The tactical ancestor of modern trench warfare was the system of progressively extended trenches

developed by the French military engineer Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban for the attack of fortresses in
the 17th century. Trenches remained merely a part of siegecraft until the increasing firepower of small
arms and cannon compelled both sides to make use of trenches in the American Civil War (1861–65).
The trench lines of the Petersburg–Richmond theatre of operations in the final months of that war were
the foremost example of trench warfare in the 19th century.

Trench warfare in World War I

British troops in World War I

British troops in World War I

trench warfare

trench warfare

Trench warfare reached its highest development on the Western Front during World War I (1914–18),
when armies of millions of men faced each other in a line of trenches extending from the Belgian coast
through northeastern France to Switzerland. These trenches arose within the first few months of the
war’s outbreak, after the great offensives launched by Germany and France had shattered against the
deadly, withering fire of the machine gun and the rapid-firing artillery piece. The sheer quantity of
bullets and shells flying through the air in the battle conditions of that war compelled soldiers to burrow
into the soil to obtain shelter and survive.

trench warfare

trench warfare

The typical trench system in World War I consisted of a series of two, three, four, or more trench lines
running parallel to each other and being at least 1 mile (1.6 km) in depth. Each trench was dug in a type
of zigzag so that no enemy, standing at one end, could fire for more than a few yards down its length.
Each of the main lines of trenches was connected to each other and to the rear by a series of
communications trenches that were dug roughly perpendicular to them. Food, ammunition, fresh
troops, mail, and orders were delivered through these trenches. The intricate network of trenches
contained command posts, forward supply dumps, first-aid stations, kitchens, and latrines. Most
importantly, it had machine-gun emplacements to defend against an assault, and it had dugouts deep
enough to shelter large numbers of defending troops during an enemy bombardment.

World War I

World War I
World War I

World War I

The first, or front, line of trenches was known as the outpost line and was thinly held by scattered
machine gunners distributed behind dense entanglements of barbed wire. The main line of resistance
was a parallel series of two, three, or four lines of trenches containing the bulk of the defending troops.
The defenders’ artillery was posted to the rear of the main line of trenches. Each main line of trenches
was fronted by fields of barbed wire intended to slow down and entangle attacking infantry. As World
War I progressed, both sides, but particularly the Germans, developed trench systems of progressively
greater depth and strength in order to ensure that the enemy could not achieve a breakthrough at any
particular point. The Germans evolved an extremely elaborate defense system using pillboxes, i.e.,
concrete shelters for machine guns. Behind the pillboxes were more lines of barbed wire and more
trenches and dugouts reinforced with concrete to withstand artillery bombardment. Behind these
defenses were still more lines of trenches that were effectively out of range of the enemy’s artillery fire.
By 1918 the Germans had constructed some trench systems that had a depth of 14 miles (22 km).

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trench warfare

trench warfare

Mark I tank

Mark I tank

Throughout most of World War I, the opposing armies on the Western Front tried to break through the
enemy’s trench system by mounting infantry assaults preceded by intense artillery bombardments of
the defending trenches. These attacks usually failed, partly because the preliminary bombardment
alerted the defenders to the imminence of an attack, thus allowing them time to bring up reserves for a
counterattack, and because the bombardments themselves turned the “no-man’s-land” between the
opposing sides into rough, shell-pocked terrain that slowed down the attacking infantry. The crucial
elements in attacking a trench system, surprise and overwhelming numbers of infantry, were thus
almost impossible to attain. The Allies’ increased use of the tank in 1918 marked the beginning of the
end of trench warfare, however, since the tank was invulnerable to the machine gun and rifle fire that
were the trenches’ ultimate defense.

Trench warfare in the modern era

World War II: Okinawa

World War II: Okinawa

Relatively little use was made of trenches in the mobile warfare of World War II in Europe. By contrast,
the Japanese in the Pacific theatre, faced with overwhelming American artillery and airpower, heavily
fortified many of their islands with chains of deeply dug caves and bunkers. Similar tactics were used by
the North Korean and Chinese forces in the Korean War when confronted with American airpower. In
the Battle of Dien Bien Phu (March 13–May 8, 1954), which resulted in the French expulsion from
Indochina, the communist-led Viet Minh used classic 18th-century siege methods and drove forward an
elaborate system of trenches to negate the effects of French artillery and airpower, preparatory to the
battle.

Persian Gulf War

Persian Gulf War

Classic trench warfare reappeared in the Iran-Iraq War (1980–88), a basically static war in which such
mobile weapons as tanks and aircraft were in short supply. In the subsequent Persian Gulf War (1990–
91), Iraq built an elaborate system of defensive trenches, ditches, and berms, but it was overwhelmed
by airpower, innovative tactics, and the demoralization of its frontline troops. Trench warfare was
utilized by opposition forces in the Syrian Civil War (2011– ) until Russian airpower, deployed in support
of Syrian Pres. Bashar al-Assad, rendered the tactic ineffective. In the conflict in the Donets Basin (2014–
), the relatively static contact line between Ukrainian government troops and Russian-backed forces led
to the establishment of a system of trenches that covered much of the 250-mile (400-km) front.
Airpower played a negligible role in that war, as Russian air defenses—such as the missile system that
downed Malaysia Airlines flight 17—effectively checked the Ukrainian air force. The Russian air force
was not deployed, so as to maintain Moscow’s claim that it was not directly involved in the conflict