What were French trenches known for?
The use of machine guns and rapid-fire field artillery pieces forced soldiers on both sides, the Allies and the Central Powers, to bore intricate trench systems into the ground. These trenches served as protection against enemy fire and allowed soldiers to fire back without being fully exposed.
What were communication trenches?
Communication trenches were dug at an angle to those facing the enemy. These trenches used to transport men, equipment and food supplies. Sometimes communication trenches were partly traversed and fire-stepped in case the enemy managed to break-through the front-line.
Why was communication so important in the trenches?
Their speed, size, and senses allowed dogs to navigate the trenches and battlefields much easier than human messengers. In addition to sending messages dogs were used to find wounded soldiers, warn of incoming shells, act as guard dogs and as a source of comfort and companionship.
Did the French fight in trenches?
Trenches were common throughout the Western Front. 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 was trench warfare important?
During World War I, trench warfare was a defensive military tactic used extensively by both sides, allowing soldiers some protection from enemy fire but also hindering troops from readily advancing and thus prolonging the war. Trench warfare was the major combat tactic in France and Belgium.
Why was trench warfare used?
The opposing systems of trenches are usually close to one another. Trench warfare is resorted to when the superior firepower of the defense compels the opposing forces to “dig in” so extensively as to sacrifice their mobility in order to gain protection.
How did they send messages in ww2?
Homing pigeons have long played an important role in war. During World War I and World War II, carrier pigeons were used to transport messages back to their home coop behind the lines. When they landed, wires in the coop would sound a bell or buzzer and a soldier of the Signal Corps would know a message had arrived.
What was a sap trench?
Sapping is a term used in siege operations to describe the digging of a covered trench (a “sap”) to approach a besieged place without danger from the enemy’s fire. Once the saps were close enough, siege engines or cannon could be moved through the trenches to get closer to—and enable firing at—the fortification.
Why are the trenches so disgusting?
They were actually quite disgusting. There were all sorts of pests living in the trenches including rats, lice, and frogs. Rain caused the trenches to flood and get muddy. Mud could clog up weapons and make it hard to move in battle.
What motivated British soldiers to continue fighting in the trenches?
Trenches were carefully designed and kept as hygienic as possible. Men continued to fight because they were afraid of being punished if they did not follow orders. British soldiers were not let down by their commanding officers.
Where are the trenches of World War 1?
Among the trenches that make up this network constructed in a pocket of northern France, located about 100 miles southwest of Belgium, are some of the most shallow built during the war. In the years since, they have been taken back by nature.
Why did people get hurt in the trenches?
Constant exposure to wetness caused trench foot, a painful condition in which dead tissue spread across one or both feet, sometimes requiring amputation. Trench mouth, a type of gum infection, was also problematic and is thought to be associated with the stress of nonstop bombardment.
What was the food like in the trenches in World War 1?
For food, the soldiers in the trenches were provided with whatever was available, but it usually included a meat ration alongside bread or crackers. As the war progressed, the armies struggled to maintain food supplies, so sometimes the rations were lessened.
Are there any World War 1 memorials in France?
( Paul Arps – Flickr/Creative Commons) One of the first things visitors notice at this memorial site in northern France, about 125 miles north of Paris, is the massive limestone monument that commemorates the thousands of Canadian soldiers who went missing or were presumed dead during the First World War.