The Change in the Fighting on the Western Front

The Change in the Fighting on the Western Front

The fighting on the Western front did not stay exactly the same

between 1914 and 1918. Some aspects of warfare changed little, but

some changed a great deal, for example trenches became the main

defensive strategy and quick battles with Calvary charges and heavy

infantry quite literally became a thing of the past and were replaced

with stalemates and week/month/year long trench battles. Another major

change was the artillery - at the beginning of the war it was very

inaccurate and by the end it was much more precise and powerful. Tanks

also proved useful in crushing barbed wire defences although they were

very primitive at the beginning and often broke down in the mud.

People did not expect the war to develop in the way it did. In 1914

people expected that Britain would win the war and be home by

Christmas. In reality the new trench warfare and complicated tactics

meant that both alliances held out and battles resulted in stalemate

many times.

New techniques and equipment were developed after 1914 to tackle these

new challenges. There were new artillery and tanks and new tactics to

get past trenches and get around barbed wire.

At the beginning of the war the artillery was not accurate and often

meant that they hit their own trenches before they got the range

right. By the end of the war the technology had advanced much more as

most factories across Europe had been given over to making guns and

shells.

These changes meant Calvary were not used as much in fighting and more

in transporting materials and supplies.

Of course, some things changed less than others. For example, infantry

tactics like 'Going over the top' were used throughout the war. This

involved attacking the enemy's front lines with heavy artillery none

stop (called a Barrage). As soon as this Barrage stopped troops would

be given the signal to 'go over the top', this was when the soldiers

climbed over the top of the trench and raced to get over the barbed