The Evolution of Trench Warfare and It's Effects

World War I evolved into trench warfare as a result of several factors. The German commanders, namely Moltke, botched the Schlieffen Plan by not providing enough force for a swift victory on the right. France managed to hold Germany off with the help of the British, and, as new weapons were put to use, the armies reached a stalemate. In order to find protection from the new machine guns and bombs of the opposing side, each army built trenches surrounded by barbed wire fences.After this point, very little ground was gained by either side. Conditions worsened. Soldiers had to live with rats and fend off the rats in order to keep the rations for themselves. Bombs and bullets were a constant hazard, sending manhy soldiers to their graves and evn more to the hospitals, permanantly maimed. Soldiers injured on the battlefield were sometimes stranded in agony for days, only to have their throats slit if found by soldiers of the opposing forces. Many soldiers were also lost to poisonous gas. This led to the necessity of carrying around gas masks, which were still not always within reach quickly enough to be effective. The soldiers lucky enough to survive unscathed still had to live with visions of the horrors they had faced and teh comerades they had lost. Civilians also suffered from trench warfare. Villages were torn apart by the bombs of both sides and raided by hungry soldiers. Even civilians removed from the sites of the trenches had to cope with their returned family members, who, if not seriously injured, where still altered mentally by the horrors of war. Finally, governments faced the problem of continuously supplying troops that were not making progress. they had to ship food, gas masks, weapons, equipment, etc. Such provisions would have been a drain on the governments budgets. There was also the problem of sending the provisions to the troops, for the trenches were difficult to reach safely. And for all their spending and planning, the governments of the armies on the western frontier had to accept the knowledge that the only course of actoin was to sit out the stalemate.

when you were talking about how the soldiers raided the villages you could have mentioned that food and raw materials were limited during this time to emphasize why the soldiers raided. the people also suffered because of the limited resources. the resources also went to the soldiers before the civlians.you had some great answers!

Thanks! I do wish I had thought of that. But I remembered reading about the soldiers raiding villages in Atonment. Now that I think of it, the limited resources were also mentioned.

I wouldn't call it "raiding" or "pillaging" The soldiers didnt' really attack the people on their side for supplies. They were given supplies by people in order to be protected by the soldiers...

True. And, now that I think of it, Atonement took place during WWII, so I could be a little off with that allusion. And I didn't really mean it as in they would forcibly take to the food, but they would ask for supplies from nearby towns and villages.

Well, then again, I believe the soldiers would rob the people of supplies sometimes...? So I guess you could call it stealing, but pillaging is more like breaking down the door and just taking what you want in front of the actual people.