Trench warfare

Trench warfare is a form of war in which both opposing armies have static lines of fortifications dug into the ground, facing each other. Trench warfare arose when there was a revolution in firepower without similar advances in mobility and communications. Periods of trench warfare occurred during the American Civil War (1860s) and the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905, and reached peak brutality and bloodshed on the Western Front in the First World War.

Development

The first development which was critical for trench warfare was the introduction of mass-conscripted armies during the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. Prior to this, armies still consisted of small numbers of troops which were unable to defend a large territory for very long—battles were either brief or degenerated into siege warfare. Large armies made it much more difficult for one army to outflank another, but it was still possible with cavalry and infantry charges for one army to break another by a direct assault. An example of an early fortified military line which stretched for many miles was the Lines of Torres Vedras (1810), which was built by the Portuguese under the direction of Royal Engineers of the British Army during the Peninsular war.

Related Topics:
French Revolution - Napoleonic Wars - Siege warfare - Lines of Torres Vedras - Royal Engineers - British Army - Peninsular war

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What made this tactic increasingly suicidal was the development of improved firearm technology in the mid-19th century. When the American Civil War opened in 1861, it was fought with the same tactics that had been used in the era of Napoleon and indeed for several centuries. By the time the war drew to a bloody close in 1865, it had become a preview of the First World War, complete with trenches, machine guns, field fortifications, and massive casualties. The Battle of Petersburg near the end of the war with its trenches and static formations, contrasts sharply with the early battles such as the First Battle of Bull Run where maneuver was still possible, and famous charges such as Pickett's Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg, revealed the military futility of a direct assault on an opposing line.

Related Topics:
Firearm - American Civil War - First World War - Machine gun - Battle of Petersburg - First Battle of Bull Run - Pickett's Charge - Battle of Gettysburg

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Two main factors were responsible for the change. First, the new breech-loading firearms—which were curiously ignored by both sides until mid-way through the conflict—made it possible for a small number of troops to maintain a heavy volume of fire. A handful of defenders sheltering in a trench or behind an improvised obstacle could hold off a large body of attackers indefinitely. Second came the machine gun, which multiplied the power of the defender still further and yet did little for an attacker (provided that only the defenders could take cover).

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Two other factors played a part. The first was the development of barbed wire, which in itself did little harm to anyone but - crucially - could slow the progress of an attacking force, and thus allow emplaced machinegunners and riflemen time to inflict unacceptable losses.

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The second came after the end of the American Civil War, with the invention of modern high-velocity breech-loading artillery. Artillery in one form or another had been a part of warfare since classical times, and from the rise of gunpowder until the development of trench warfare in the 1860s had been a major killing force. With the development of modern artillery by Krupp, however, artillery regained much of its former killing power (as was graphically demonstrated in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 to 1871). Artillery would reach its peak during the two World Wars, where it was the most decisive weapon on the battlefield.

Related Topics:
Krupp - Franco-Prussian War

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