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BACKGROUND TO TRENCH WARFARE
Front line trenches in Northern Europe were initially designed to defend
territory already gained by German armies. Once German troops
commenced constructing trenches the British and French troops
responded in a similar manner.
The German armies had at first made rapid progress in the early phases of
the war, but Germany’s inability to keep pace with supplies and
ammunition to the troops at the front, their diversion from the Schlieffen
Plan and dogged resistance of French soldiers at the Marne River meant
that the German commanders thought it prudent to consolidate their
position and defend what they had already gained. The early arrival of the
first battalions of the British Expeditionary Force had also helped slow the
German advance.
From this point the opposing armies attempted to outflank the opposition
in an attempt to gain a strategic advantage. Once this tactic had failed both
sides settled down to consolidating their trench systems from Belgium to
Switzerland.
Once the stalemate on the Western Front had been reached each side
settled down to increase the effectiveness and sophistication of the trench
system. This gave a very important advantage to defenders and made
attackers very vulnerable in any frontal attack.
At the same time both sides attempted to gain success in other areas so
that it would tip the scales in their favour on the Western Front; for
example, the German commanders hoped to knock out Russia on the
Eastern Front, allowing these troops to transfer to the Western Front and
gain the ascendancy, while Winston Churchill’s ill fated Gallipoli
Campaign was planned to knock Germany’s ally Turkey out of the war
and allow supplies to be sent unhindered to Russia.
The battlefields of Northern Europe became known as the Western Front
as distinct from the Eastern Front in Russia where German troops faced
Russian forces.
It is important to note that while Australian losses at Gallipoli were
horrendous the losses sustained on the Western Front were far greater.
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