To Define Trenchant
The many tragedies and deaths of World War 1 (The Great War) far exceeded the expectations of many. Great Britain and her Empire lost over 1,000,000 soldiers; France, 1,300,000; Russia, 1,700,000; Germany and its allies, 3,500,000. The death rate per day exceeded 5,500. People hadn’t anticipated on such tremendous loss of life. They hadn’t yet realized the destructive impact of their new weapons reengineered and greatly developed since the last European war almost 50 years prior. By 1915 the bolt action .303 Le Enfield Rifle had a range or nearly a mile, could fire 25 rounds per minute, and was classified as the fastest bolt action rifle in the world. To add to the devastation was the Vickers Machine Gun which could fire 600 rounds per minute, the howitzer which fired shells around 8 miles, grenades, flame-throwers and with the gradual flow of the war, gas. These new inventions of The Great War symbolized the end of wars that could be fought on an open field with rifles and bayonets. It opened the door to a more strategic way of fighting, a stronger way of fighting, a smarter way of fighting, and most importantly a safer way of fighting; said plainly “Trench Warfare”. Trenches, holes dug deep into the ground, may not appear to be much but were a very important system and tactic of the war. Each trench was about 6 to 10 feet deep and consisted of a fire step 2 to 3 feet up which soldiers would shoot from, and dugouts dug into the side of the trench where they would sleep. The trench system included five main components: the front line trench, reserve line trench, support line trench, communications trench, and no-mans land. The front line trench took the main blow of enemy attacks. These trenches were usually about 7 to 8 feet deep. The allies were forced to dig closer to sea level because their location and altitude which caused many of the trenches to become waterlogged. The front line was also designed with a type of zigzag pattern to keep the enemy from shooting straight down the line. Sandbags were lined around the top edges of the trenches to absorb bullets and barbed wire was used to protect the trenches from enemy attacks. Next were the reserve trenches, constructed similarly, used when the front line looked to be overwhelmed. The support line was mostly used to give troops some much needed R&R but was sure to be called upon during a state of crisis.