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Often this meant that positions taken in any advance could be retaken by
troops behind the front lines. In particular the Germans were encouraged
to retake lost ground immediately it had been lost. However, due to
advances in heavy artillery, even soldiers behind the front lines were
vulnerable to enemy fire.
7.
Front line trenches were not constructed in a straight line
so that
they didn’t allow enemy soldiers, if they captured portion of a trench, to
advance along the trench easily seeing and eliminating soldiers. Trenches
were uneven in direction, forcing soldiers to move cautiously around
corners where the defending soldiers could hide and then attack from out
of sight areas. Again this meant that any trenches captured in one advance
could be easily recaptured;
8. Fierce and bloody fighting often took place at
close quarters
. The
bayonet was the preferred weapon on these occasions and in some
situations soldiers were ordered only to use their bayonet that could be
detached from their rifle. In some cases other weapons besides the
bayonet could be used.
Carrying a digging utensil with you was important for your long term
survival, allowing you to dig trenches for protection; amazing that this
simple tool was as important as your Lewis gun. For example, Peter
Fitzsimons, in his recent book,
Fromelles and Pozieres: In the Trenches
of Hell
indicated that “Gallipoli veterans know how to sharpen those
shovels as, in hand to hand battles, they can do more widespread damage
than a bayonet, and never more so than chopping at an enemy's neck”.
Rules of fairness were flouted as was the case at Villers Bretonneux.
Carlyon relates one response to a warning that the desperate Germans
were beginning to dress in Australian uniforms. A soldier turned up in an
Australian officer’s shirt and a private’s cap and as he started to order the
Australians to retreat, he was shot on the spot.
9.
New weapons
used to defeat soldiers in strong defensive positions
generally proved to be ineffectual. For example, gas was susceptible to
changes in wind conditions and was thwarted by the use of gas masks,
tanks were cumbersome and often bogged and broke down in bad weather
and muddy ground conditions particularly in areas like Flanders in
Belgium. The undermining of opposition trenches and the detonation of
explosives while successful at Messines, proved to be expensive and time
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