Category: Trench Warfare

Technology’s significant impact on World War 1 occurring in the early 20th century, shifted the war’s landscape and ultimately transformed some of the world’s great powers from back then to what they are now. From the grueling nauseating trenches where soldiers had a radical change of dying, to the modern artillery developments crumbling indestructible fortresses, the impact technology played on the war modified primeval war schemes. Trench warfare evolved as life in the trenches through diseases, flamethrowers, barbed wire, and poison gas saw millions of servicemen perish. New, never seen before artillery in World War 1 as a result of major developments before the war detonated armies everywhere as they were unstoppable. Struggles between menacing naval fleets encouraged mass production of the most dominant battleship ever seen. An entire generation of battleships named after the dreadnaught showed their advantage in naval technology at the time. The war hurtled the evolution of fighter planes and the use of aerial attack and surveillance since aviation showed supremacy over past tactical strategies of infiltration and enemy knowledge.

The development of technological artillery in World War 1 played a pivotal role in the occurrence of major events since it influenced the war’s tactics, operations, and strategies. Before the 20th century and the second industrial revolution, the last major technological production development occurred over 100 years ago, this proved essential to whether countries were prepared for World War 1. “There were simply not enough resources readily available to wage a war of that scale” (Tighesite 2016). Countries involved in the second industrial revolution experienced an extreme advantage regarding the development of modern combat artillery. Fully automatic belt-fed machine guns became the way to stand for great powers due to their long-term sustained use combined with barbed wire devoured advances from opposing armies. A similar design of these machine guns was used on tanks but integrated with an internal engine, caterpillar track, and armor plating allowing it to have similar mobility as a car as well as withstand against all standard infantry arms. The earliest use of tanks in combat on September 1916 by Britain created by a combination of the military and industrialists and engineers. The German railway plan utilized their ability to transport millions of troops across the country as men and resources could get to the front lines in record time. But trains were vulnerable since they could only travel where rails were laid forcing them to transport troops a substantial distance from the battlefield. Artillery in World War 1 was significantly impacted by available and recently developed technologies such as tanks, machine guns, and railways influencing the war’s tactics, operations, and strategies.

The evolution of trench warfare due to advancements in technology before World War 1 no longer favored the defender. Horrific conditions in the trenches meant diseases and death were common and demolished large portions of all armies in the trenches. Historical practices of communication between generals and the front line saw couriers on motorbikes. This was clearly not adequate at the beginning of the war and major technological developments allowed planes and other communications to carry messages to and from headquarters. Although gas seemed to have no effect on the war, it was estimated over 1,000,000 casualties came from it. Germany’s industry at the beginning of the war was relied on since they had the most developed dye production facilities in the world. The first gases thrown had devastating effects in Ypres in 1915, though as the war went on, poisoning prevention became more advanced as towels dampened by urine or water evolved into basic gas masks. Later in the war, the German army attempted to flush opposing soldiers out of the trenches using flamethrowers showing the greatest effect on the western front but was limited by their range. Ultimately, the total number of military deaths was estimated at approximately 20 million, trench warfare’s impact on World War 1 influenced by technology ranked it among the deadliest conflicts in human history shown in the image from express newspapers (left) of the mass of casualties in the trenches. Technological developments evolved trench warfare and showed to have a significant impact on the war influencing every individual encounter between great powers.

The impact of naval and aerial technology on the war is significant as they were never seen before. Aviation was originally used for destructive attacks such as tactical bombing or dogfights between aircraft but was shown to be most effective in gaining intelligence, sea patrol, or artillery spotting. As it was a new technology and only created a decade before the beginning of the war, aerial forces underwent significant adjustments to optimize their efficiency. Not only planes were used in the war, but hot air balloons were created almost a century before. Reporting enemy troops and directing artillery fire was a couple of the many functions hot air balloons played for armies as they were recognized for their value in obtaining information about opposing armies. Technologies were introduced in the years leading up to the war to expand the production of larger battleships with larger guns. This process proved beneficial as the HMS Dreadnaught was born which “dominated the world’s navies for the next 35 years” (Rodriguez, E 2016), as well as the Naval Arms Race. This saw the rapid growth of both the German and British navies. Submarines, a new technological development in the naval scheme, brought a serious weapon of war. Naval and aerial developments before and during the war brought a new dimension to combat and significantly impacted the war.

