Goal? break the trench line (1915-1918) – Archives of History | Your disclosure page

Conflict Overview

We already talked about the tactics and equipment of soldiers during 1914 and mobile warfare, but what came next? simply three years until November 1918 of Trench Warfare in which millions of lives were lost between the mud and the barbed wire. This phase of the war dominated the entire conflict and it is not surprising that military strategists and weapons manufacturers tried to devise a way to break the stalemate so that their men could advance into enemy territory easily. The stage of the trenches begins in the fall of 1914 but is standardized during 1915, in which the armies do not move even a kilometer forward. To advance a whopping 10 km or less requires a large-scale offensive that results in bloodshed, like those that occurred at Verdun and then on the Somme during 1916.

Demons! so, what can we do now?

Before the general staffs organized the battles of Verdun and later that of the Somme in 1916, the armies were still somewhat mobile and although trench lines already existed, it was still possible to reach the enemy trench and dislodge the enemy from their positions, even if it was to a high cost. As the situation hardened, new battle strategies were forged to reach the enemy lines. The first option and the one that seemed most feasible was the massive use of artillery, something that continued to be used throughout the conflict. If the enemy does not want to go out to battle, we launch a million projectiles at him and bury him under his position. The idea seemed good, but as it turned out, the enemy always resisted these attacks in their shelters, although there were always casualties.

We can anticipate that until the invention of the tank by the British in 1916 and its subsequent improvement by the French in 1917-18 there will be no effective tactics to break through enemy trench lines. Until then there will be all kinds of new ideas that we see.

The contemporary gentleman appears

General staffs think and think and come up with another solution, what if we armored our soldiers? good idea! If we give some soldiers a strong enough armor they will open gaps between the enemy wires and the great mass of infantry will be able to advance. In 1916 the first soldiers equipped with breastplates that are more typical of medieval times than of the 20th century appear on the front lines. Above all, the assault corps of different countries such as Germany, the United Kingdom and France are equipped, it is worth mentioning Italy that took this to the extreme.

The truth is that these breastplates are effective against metal splinters and debris from an explosion, but they are far from effective for walking against enemy machine guns, and their extreme weight (11-12 kg) means that they must be removed after a time to loosen up the body. English, German and French realize this and the idea after a while is discarded due to its ineffectiveness. Italy, on the other hand, continues to promote and experiment. The Italian stormtrooper is also added a special helmet called Farina. In addition to the breastplate and helmet, he is given a metal shield and a spear so that he can kill an enemy from a distance.

catapults, maces, knives and shovels

We have already talked about the massive bombardments that were made on all fronts when the Trench War began to appear. But clearly such an amount of firepower could be heard from miles away, so the soldiers could prepare for the barrage of shells before they landed and kept their heads in sight. In this situation, the first medieval-style catapults appeared that allowed small projectiles and grenades to be launched silently at enemy trenches that were not further than 150 meters away. The French even devised crossbows that launched grenades a considerable distance. These catapults and crossbows were of medium size and there were many kinds, but they were not officially adopted by the armies. By the end of the war these weapons had also been scrapped and instead time had been spent making more guns of more types and new, more effective weapons.

Maces were a truly effective item in trench warfare, and they began to be made in the trenches in the so-called “trench art”. When the soldiers were not charging or marching and were sitting in the trenches smoking, they would make objects or write letters to their relatives. One of these objects were the maces that were made of many types, some even with nails as in the Middle Ages. As the war progressed, arms manufacturers and the government supplied their soldiers with industrially produced maces. A hit from this weapon in the right place could put a soldier out of action or cause quite serious fractures and injuries.

Knives were possibly the most abundant white weapon during the Great War. Early in the war, as we saw, the old bayonet charges were still used, but when trench warfare became standardised, long bayonets were difficult to use in a trench two meters wide, if not less. Although these weapons continued to be used since they were regulation, many soldiers broke the blades and made shorter knives. These artisan knives can be included in the Trench Art as well. As with the maces, the knives eventually found their way into the domestic arms industry and began to be delivered. Between 1917-1918 the famous trench knives were devised, these mixed a brass knuckle, a four-edged knife and a point to hit the head. After the war this type of weapon was banned for the simple reason that a wound caused by this type of weapon cannot be treated, since it cannot be sewn.

