What was the front-line trench used for in ww1?
Trenches were common throughout the Western Front. Long, narrow trenches dug into the ground at the front, usually by the infantry soldiers who would occupy them for weeks at a time, were designed to protect World War I troops from machine-gun fire and artillery attack from the air.
What were the front lines in ww1?
Soldiers in the First World War did not spend the whole of the time in the trenches. The British Army worked on a 16 day timetable. Each soldier usually spent eight days in the front line and four days in the reserve trench. Another four days were spent in a rest camp that was built a few miles away from the fighting.
What were the 4 types of trenches in ww1?
Front-line Trench. This type of trench was also known as the firing-and-attack trench.
What killed thousands of soldiers in trenches?
Heavy Artillery by Colin Gill With the development of trench warfare, increasingly large artillery was developed to fire high explosive shells and smash enemy trenches, like this battery of 9.2 inch howitzers. The majority of casualties on the Western Front were caused by artillery shells, explosions and shrapnel.
What was no man’s land in ww1?
the narrow, muddy, treeless stretch of land, characterized by numerous shell holes, that separated German and Allied trenches during the First World War. Being in No Man’s Land was considered very dangerous since it offered little or no protection for soldiers.
Are there any WWI trenches left?
A few of these places are private or public sites with original or reconstructed trenches preserved as a museum or memorial. Nevertheless, there are still remains of trenches to be found in remote parts of the battlefields such as the woods of the Argonne, Verdun and the mountains of the Vosges.
Why were trenches used for WW1?
During WWI, trenches were used to try to protect soldiers from poison gas , giving them more time to put on gas masks. Dysentery, cholera, typhoid fever Typhoid A serious disease spread through contaminated food and water causing high fever, abdominal pain and diarrhea. , and trench foot were all common diseases in the trenches, especially during WWI.
What were the trenches in World War 1?
Trenches were built during World War I to protect stalemated troops on both sides from artillery and rifle fire. Although the war began with rapid movement of the German army, when the Allied forces stopped the Germans, both sides dug trenches to help avoid losing territory they had gained.
Which countries used trench warfare in WW1?
Trench warfare in World War I was employed primarily on the Western Front , an area of northern France and Belgium that saw combat between German troops and Allied forces from France, Great Britain and, later, the United States.
Why were the trenches in WW1 surrounded by barbed wire?
Barbed wire served as a defensive barrier to slow advancing enemy troops as they attempted to cross no man’s land and storm the opposing army’s trenches. Periscopes like this one were used to observe activity across no man’s land without having to be exposed directly to enemy fire during WWI.