Why were trenches dug along the western front?

Answer 1

In order to protect themselves from enemy fire, soldiers on both sides "dug in." They first built shallow slit trenches and rifle pits, and then as the once mobile lines of war became deadlocked, the trenches became deeper and more complex.

Basically, a trench protected a soldier from flying bullets and shells.

Answer 2

On the Western Front, Germany hopes for a quick end to the war rested on a military gamble. The Schlieffen Plan had called for the German army to make a vast encircling movement through Belgium into northern France. According to the plan, German forces would sweep around Paris. This would enable them to surround most of the French Army. The German advance was halted a short distance from Paris at the First Battle of the Marne(September 6-10). To stop the Germans, French military leaders loaded two thousand Parisian taxicabs with fresh troops and sent them to the front line.

The war quickly turned into a stalemate, as neither the Germans nor French could dislodge each other from the trenches they had dug for shelter. These trenches were ditches protected by barbed wire. Two lines of trenches soon reached from the English Channel to the frontiers of Switzerland. The Western Front had become bogged down in trench warfare,that kept both sides in the virtually same positions for four years.

Answer 3

The soldiers dug trenches to protect themselves from the fire of enemy bullets, that were seemingly never ending. They also dug the trenches in a sort of zigzag line, so that if the enemy tried to take over the trench, it was easier to block it off.

Answer 4

The trenches were built firstly by the British and the Belgian soldiers to stop the Germans advancing to the channel. They built the trenches to protect themselves.

Answer 5

so they could hide from the enemy as shelter.