Trench Wars

After the industrial revolution, technology and the production of tools had increased in quality dramatically. The emergence of factories caused a major boom in the production of military weapons such as guns. Humans were becoming more scientific in their approaches to explaining life like Darwin and evolution or Freud and dream psycology in the late 19th and early 20th century. Advancements in production such as the assembly line and replaceable parts made weapons easier and faster to produce. This period of expanding thought and effiency lead to the evolution of warfare with such weapons as poison gas, the machine gun, airplanes, artillery, and later in WWI, tanks. Emergence of these new, deadly technologies made old styles of fighting such as charging an enemy head on insufficient. Tactical plans know had to be more carefully planned now because of the deadly reach and speed of these new weapons. If infantry were left in the wide open area, they would be mowed down. Artillery and bombing runs from planes made it impossible to stand up without getting hit by schrapnel or getting blown to bits. Trenches provided long term cover for soldiers and still gave them the ability to fight and defend. However, constant resupply of troops in to the trenches on both side lead to nothing but slaughter and no advancements. Trench warfare also completely ravaged landscapes to a point where they were unrecognizable. Later, after experience with these new weapons, soldiers devised more tactical ways to take care of the obstacle. Trench warfare was a product of advancements in warfare that were developed so fast, no counter-acts could be immediately made. It took time and experience to devise methods better than sitting in a hole waiting to be killed. Trench warfare was just a way to keep soldiers from getting killed so easily, and still killing the enemy. It was a "make-shift" defense, in that it was a way to stay alive until a way to stay alive and advance could be devised.

Are you saying then that trench warfare partly developed because industrialization allowed for almost constant resupplying of weapons, etc.? I hadn't thought of that.

I liked how you tied in the Industrial Revolution with the interchangeable parts and new weapons. That was a good point that they no longer had to hit each other while standing in front of each other, they could hide and attack them by suprise. Good points