Front-line trenches were not dug in straight lines. Otherwise, if the enemy had a successive offensive, and got into your trenches, they could shoot straight along the line. The French tended to build zig-zag trenches. However, the British Army preferred a system where each trench was dug with alternate fire-bays and traverses. Whereas fire-bays were straight sections of trenches, traverses were built at angles. This limited the effect of enfilade fire or shell-burst
Trench warfare was Intorduced in world war 1. By world war 2, really the end of ww1 on. they were outdated due to the use of tanks and their ability to roll over the barbed wire and trenches.
they fought in the trenches ww1 was known as a war in the trenches
Trenches in WWI extended about 400 miles.
A firestep is a ledge built into the trenches that runs 2 or 3 feet from the ground. The fire-step allows soldiers to peer over the edge of the parapet into the no mans land.
Front-line trenches were not dug in straight lines. Otherwise, if the enemy had a successive offensive, and got into your trenches, they could shoot straight along the line. The French tended to build zig-zag trenches. However, the British Army preferred a system where each trench was dug with alternate fire-bays and traverses. Whereas fire-bays were straight sections of trenches, traverses were built at angles. This limited the effect of enfilade fire or shell-burst
To prtect the army from getting shot
by digging trenches and connecting the rivers
they built trenches for procetion and they used it as a base.
The trenches were called saps and the people who dug them were called sappers.
Trench warfare used several different types of trenches. Firing trenches were used by soldiers to protect themselves while firing their weapons at their enemy. Cover trenches were often built next to the firing trenches as a second line of defense in case the enemy captured the firing trench. Support trenches were used as rest areas for off-duty troops, who sometimes lived in dugouts excavated in the sides of the trench. A network of reserve and communications trenches was used to bring supplies and fresh troops to the front.
Frontline trenches were usually about seven feet deep and six feet wide. The front of the trench was known as the parapet. The top two or three feet of the parapet and the parados (the rear side of the trench) would consist of a thick line of sandbags to absorb any bullets or shell fragments. In a trench of this depth it was impossible to see over the top, so a two or three-foot ledge known as a fire-step, was added. Trenches were not dug in straight lines. Otherwise, if the enemy had a successive offensive, and got into your trenches, they could shoot straight along the line. Each trench was dug with alternate fire-bays and traverses. Duck-boards were also placed at the bottom of the trenches to protect soldiers from problems such as trench foot. Soldiers also made dugouts and funk holes in the side of the trenches to give them some protection from the weather and enemy fire. The front-line trenches were also protected by barbed-wire entanglements and machine-gun posts. Short trenches called saps were dug from the front-trench into No-Man's Land. The sap-head, usually about 30 yards forward of the front-line, were then used as listening posts. Behind the front-line trenches were support and reserve trenches. The three rows of trenches covered between 200 and 500 yards of ground. Communication trenches, were dug at an angle to the frontline trench and was used to transport men, equipment and food supplies.
Thessaloniki, or Salonika.
Because they were fighting a war!!!
They used shovels and picks to dig out the trenches.
Many things made it possible to fire from the trenches. Mortars and field artillery were often fired from trenches. Trenches usually had berms (low dirt walls) built in front of them with firing positions along the top of the berm. Trenches sometimes had benches or ladders for gunners and snipers.
to protect soilders. from enemy shells and mortars but also a place to watch the enemy