Trench Warfare?

Question

WW1! Answer these.
Where were the first trenches dug?
Which areas did they reach?
What tactics were used?
Was this a winnable war?
10 points for fast reply.

Answer 1

I would say in France after the Germans were stopped in 1914 at the battle of the Marne, but in truth trenches were dug all around Petersburg, Virginia by Union forces under General Grant in late summer 1864.
You are specifically asking about World War One, so the trenches you mean would be extended along the entire western front from Belgium to France to Italy. There were also trenches between the ANZAC forces and the Turks on Gallipoli and along the Eastern fronts between the Russians and the Germans and Austrians. Trenches were used everywhere in that mess of a war.
Tactics were simple and stupid. Bombard an area intensely
with artillery fire, and then send the infantry "over the top" to face machine gun and artillery fire from the opposing force which had by then come out of their bunkers.
The war was not "winnable in the tactical sense because defenses were several layers thick and men walking could not penetrate fast enough to exploit any breakthrough.
Faster tanks would change all that in WWII.
This war had to end when one side was fed up with the continued slaughter. German morale on the home front finally decided the conclusion - partly because the Allied blockade was causing hardship at home and because the situation seemed hopeless with added American manpower arriving on the battlefields in ever increasing numbers.

Answer 2

Trenches have been used in war since the beginning of recorded history. Here is an interesting side note; World War One ended when Germany surrendered; what has never really been made public is that when the German army transferred troops from Russia they also brought the Spanish Flu. Their army was so sick they had no strength to fight; after the surrender the flu was spread world wide by troops returning home; final death toll from the flu can only be calculated at between 20 and 40 million people. The american army lost more men to the flu than to enemy action. Google Spanish Flu for a look at something we had better hope never happens again. If it spread that fast by ship and train then it would travel even faster on airplanes.

Answer 3

The trenches spread from the East to the West. By the end of 1914, trenches stretched all along the 475 miles front between the Swiss border and the Channel coast. In some p
laces, enemy trenches were less than thirty yards apart
When soldiers thought that the trenches would protect them from harm, they were in for an unsuspecting surprise. Throughout the war, the allies used five million tons of artillery shells against the enemy. In the first two weeks of a battle, the British with other allies managed to shoot 4,283,550 shells at the German defenses. The trenches never protected soldiers from shell shock. Soldiers who exposed themselves to continuous amount of shellfire produced a number of symptoms. These symptoms included tiredness, irritability, and lack of concentration, headaches, and eventually mental breakdowns. About 80,000 men of the British suffered from shell shock. There were many kinds of trenches. The first were the front line trenches. All of the fighting took place in these trenches. Not only were soldiers at risk from the enemy but they would be in trouble from their same side accidentaly shooting them. 75,000 British soldiers died from being accidentaly shot by other British soldiers. Being in the front line meant almost certain death. Ahead of the front line trenches were a few small trenches. They were called listening posts. One side would go here to listen to the other side to find out their tactics. Behind the front line trenches were support and reserve trenches. These served as homes to the soldiers who had come back from the front line. Also, there were soldiers ready in these trenches just in case the enemy gained the frontline. The last trenches were the communication trenches. These were used to transport men, food, water, and supplies

Answer 4

-Civil war used Trench Warfare.
-Both sides had vast areas of trenches.
-Artillery, Air to Ground, Flame throwers, machine gun, Tanks, gas.
-YES if the Americans didn't show up the Germans would of won easy. WHY? because they ceased fighting with the Russians, so the whole German army came up against France but because America joined they held them off and then pushed them back to Berlin.

Answer 5

European dirt. /// Atlantic Ocean to the mountains between
Austria and Italy. /// Rearward supply depots; rail was ideal but animal drawn transport was the most common delivery.
///Tactics, those which created the trenches, had evolved from
previous wars and did not progress as rapidly as weaponry developments. /// Absolutely, for those with the least mutinies.

Answer 6

Just read "All Quiet On the Western Front"