Construction of a Trench
Trenches were constructed in 3 different ways:
Entrenching- This was a method that involved a group of men standing above where the trench was to be, and digging downwards. This was the most efficient and the fastest as it allowed each man to complete a portion of the trench. However, it exposed the diggers to enemy shells and sniper fire, so it could only be used in uncontested areas or at night.
Sapping- This involved digging from the left or right face of the trench. This protected the diggers from enemy fire, but it was slower as only 2 or 3 people could work on digging a face out at a time.
Tunneling- This was like sapping except that a roof of soil was left on the trench until it was ready to be occupied. This had the advantage of adding an element of surprise to defensive or offensive fortifications.
According to British field guidelines at the time, a stretch of 250 m of trench should take a group of 450 men 6 hours at night to complete. After the trench was constructed, it required constant maintenance to repair damage from enemy fire and the elements.
Trenches were constructed in 3 different ways:
Entrenching- This was a method that involved a group of men standing above where the trench was to be, and digging downwards. This was the most efficient and the fastest as it allowed each man to complete a portion of the trench. However, it exposed the diggers to enemy shells and sniper fire, so it could only be used in uncontested areas or at night.
Sapping- This involved digging from the left or right face of the trench. This protected the diggers from enemy fire, but it was slower as only 2 or 3 people could work on digging a face out at a time.
Tunneling- This was like sapping except that a roof of soil was left on the trench until it was ready to be occupied. This had the advantage of adding an element of surprise to defensive or offensive fortifications.
According to British field guidelines at the time, a stretch of 250 m of trench should take a group of 450 men 6 hours at night to complete. After the trench was constructed, it required constant maintenance to repair damage from enemy fire and the elements.
The dimensions of a trench were generally around 12 ft deep for fighting trenches. The trench was zig zagged or curved so that generally a soldier could not see more than 9 yards to either side, which was beneficial for reducing the effectiveness of shell blasts in clearing trenches, and making sure that if part of a trench was overrun, the trench would not be enfiladed. The top part of the trench was called the parapet, and was a banked structure. It had a fire step leading up to it, and in order to allow soldiers to see over the parapet, loopholes had to be constructed in the parapet. Loopholes could be a gap in the sandbag, or a reinforced position with a fitted steel plate. The bottom of the trench was usually covered with wooden boards. The back of the trench was known as the parados, and was important because it protected soldiers in the trench from shells that landed behind them.
Trench Fortifications
Typically, there were several fortifications that would be seen on every trench. There would be barbed wire set up in front of the trench in order to trip and cut rushing attackers, and there would be sandbags at the parapet in order to provide protection for the men in the inside the trench from enemy bullets.
Mounted machine guns such as the MG08 pictured at the right were rarer but had incredible anti-personnel capabilities, so that they became targets for trench raids to destroy in order to prepare for a attack.
Mounted machine guns such as the MG08 pictured at the right were rarer but had incredible anti-personnel capabilities, so that they became targets for trench raids to destroy in order to prepare for a attack.