How World War One was fought: TRENCH WARFARE

Following outset of war and the immediate German push through Belgium
and into France, Allied forces were able to stop their advance and hold them
in place. This place was a 708 km Western Front made up of trenches on
both sides.
Why Trenches?

A trench was a line dug deep into the ground where forces would live,
communicate and wage war. They were deep enough for soldiers to
stand in and they were useful in protecting soldiers from artillery and
machine gun fire. They were a direct result of a stalemate, a situation
where neither side can move, because of the Allied efforts to stop
German advances.
British and French commanders used outdated tactics despite the new
machine guns and artillery. The trenches were a way to live on the
front lines that were the battlefields for previously waged wars.

How were they used in fighting?

Began as literal trenches in the ground but developed into a maze of

underground rooms and tunnels. Armies were stationed and lived here
so they included hospitals and headquarters and even tunnels dug
toward enemy lines so soldiers could spy and plant bombs near enemy
trenches.
Using outdated tactics soldiers were still ordered to cross the
battlefield, to go over the top of the trenches. However with new
military technology this made storming the enemy and crossing No
mans land dreadful and deadly. There was little protection and many
of the millions of casualties in World War One met their fate here.

What were they like?

In short, miserable and dangerous. Weather made life in the trenches

bleak, with soldiers either enduring bone-chilling cold or unbearable
heat amid a constant rain or mud. Trench foot was tragic result and
evidence of the wars horrors. Standing in water and mud for too long
would rot the flesh of the feet, coining the term Trench Foot.
Constant fear. An all-out attack or enemy raid could always be around
the corner. Soldiers werent between battles either. Snipers, shells, and
grenades were all threats during supposed down time.