Trench warfare

Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising military trenches, in which combatants are well-protected from the enemy's fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery. Although used in antiquity it fully developed in the 17th century. During the American Civil War (1861–1865), particularly during the sieges of Vicksburg and Petersburg, modern firepower clashed with outdated infantry tactics. Soldiers began digging in to avoid the deadly shelling. This already signaled the end of classic open-field battles. This development ultimately reached its most extreme and deadly form in World War I (1914–1918). Through the combined use of machine guns, rapid-fire artillery, and barbed wire, the front lines—particularly on the Western Front—became frozen in a kilometer-long, deeply echeloned system of trenches. The trench was now no longer merely a means of siege but, as a defensive infrastructure, determined the entire course of the industrialized war of attrition.