1. The Basics of Trench Warfare

2. What is Trench Warfare? Trench Warfare is a form of defensive warfare
The opposing sides have ‘dug in’ and are well protected and supplied
In addition, supply lines could usually be stretched without difficulty into controlled territory
This is a war of attrition

3. The Western Front

4. The Lines
The trench line closest to the enemy was known as the Front Line
This was not the only trench that was dug
Behind the Front Line was an intricate system of trenches, bunkers, dugouts, tunnels and command centers
The Front Line however, was the most dangerous and important area of the battlefield

5. The Offensive Spirit
As this was defensive warfare, the side using offensive tactics was usually at a serious disadvantage
Although effective offensive technology such as long range artillery existed, the accuracy, expense and dependability of such technologies was an issue
Quite often the offense came down to sheer manpower and bravery

6. Patrols
The purpose of a patrol is to find out information through eavesdropping or visually locating the position of the enemy’s artillery and any weaknesses in their defence
One of the most frequent and dangerous types of trench offensives was the patrol
Patrols involved small groups of soldiers crawling through No-Man’s-Land until they were within earshot of the enemy

7. Trench Raids A more dangerous version of the patrol was the raid
In a trench raid, the objective is to capture enemy soldiers for interrogation, steal supplies, kill soldiers or destroy equipment and trenches
Raids were usually carried out with less than 30 men

8. Trench Raids
Soldiers in a raid usually blackened their faces, carried shortened guns, carried knives and were camouflaged
The most dangerous part of a raid was the return, as the enemy would be aware that soldiers were trying to return to their trenches
The most popular time for a raid was at night

9. Trench Raids No Man’s Land was not easy to cross
After crawling over the parapet of a trench, soldiers had to fight through barbed wire, huge shellhole craters, mud, rotting bodies and other entanglements

10. An Account of a Trench Raid
"Suddenly there were footsteps and a German soldier came into view behind the next traverse. He stopped suddenly, struck dumb, no doubt, by our strange appearance. Capturing him was out of the question; we were too far away from home. But before he could pull himself together and spread the alarm, I shot him twice with my revolver - he fell dead. Tanner tore the identification tags off his uniform and I rifled his pockets, stuffing a diary and some papers into my camouflage suit. Now things happened fast. There were sounds of movement on both sides of us, so we scaled the parapet, forced our way through the barbed wire - I have the scars on my right leg to this day - and ran for the nearest shell hole. We had hardly reached it when two machine guns opened a crossfire on us. We lay on the near lip of the crater, which was so close to their lines that it gave us cover. The machine-gun bullets pitted the rear of the crater."
British Soldier Basil Rathbone

11. Tunneling
The military employed specialists to dig tunnels into No-Man’s-Land
Canadian sappers (tunnel diggers) were usually East Coast miners
The main objective was to place a mine under an enemy trench
When detonated, the mine would create confusion – a perfect time for an attack

12. Tunneling Obviously, you wouldn’t want the enemy tunneling under you
Soldiers would place sticks deep into the ground and place the other end between their teeth to feel vibrations - water barrels were also used, if the water rippled there was a good chance someone was tunneling nearby
At times, a sapper would dig into an opposing sapper and an underground fight would occur

13. Tunneling

14. Mines
Mines placed in tunnels became increasingly larger as the war went on
The famous Hawthorn Ridge Mine used at the Battle of Beaumont-Hamel contained 24 tonnes of explosives
A mine at Spanbroekmolen created a hole that afterwards measured 430 ft. from rim to rim
Now known as the Pool of Peace, it is large enough to house a 40 ft. deep lake

15. Attacks & Offensives
Patrols and trench raids were only minor attacks designed to steal information and terrorize the enemy - full scale attacks were called attacks and offensives
An attack was designed to break the enemy line
A break in the line would cause the enemy to scramble to close the gap and redirect their troops
An offensive was designed to not only break the line but hold the positions that had been taken

16. Attacks & Offensives An attack would usually involve a division
An offensive is larger and would involve an entire corps
As an offensive requires holding the enemy position, there is more stress on supply lines
Offenses took significant planning and preparation and often resulted in famous battles such as the four major Canadian battles we will be discussing

17. Organization of a British Army
Section - 10 men
Platoon - 2 or more Sections - 30 men
Company - 3 or more Platoons men
Battalion - 3 or more Companies men
Regiment - 3 or more Battalions men
Brigade - 2 or more Regiments + Battalions men
Division - 3 or more Brigades - 10,000 men
Corps - 2 or more Divisions - 50,000 men
Army - 2 or more Corps - 100,000+ men
Army Group - 2 or more Armies - 250,000+ men

18. Artillery Barrage
The use of heavy artillery greatly assisted attacks and offensives
Artillery refers to longer range, larger guns that fired heavy shells into enemy territory
Artillery guns were quite heavy and had to be manned by a team of soldiers

19. Artillery Barrage British 18 pounder Weighed 2820 pounds
Fired shells that weighed between 10 and 18 pounds
Had a range of almost 6000 meters

20. Types of Artillery Barrage
Box Barrage
Artillery fire concentrated around a large target area to stop reinforcements from coming in
Pin-Point Barrage
Artillery fire concentrated on a small but deadly area such as a sniper or machine gun post
Counter Battery Barrage
Artillery fire concentrated on opposing artillery

21. The Creeping Barrage
The creeping or rolling barrage was a later development
This barrage involved artillery being fired just ahead of advancing soldiers
The soldiers would quickly clear the area and then move ahead, just behind the next wave of artillery fire
Of course, there was danger in the artillery hitting friendly troops
In particular, the Canadians perfected this type of attack at the Battle of Vimy Ridge

22. The Creeping Barrage

23. Use of Artillery Barrages
Artillery barrages were often used to soften up the enemy before an attack or offensive
Barrages were either:
Light shells every ten minutes
Moderate - 30 shells per minute
Heavy - 50 to 60 shells per minute
Before the Battle of the Somme, a British barrage was launched for 8 days
At the Battle of Passchendaele, the British barrage lasted 10 days and fired 4, 283, 550 shells

24. The Sniper
Of all the weapons and offensive methods, the most devastating was the sniper
A sniper kept the enemy at bay by making them pay for an exposed head or limb
The first snipers were simply good hunters from back home that used their skills on the battlefield
Once it was clear that a good sniper could terrorize a section of a trench, specific training was given

25. The Sniper Snipers did not operate out of trenches
They would crawl into No-Man’s-Land, find a good hiding place and sit there, sometimes for days
Snipers did not fire often - when the muzzle flash from their gun was detected, artillery was directed to fire in that area

26. The Sniper Snipers were aided by telescopic sights on their weapons
Fake trees were often used as hiding places in No Man’s Land
The Sniper was solitary and could stay alone in No Man’s Land for days
Counter-Snipers were specifically trained to knock these killers out

27. The Sniper
Snipers were encouraged to keep a running tally of their kills
Many snipers notched the butt of their gun with a mark for every kill
Francis "Peggy" Pegahmagabow, an Ojibwa Indian from Ontario, was the highest-scoring Canadian sniper of WWI with 378 confirmed kills, the highest for the Allies in World War One.

28. Sniper Records Francis Pegahmagabow Billy Sing Henry Norwest
Name
Service Branch
Kills
Francis Pegahmagabow
Canada
378
Billy Sing
AIF (Australia)
150
Henry Norwest
115
Herbert W. McBride
Canada/U.S.A.
100+
Neville Methven
So. Africa
100
Johnson Paudash 88
Philip McDonald 70
P. Riel 30