Battle Tactics - Trench Warfare

Trench Warfare looks at that most static form of war, the trenches of World War I. The Introduction examines the precedents and precursors to the European charnel house that saw nearly eight million dead on both sides, and the technology of mass slaughter -the machine guns and artillery pieces that would cause such casualties. The first chapter looks carefully at the trench itself - how they were built and the way this changed over four years of warfare. It looks at the siting of weapons, at mining and counter-mining, concealment and deception, so necessary after the advent of airborne reconnaissance.

There is detailed coverage of wire and defensive emplacements such as bunkers and pillboxes, and a discussion on patrolling, raiding, and observation missions into No Man's Land. Next the key specialists of trench warfare are examined - the snipers, bombers, machine gunners, and the stormtroopers who actually did the fighting: how their missions changed over the years of war and what they felt about their job.