Trench Warfare In 1914

encroach war In 1914 homophile war I began in 1914 and lasted up until 1918 the war involved two sides which were entitle the Central Powers and the Allies. The affiliate powers consisted of France, the British Empire, the Russian Empire, Italy, United States, Japan, Romania, Serbia Belgium, Greece, and Portugal. The Central Powers consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria. Many factors led up populace War I such as nationalism, imperialism, and the assassination in Sarajevo. The Western Front was rapidly lined with deepes producing a stalemate for well-nigh of the war. With the introduction of these groundlessly trenches it in short brought new devastating tactics such as envenom gas, tidy sum grenades, tanks, and heavy mortar attacks.1During innovation War I trench warfare had signifi cleart and lasting effects on spends collectable to the devastating and terrible conditions.Over two hundred guanine hands died in the trench es during World War I.2Trench warfare was commencement exercise started during the development of rapid attack sm entirely firearms and heavy weapon strikes. With these new developments it made infantry charges a vision less effective and impracticable, thus trifleing stalemate to some(prenominal) sides. Trench warfare was a type of fighting were passs on both sides stayed in trenches to avoid enemy fire. The soldiers built their beds into the side of the trenches. They dug holes in the landed estate to use as bathrooms. In stage to get around in the trenches they needed to walk on boards to keep from sinking in the aristoc traitorical soil. If a solder should lift his head above the trench he would risk being shot by an enemy sniper. The trenches that were constructed were made in a zigzag pattern, never being in a straightaway line, and were approximately twelve feet deep. By being dug in a zigzag pattern it made it so it was not possible to follow up more(prenominal) so ten feet down the trench. The suit being was so that if the trench was infiltrated with enemies the enemy would not be able to gain entrance to the hole trench, but rather only one point other reason for the zigzagged trenches was to compress a bomb or bomb trounce if it landed in the trench.Death inwardly the trenches was a continuous cal closear method that never ended, nevertheless with the absence of any raids that were launched by the enemy. Nonstop artillery attacks were set erupt by the enemies directed at the trenches brought unsystematic decease to men that were either relaxing in the dugout and laid smooth down in the trench.1New soldiers that had never been in trenches were often killed due to curiosity term looking over the trenches into no mans land.Millions of rats infested trenches of World War I. With so many rats infesting the trenches they were eventually classified into type types of rats, the brown rat and the black rat. The rats could grow up to t he size of a cat by crawling into the corpses of dead bodies and eating their internal parts, completely changing the dead soldiers appetence.2Soldiers, becoming exhausted and afraid of the rats, tried many different ship canal to kill them such as hitting them to death, shooting them, and even victimisation the bayonets at the end of their guns. Rats could produce up to nine hundred issuing a year which would later on spread infections within the trenches and tarnish viandss.Lice were among many of the other problems faced in trench warfare. Lice would breed and position eggs in fine seem of the soldiers clothing, causing them to start to itch. Although vesture were washed from time to time this did not stop the spread of lice eggs. As soon as the clothes were washed the eggs would still run hidden in the seams and hatch be exertion of the steamy weather. Trench pyrexia was a diseased caused by the lice. The disease premier(prenominal) started reach with excruciating thro e and then progress into a high fever. To recover from Trench Fever soldiers had to be sent away from the trenches to recuperate, which took around twelve weeks. It was not until the end of the war until lice were finally identified as the cause of Trench Fever. some other(prenominal) diseased cause by trench warfare was Trench Foot. The cause for Foot Fever was the unhygienic conditions of the trenches and the cold, wet ground. If it got worse enough the base many times, would have been amputated. By 1915 the sanitary conditions of trenches improves and the cases of Trench Foot went down.1The soldiers were beneath heavy watch by snipers and enemy look outs during the twenty-four hours which needed them to keep their heads down and limit activity. When nightfall arrived men continued on with their assigned duties, once done they were aloud to go and concentrate on more personal issues. Soldiers would writer letters home, write diaries and read books to curative their boredom in the trenches.No synopsis of trench warfare can skip generalization of the deadly smell in the trenches in which the soldiers first encountered when they got to the trenches for the first time. There were thousands upon thousands of dead bodies lining the battlefield rotting plentiful off a awful stench. For instance, two hundred thousand bodies place out in No Mans Land after the Battle of Somme. The feet were told to wee-wee off the most horrific smell of all, because men most times, did not have piazza that were in good condition, if they had a p tune at all. Areas designated for the soldiers to go to the bathroom were overflowing, consequently giving off a horrible order. Soldiers who had not been able to have the comfort of bathing themselves would give off a reeking smell of dried sweat. The smell of creosol and chloride of lime, used as disinfectants, stained the disgusting air. Include the smell of cordite, the persistent aroma of poison gas, rotting sandbags, heavy m ud, cigarette smoke and cooking food even though it overwhelmed the newcomers to the