Technology’s significant impact on World War 1 altered strategy and tactics and ultimately played a pivotal role in the outcome and ramifications of the war. Artillery and trench warfare utilized major industrial developments in technologies. Newly evolved naval and aerial combat revolutionized war as we know it reflected in their use today across the finest militaries across the world. All of these experienced significant impacts from technology and ultimately determined end result of the war.

1. Wikipedia. (2020) Technology during World War I. [Online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_during_World_War_I#Air_warfare [Accessed: August 16th, 2020]
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4. Imperial War Museums. (2020) How Modern Weapons Changed Combat in the First World War. [Online] Available at: https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/how-modern-weapons-changed-combat-in-the-first-world-war [Accessed: August 16th, 2020]
5. Pouspourika, K. (2019) 4 Industrial Revolutions. [Online] Available at: https://ied.eu/project-updates/the-4-industrial-revolutions/ [Accessed: August 16th, 2020]
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The Great War, World War 1 began in July 1914 and lasted until November 1918. The war involved two sides “Central Powers” and the “Allies”. With an estimated 9 million combatants and seven million civilians’ deaths because of the Great War. Many factors led up to World War 1, such as nationalism, imperialism, and the assassination in Sarajevo. The Western Front was quickly lined with trenches producing a stalemate for most of the war. With the introduction of these deadly trenches, it was due to the amount of causalities taken in open warfare that the war turned to building Tunnels. Bodies were left to perish, rot, discarded like a piece of rubbish, those that survived laid there helpless in the open battlefields waiting their fate. Tunnel warfare soon brought new devastating tactics such as poison gas, hand grenades, tanks, and heavy mortar attacks. During World War 1 trench warfare had significant and lasting effects on soldiers due to the devastating and horrid conditions. This was the beginning of the trench warfare, only history now holds the answer, ‘The impact of Trench Warfare was a major factor of the outcome of WW1 ‘. This essay will talk about the conditions, how animals helped in the war and the build of trenches and weapons.

Trench warfare started during the development of rapid firing of small firearms and artillery strikes. Trench warfare was a type of fighting were soldiers on both sides stayed in trenches to avoid enemy fire. The trenches that were constructed were made in a zigzag pattern, never being in a straight line, and were approximately twelve feet deep. Trenches protected the soldiers from heavy firepower, but also cornered them. The zigzag pattern made it so it was not possible to see more than ten feet down the trench. The reason being was so that if the trench was infiltrated with enemies the enemy would not be able to gain access to the whole trench, but rather only one point. Another reason for the zigzagged trenches was to compress a bomb or bomb shell if it landed in the trench. The soldiers built their beds into the side of the trenches. They dug holes in the ground to use as bathrooms. In order to get around in the trenches they needed to walk on boards to keep from sinking in the soft soil. If a solder should lift his head above the trench, he would risk being shot by an enemy sniper. The soldier used box periscope to observe No Man’s Land. World War 1 trenches have been described as horrific, apocalyptic terms complete bloodbaths, dirt collapsing around you, it was the Armageddon of war, doomsday near as bullets fired over head. Death within the trenches was a continuous cycle that never ended, The systems developed over the course of the war. The power of defensive weapons held made winning the war much more difficult for either side.

