New Perspectives on Military Engagements — World War I Trench Warfare: Geotechnical Considerations

Abstract

World War I (1914–18) was fought largely on the ground in what has been characterized as trench-based warfare. Rapid advances in technology—particularly machine guns, artillery, and barbed wire—resulted in a general stagnation of troop advances. Sadly, these technologies also contributed to the signifi cant number of recorded casualties. In the early phases of the war along the Western Front, the Germans demonstrated a better understanding of soil mechanics by placing their trenches in locations suited to military engagement. They also developed their trench networks at elevations high enough above the water table to avoid lateral pressure on the trench walls, and the soil of the German trenches had a much higher permeability. Conversely, the Allies’ shallow, poorly supported, and waterlogged trenches led to a host of diseases and substantial casualties.