trenches, many of the men soon got use to it. Along with these hardly a(prenominal) examples consisted the smell of gun powered, poisonous gas, cigarette smoke, cooking food, mud, and rotting sandbags all of which turned the smell of the air into a common enemy for both sides.1Each morning after breakfast each man would be inspected by a superior commander. Once inspection was done thee commanders would then assign each soldier their daily chores, except for men who had a medical excuse or versatile excuses.2Many chores within the trenches consisted of fill again the sandbags, repairing the trench boards that lined the floors in the inside, and d rain downing the trench of an access of peeing. specially after rain downfall the trenches consumed a lot of muddy rain water this made the trenches very weak and the walls unstable. To solve this problem men were assigned to use the pumping equipment, if the damage was too bad then a group of men would be told to actually repair the trench.With the arrival of declension the cycle of stand off was started to protect the trenches from any attacks during the night in the dark. During this time the trenches call on enlightened with activity as men execute various activities. Although the enemy would always be on the look out and it was still fairly dangerous maintained and supply activities were performed To get their rations of food, the soldiers would be sent to the back of the lines to gather the little food they were given. In do-gooder soldiers would be assigned fire step duty. Fire steps were mounds of ungraded used to boost up the soldiers to peer over the sandbags. A man was generally expected to be on duty guarding for attacks for two hours. The reason men were only expected to serve two hour shifts would be because the commanders didnt want to risk a man falling asleep while on duty. If on fire step duty and a soldier were to fall asleep then the penalty would be death by firing squad.The system in which the trenches were made had a specific order in where they were placed and why. The Allied had a main system of quatern different types of trenches. The first lines of trenches were located 50 yards to a mile from the German front line of trenches, often called the attacking or firing trenches.1Positioned in the rear, the front trenches were the erect trenches, which were usually several hundred yards away. The support trenches had the theorize to provide the front trenches with more men and supplies. Behind the support trenches contained another line of trenches called the reserved trenches. The reserve trenches were several hundred yards away throw out behind support trenches. The meaning for the reserve trenches was for it to be supplied with men and need supplies incase there was an invasion of the first two rows, the front and support trenches. The fourth type of trench, the communicatio n trenches, was used to transport messages, men, and supplies between the various trenches. To attach the bunkers and gun storages the trenches often had underground networks to join them to the communication trenches. The trench system in which the Germans adopted was a lot more exciting so to speak. The Germans built complex and more refined tunnels and trench structures.1 nigh living quarters within the trenches could be over fiftieth under the ground. The trenches in which the Germans occupied consisted of electricity, beds, toilets, and needs in which was the total opposite of the Allied trenches.To break the deadlock of the war British came up with idea of a tank and started to develop plans to make them to break the stalemate of the war. During the Battle of Somme tanks were first used but only in limited numbers. Tanks, at first, were shown to be unreliable and ineffective largely because there was poor strategic and tactical planning. Some of the bad strategies involved we re that the tanks were being spread too softly on the ground. Also enormous shell explosions made big holes within the ground and it created a great problem for the tanks of the time, they were still in the proterozoic stages of development and not that maneuverable.1Towards the end of World War I more improved concepts of tanks and strategys made them able to get through enemy lines and become an important component of war.Although trench warfare brought many negative aspects into World War I, it also had a few positively out looked specifics as well. The more modern idea, at the time, of open field fighting was soon lost due to the trenches. Mens lives wouldnt be simply washed away in open field combat where they lined up waiting for their lives to be taken. Although gruesome, trenches gave the men somewhere to sleep, eat, and have cover from open fire. After World War I the tanks design continued to get better and began to bring back the more mobile part of war once know befor e trench warfare. The use of tanks is still used up to this day with improved designs and tactics.The devastating conditions of trench warfare proved to be a major catastrophe in World War I. The construction of these huge holes in the earth was a long and very heavy jab required job. Conditions in these unsanitary trenches were infested with rats and lice which killed off two hundred thousand men alone in the Great War.2The feet were told to give off the most horrific smell of all, because men most times, did not have shoes that were in good condition, if they had a pair at all. Diseases plagued through the trenches from soldiers to soldier from lice and the wet cold floor of the twelve foot pits.Stand-off and other hurt duties made life in the trenches hell on earth. The small rations of food were given to them and gave them barley anything, just enough to survive. A combination of air attacks, mortar bombardment, and tank invasions soon overcame trench warfare.3On the battlefie ld water was often found and depended on from contaminated water that collected in shell-holes and other hollow spaces which caused dysentery.