causing trench fever
   • 31% of those served in the army were wounded compared to 3/4% of those in Navy/airforce
   • Days spent knee deep in water/mud - trench foot
   • Lack of food & sleep

4. BUILDING OF TRENCHES - built wherever the enemy was found no matter what was in the way

   • Usually 2m deep & 2m wide
     • dug in a zig zag so blast from an exploding shell would be confined to small section of trench
   • Normally 3 lines of trenches on each side of no mans land - divided enemy armies
   • On Front line trenches built with firing steps/elbow rests to help shooting over the top
   • Behind front line trenches were SUPPORT trenches and behind support trenches were RESERVE trenches
     • Connecting 3 lines of trenches were communication trenches
     • BLIND ALLEYS - to confuse the enemy
     • SAPS - shallow trenches leading to look out posts/machine gun nests