The fighting in and around the trenches was often a terrifying experience, and the conditions were un sanitary to say the least. Battlefields were muddy , rain filled muddy trenches see Appendix A Captain C.E.W. Bean, knee-deep in mud in a trench, shattered trees. Fields filled with barb wire and corrugated iron, fires and total devastation. The trenches were not nice clean places. Diseases, trench foot, cholera and typhoid fever spread like spilt drink in the trenches. Rodent pests, frogs, rats in the millions infesting the trenches and lice was an ongoing problem breeding in the filthy clothes making the soldiers scratch, causing trench fever. The soldiers were living in trenches of mud ,smells from the stench of rotting bodies, the enormous rats eating your food and eating the rotting flesh of the injured or dead, or just running over your body whilst you slept. Soldiers, became exhausted and afraid of the rats, they tried many different ways to kill them like hitting them to death, shooting them, and even using the bayonets at the end of their guns. Which would later on spread infections within the trenches and contaminate foods. Another disease caused 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 foot many times, would have been amputated. WW1 caused psychological trauma or ‘shell shock’ which was later recognised as an effect of modern warfare. This was largely due because the soldiers were often trapped in the trenches for long periods of time, under constant bombardment, Shell Shock described as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. See Appendix C, poem written by a soldier. The crimson red stain on the snow of shows the mind and life the soldiers had each day.

The animal victims of the first world war are a stain on our conscience. Over 16 million animals served in the First World War. They were used for transport, communication and companionship. Horses, donkeys, mules and camels carried food, water, ammunition and medical supplies to men at the front, and dogs see appendix B – A German messenger dog leaps a trench and pigeons carried messages. They are the truly forgotten dead. Sixteen million animals “served” in the first world war – and the RSPCA estimates that 484,143 horses, mules, camels and bullocks were killed in British service between 1914 and 1918. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/07/animal-victims-first-world-war. Communication came in other forms of Fly Corps, Flags and wireless telephone. The down side of this technology was they were very large and heavy. The deaths of animals and the large communications system, made the push for the technology advancements in weaponry. Machine guns and tankers , were the greatest developments engineered in WW1. Tanks proved to be the answer that could crush barbed wire and cross trenches whilst firing machine guns. WW1 could have been over sooner had these advancements been developed earlier and potentially had a mass effect on the completion of WW1.

Although trench warfare brought many negative aspects into World War 1, it also had a few positive outlooks .The more modern idea, at the time, of open field fighting was soon lost due to the trenches. Men’s lives wouldn’t simply have been taken away in open field combat, where they lined up waiting to be killed. Although horrid, trenches gave the men somewhere to sleep, eat, and have cover from open fire. After World War I the tank’s design continued to get better and began to bring back the more mobile part of war once known before trench warfare. The use of tanks is still used up to this day with improved designs and tactics. Trench warfare redefined battle in the modern age, making artillery into the key weapon. Tanks proved to be the answer that could crush barbed wire and cross trenches whilst firing machine guns. The Great War paved the way to make major developments in not only transport, but artillery, technology and communication. The systems that are in place now when in combat are immediate and wars are fought with less casualties and more sanitary conditions. Life in the trenches and the trench warfare seen many a grown man bought to their knees. History has paved the way and ‘lest we forget’ those who suffered in the walls of the tunnels. Would the outcome of the war be the same if trench warfare was better, the outcomes are now as a result of the lessons learned.

Imagine 1914 being 17 never sailed the seas before sailing to France, away from your family and loved ones on a ship heading for the Western Front knowing you may never see them again. Cramped and stuffed in tiny spaces and stacked on top of one another, uncomfortable, hungry and thirsty, only seeing daylight once or twice a day. This is how it was for soldiers sent to fight in World War I (WWI). Protected by American Navy convoys of twenty-five to thirty vessels, soldiers were headed to face more than what they had bargained for such as survival, hard labour, fighting in the diseased filled, muddy, barbed wire trenches of WWI. Survival was most important for these soldiers with food rationing, rats, diseases and sickness such as Trench foot, bronchitis and rheumatism to compete with. The major problems other than the warfare itself were the rats and bodies of dead soldiers.

