I just can't figure out purpose it would serve. Unless an enemy soldier ran across "No Man's Land" and decided he wanted to just into an enemy trench, and that would make him get caught in the wire... Anyone know?
2006-09-20 09:16:34 · 10 answers · asked by Casey 3 in Politics & Government ➔ Military
Earlturner88 - Yes they did put strands of wire over the top of the trench. Thats why I asked that question.
2006-09-20 11:20:01 · update #1
That was the reason why. Every once in a while one side would be ordered to charge the other side's trenches in an attempt to take them and advance their line some. It rarely worked, though sometimes they'd take them long enough to steal some supplies from the enemy.
If you ever get a chance, read "All Quiet on the Western Front" by Erich Maria Remarque. It paints a very good picture of what life was like on both sides (but it is told from the German side of WWI). Very, very good book.
2006-09-20 09:20:33 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
That's exactly what it was for. It would keep enemy soldiers from moving toward and into the trenches. It was common for a whole bunch of soldiers to make a charge toward the opposite trench so they could attack. It would have been even better for them to put barbed wire across the entire "no man's land", but right next to the trench was the safest way to install it.
2006-09-20 09:23:11 · answer #2 · answered by Take it from Toby 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Barbed Wire Ww1
2016-11-11 01:30:35 · answer #3 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The war started out with quick advances and then for the remaining 4 years or so stretched out into trench warfare. Men entrenched in a network of gullies that went for miles and miles.
Barbed wire was placed to keep advancing untis from breaching the trenches when men "went over the top". That is of course if they survived the murderous crossfire from the machine guns that were strategically placed to make perfect killing zones.
For the most part the war stretched into month long stalemates of men hunkered down taking the occasional shot at one another.
Believe me...there was no such thing as 'slipping' into a trench. You were lucky if you cleared the brim of yours and made it 50 yards forward before being gunned down or stepping into a mine field.
2006-09-20 09:22:16 · answer #4 · answered by Quasimodo 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
They put the barbed wire to slow the advancing soldiers. It would slow them down enough so they could position machine guns and have a better defense. It also made noise (the usually had can hung on them) that alerted the men in the trenches that they were under attack.
2006-09-20 09:18:50 · answer #5 · answered by Diggs 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It was never in the middle of the battlefield, just at the parameter of the lines. (Gemans also had many, many tunnels and underground command centers!) It could have been put up in sections, a bit at a time, or during cease fires. There were many arrangements, formal and informal, to do things like collect battle dead, exchange prisoners, have a rest. It's a long standing tradition among soldiers that sentries from both sides allow limited contact between themselves and the sentries of the enemy, usually for exchanging newspapers! Of course the famous example is British and German troops taking off Xmas day to play soccer. Paul McCarthy did a music video with that theme.
2016-03-17 02:45:56 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
to make it look pretty???
"obstacles are placed in such a way as to disrupt, fix, turn, block an enemy, obstacles that are placed without direct/indirect fire are considered simply a nuisance"
they placed barbed wire or more correctly concertina wire right on top of the trench so if the enemy does make it to your position across no-man's land and if they did not take out the wire obstacle and the top of the trench with arterillery fire than they would have to slop down or find a hole for them to get through giving the defenders more time to engage their targets
2006-09-20 10:31:13 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Even though WWI was the first major medhanized war the combatant countryies were still fighting with the old infantry charge mind set. There actually was a great fear of and many efforts in mounting infantry attacks on enemy trenches. Remember, one of the architects of trench warfare was James (Old Pete) Longstreet, R E Lee's Senio commander and long a great proponent of defensive warfare.
2006-09-20 09:22:06 · answer #8 · answered by toff 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's for protection. Let's say our line must retreat....the barb wire would surely slow down our pursuitors.
2006-09-20 09:21:39 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Wire was not put over the trench, it was in front. placed to stop the enemy from getting to the trench.
2006-09-20 09:24:07 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