Trench warfare was used during World War I as well as other earlier wars. When this type of fighting is used there are two lines of trenches in which the opposing sides are positioned. The trenches served as the protection between the two groups of soldiers. There are generally three different types of trenches in this type of warfare, the front line, support and reserve and the soldiers usually spent time in each of the three. The trenches also had rooms underground that served as officers’ quarters and the command posts. There would be an area between the two lines of trenches that was known as no man’s land which was usually muddy or covered in barbed wire. This is where the soldier would run through to try to gain an advantage.
This type of fighting often resulted in prolonged deadlock because both sides were protected from the others gun fire and there was barbed wire protecting the trenches which kept the enemy from attacking. If a charge did occur it usually resulted in a large number of deaths due to machine gun fires which killed down many soldiers as they advanced. Trench warfare was deadly to the soldiers and resulted in a minimal amount of advancement for either side. It was usually at a standstill. 10% of all soldiers that fought in the trenches were killed during World War I which made have one of the largest percentages of all time.
New weapons were also introduced during this war. Two of the most important were the tank and the airplane. The tank did not allow bullets to go through its sides so they were able to clear a path for advancing. Airplanes were made faster and could carry bombs and had guns mounted on them. Observation balloons also were used in the war. Other weapons used during this time included mortars, artillery, gas, machine guns, and semi automatic rifles.The machine gun was usually a weapon used by specialists. The use of the machine gun was scientifically used. People would calculate the use of the machine gun, so that a shot could be fired at the enemy and take out large numbers of people. For machine guns to be moved it took teams of eight men to move and keep the gun full of ammunition. The use of the machine gun was impractical because of their large size. Artillery dominated trench warfare. The two main weapons in the artillery were guns and howitzers.Mortars were a weapon that lobbed shells in an arc. The mortar usually fired over a short distance. Mortars used the most in trench fighting because they would be able to hit forward trenches and also for cutting down barbed wire so that your troops could attack. Gas was also used during World War 1. There were many different types of gas that included yellow-green chlorine fog, mustard gas, and phosgene. The use of these gases made it protocol that the soldiers had to wear gas masks or they would be burned and blinded by the gas.
Through doing this blog I learned what tactic the soldiers of World War 1 usually used, which was trench warfare. I also learned that because of trench warfare a very large percentage of the troops died. I also learned what weapons were used during World War 1. Before doing this I had not known very much at all because I think that this war is not very well known by people my age. I learned a lot from doing this.
Comments