Trench Warfare Research Paper

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Imagine the stale smell of dead soldiers rotting in trenches, men screaming in pain, half of their leg missing, while machine gun fire continuously rains down on soldiers, left and right. This grisly scene is a glimpse of World War I. All of this happened because of trench warfare. It caused the death toll to skyrocket during battles. Trench warfare defined World War I, turning it into one of the world’s most deadly conflicts and dragging out the global level struggle.
Trench warfare is a very ineffective strategy. The main goal is to protect or or gain territory. Men would run as fast as they could from one chasm to the next, hoping that they didn’t get shot down. There was very little gained or lost at a time. The setup of the trenches were pretty straight forward. There were two dug out holes that faced each other. Life in these gorges were pitiful. They were soggy, freezing, poorly sanitized, and diseases were spread like wild fire (Trench Warfare During WWI: Definition, Facts & Conditions). For protection of hand to hand …show more content…

The fatalities was so high partly due to the technology used in the war. The machine gun became a very effective weapon in the War. It would mow down unfortunate soldiers when they became entangled in the fence. It was so efficient that it spat out up to 500 bullets every minute. The opposite of the machine gun was a howitzer. This cannon like machine was designed to fire heavy shells high in the air. It would then crash down in the enemy's trench. This was a very effortless way to kill people, because the howitzer could be fired from a safe distance (Gilbert 12). Another weapon that could be launched from long range was poison gas. This horrible bomb would be shot from a gun and fall in the opponent's trench. It would then release abominable gases that did frightening things to the men. It did everything from making their eyes water to eating

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