Although we have left it in the last place, it does not mean that it is not deadly, indeed during the Great War, the use of the shovel as an offensive weapon is common. The shovels that the soldiers ended up carrying in their equipment are small, which only allowed them to dig small holes and parapets in the ground for some reason, they have nothing to do with the shovels used, for example, by construction workers today. These small manageable blades were often sharpened to make them a blunt weapon that could kill a soldier with a single blow if he turned from the chest up.

We have finally broken through!

In September 1916, during the Battle of the Somme, the first tanks in history appeared, they were the British Mark I. These machines will be quite a discovery although like everything at the beginning they will have many defects. British tanks could withstand small-caliber bullets and artillery fire was needed to render them useless. At first they were used timidly, but at the Battle of Cambrai in 1917 they were already used massively on the battlefield. The Mark I was a fairly large battle tank that distributed weapons throughout its structure. His crew was 8 soldiers and he had a speed of 5 km/h, which made him quite slow. Although the following models were improving faults, (the Mark VIII model was reached) it was a class of tank destined to disappear after the war, although they came to be used in the Russian Civil War (1917-1923).

France was the other nation that also manufactured and designed tanks on a large scale, and it certainly hit the nail on the head with the famous Renault Ft17 that began to be seen on the front lines during 1918. This small light tank needed only two people to operate, it was faster than its friend the Mark I (10 km/h) and had a very special feature, the rotating turret. This is undoubtedly the most important part of this light tank, the turret allowed the tank’s gun to rotate, thus saving the need to fill the entire structure with weapons to have all the angles secured. The Renault Ft17 could be male and female, the males carrying a 40 mm cannon and the females an 8 mm caliber Hotchkiss M1914 machine gun. Undoubtedly this was the tank that laid the foundations for later models made in the interwar period and the 2nd World War. Its success was enormous and it is not surprising that it was exported all over the world. As a curiosity, Spain used some units in the African War (1925-1927) and later in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939).

Have we really broken through?

The truth is that yes, the front gradually gave way in favor of the Entente. It must be said that this did not happen only thanks to the tanks, far from it, but they helped it. What was really breaking the front was the British blockade of Germany, hundreds of kilometers from the muddy trenches of the Western Front. As we were saying, thanks to tanks and new artillery techniques such as shooting over advancing men, the allies began to gain ground. The Germans remained on the defensive from 1917 onwards, until in April 1918 they launched their last offensive of the war which managed to recapture much lost ground for a short time, since then everything was lost again.

The Germans will only build 20 tanks throughout the war, in the style of the Mark I. Instead they will build anti-tank rifles and cannons to combat enemy tanks. The 1918 Mauser T anti-tank rifle fired a 13.2mm shell that pierced armor and killed the occupants or put the vehicle out of action if it hit the engine. It was a fairly large weapon, and its continued use and due to recoil could dislocate the operator’s shoulder. At the end of the 1st World War we can say that the fight began between the armored car and the weapons to stop it, something that continues to this day.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ESLAVAN GALÁN, Juan: The First World War recounted for skeptics, ed. Planet, Madrid, 2014.

TARDI, Jacques: Whore War (1914-1919)Publishing Standard, Barcelona, ​​2010.

RG, Grant: world war i the definitive visual guide. Ed. Akal, Madrid, 2013.

FERNANDEZ-MAYORALAS, Antonio: Trench Warfare, Western Front (1914-1918)Andrea Press, Madrid.

L. PIROCCHI, Angelo: Italian stormtroopers of World War IOsprey Publishing, London.

ZALAGOA, Steven & SARSON, Peter: Renault FT Light TruckOsprey Publishing, London.