“It was quite crowed and uncomfortable for the soldiers who were fighting as it would have been dirty with vermin poo, rubbish and also used ammunition.” (Hudson & Adam, 2012). The conditions in the Trenches of WWI were confined ditches dug into the ground. Trenches became a main feature of warfare used to consider and plan strategic moves. “Trench warfare became necessary when two armies face a stalemate, with neither side able to advance and overtake the other.” (Patricia Daniels, 2015). The Western Front was a war front with many natural conditions that effected soldiers such as weather, vermin and death. Diseases such as Trench foot, Bronchitis and Rheumatism were all medical conditions caused by living day and night in the rotten, foul, run down trenches of the Western Front. Rain flooded the trenches which made it hard to move around in battle as the dirt became mud and the soldiers would sink and slip over in battle, this prevented soldiers from being alert and aware of their surroundings, unable to perform on the battlefield due to the environment, fatigue and sickness.

Trench foot/foot rot was an infection caused by cold, wet and unhygienic conditions. In the trenches men stood for hours on end in saturated trenches without being able to change their wet socks or boots, this would lead to the soldiers feet slowly ending up numb and turning blue. If untreated, trench foot would rot the foot and need amputation. Many soldiers who fell ill were not able to perform well on the war front, they died or sent home as an amputee. Soldiers were frequently drying and changing their socks, told to wear waterproof boots or coverd their feet with grease made form whale-oil. “It has been estimated that a battalion at the front would use ten gallons of whale-oil every day.” (Brigadier-General Frank Percy Crozier, 1930). Rheumatism was another condition soldiers developed, inflammation and pain in their joints and muscles, also known as rheumatoid arthritis. Bronchitis was caused by Gas poisoning. Gas poisoning affected the eye, throat irritation, and coughing, vomiting, headaches and could lead to bronchitis and pneumonia. Many soldiers recovered from gassing but could suffer permanent lung damage. Trench warfare caused death, disease and even lice, not only from what couldn’t be seen but what could be seen like the rats.

Rats and lice made life in the trenches torture as they would eat soldier’s food, bodies of dead and multiplied quickly. The survival of soldiers included food rationing and even eating the rats. “The rats were everywhere and got into the soldiers food and ate just about everything, including sleeping soldiers. The lice were also a major problem. They made the soldiers’ itch horribly and caused a disease called Trench Fever.” (Ducksters,2019) Rats and lice tormented soldiers day and night. The threat of death kept soldiers constantly on edge, while poor living conditions and a lack of sleep wore away at their health and stamina. Not only did soldiers have to compete with disease, weather and vermin there was the war, weapons and artillery as well.

Being armed with only a rifle, bayonet and a hand grenade soldiers had to defend their trenches. Weapons such as hand grenades, poison gas and bombs were extremely effective in the trenches; however large artillery and machine guns made it hard to move forward due to the size and moveability. The Machine Gun, which was widely used in WWI, had to be supported by a tripod and operated by four soldiers, making it not very stealth. Trenches were made up of different areas such as an Artillery line for big field guns, bunkers for protection and command centre that held a telephone line, food, weapons and artillery. Sand bags were used to protect soldiers from rifle fire and dropped in the bottom of the trenches to soak up the water. While all this is in the trenches there was No Man’s Land above, a place both armies used to patrol, repair and add barbed wire to their front lines, and also land that they were fighting to gain control of. (‘WW1 The Heart of Battle’ History, 2000-2019).

World War I also known as the First World War lasting from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918, and described as ‘the war to end all wars’ (H.G. Wells,1914). For most of World War I, war on the Western Front was a deadlock with lots of unnecessary death and no gain for either side. Trench warfare was. Survival was key for these soldiers put in this hideous and life threatening war environment with food rationing, rats, diseases and sickness such as Trench foot, bronchitis and rheumatism. Today we need to think ourselves very lucky that we aren’t made to go to war and endure those horrible conditions.