Trench Warfare

Trenches were cut along battlefield fronts in World War I to protect troops from deadly artillery and machine-gun fire. Firing trenches were backed by cover trenches, which provided a second line of defence in case enemies overran the firing trench. Each was about 1.8 to 2.5 m (6 to 8 ft) deep. Off-duty troops lived in dugouts in the support trenches. Supplies, food, and fresh troops moved to the front through a network of reserve and communications trenches. Between the trenches of opposing forces lay no-man’s-land. Crossing no-man’s-land often resulted in death, because it was strewn with barbed wire and open to the sights of enemy guns.

Appears in these articles

Trench Warfare; Fortification and Siege Warfare; World War I

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