Download WWI Trenches Reading Activity

World History
World War I
Diagramming Trench Warfare
The Trenches
The first major trench lines were completed in late November 1914. At their peak, the trenches built by both sides
extended nearly 400 miles from Nieuport, on the Belgian coast, to the Swiss border. Among the Allies, the Belgians
occupied 40 miles, the British occupied 90 miles and the French occupied the rest. Experts calculate that along the
western front, the Allies and Central Powers dug nearly 6,250 miles of trenches by the end of 1914. Use the
reading provided below to help you construct an accurate aerial and cross-sectional diagram of the trenches
used during WWI.
Requirement
•
Constructs an aerial and
Expectations
•
cross-sectional diagram
of a WWI trench
•
•
Clearly and accurately draws an aerial and crosssectional view of a WWI trench based on the
reading
Includes and labels all required parts
Drawing is neat and to scale
Points
Possible
Points
Earned
10
Part I: Organization of the Trenches—Aerial View
The Allies used four "types" of trenches. The first, the front-line trench (or firing-and-attack trench), was located
from 50 yards to 1 mile from the German's front trench. Several hundred yards behind the front-line trench was the
support trench, with men and supplies that could immediately assist those on the front line. The reserve trench
was dug several hundred yards further back and contained men and supplies that were available in emergencies
should the first trenches be overrun. Long-range artillery was placed about 6-7 miles behind the front lines to fire
upon advancing troops. Trenches were dug in zig-zag formation so the men inside defending the trending were not
sitting targets for rifle fire or bayonet attack if the enemy managed to come into the trench.
Connecting these trenches were communication trenches, which allowed movement of messages, supplies, and
men among the trenches. Some underground networks connected gun emplacements and bunkers with the
communication trenches.
No man's land was the territory between the opposing front-line trenches. By mid-November 1914, this territory
was marked with huge craters caused by the shelling; nearly all vegetation was destroyed. Whenever possible, both
sides filled this land with barbed wire to slow down any rapid advances by the enemy. The machine gun and the
new long-range rifles made movement in this area almost impossible.
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Reconstructing the Trenches: Aerial View—Based on what you have read, draw an aerial view of typical
western front trench battlefield. Include and label the following structures:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
An enemy front line Trench (across from your trench)
Front-line trench
Support trench
Reserve trench
Long range artillery guns
Communication trenches
No man's land
Barbed wire
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World History
World War I
Diagramming Trench Warfare
Part II: In the Trenches—Cross -Sectional View
Soldiers were first ordered to dig trenches so they could have some temporary shelter from enemy gunfire. A
trench was a long gash in the earth, a ditch hewed out by hand to a depth of about six and one half feet and wide
enough for two men to walk past each other
The front of the trench was known as the parapet. The rear-side of the trench was the parados. Sandbags protected
both sides. The bags would be piled two or three feet high to extend the height of the trench wall to absorb any
bullets or shell fragments. Sandbags were filled with earth. A filling party usually consisted of one soldier shoveling
the earth and two holding and tying the bags. The men stacking the filled bags worked in pairs and were expected to
move sixty bags an hour. Research by the British Army suggested that a typical bullet used in the First World War
would only penetrate fifteen inches into a sandbag. Soldiers were instructed to build the parados higher than the
parapet so that the defenders were not outlined against the sky and therefore easy targets for the German snipers.
The parados also protected soldiers in front-line trenches against those firing from the rear. So that soldiers in frontline trenches could fire through the parapet, a fire-step was formed at the forward side of the trench. The fire-step
was 2 or 3 ft high. It was on this that the soldiers stood to see over the top and view the enemy. Sometimes the
whole unit would stand-to when they anticipated an enemy attack.
Dugouts were protective holes, especially in times of artillery bombardments, dug out of the sides of trench walls.
The size of dugouts varied a great deal. A manual published by the British Army recommended that (frontline)
dugouts should be built between 2 ft. and 4 ft. 6 in. wide, roofed with ridged iron or brushwood and then covered
with a minimum of 9 inches of earth. As the war went on dugouts grew in size. By 1917 dugouts at Messines could
hold two battalions of soldiers at a time. Large dugouts were also built into the side of communication trenches so
that they were not directly in line of fire from enemy guns. These often served as the battalion headquarters and
provided sleeping accommodation for the officers.
Although a simple idea, the trench was an excellent device for removing men from the line of fire. As long as they
kept their heads down, troops in the trench were safe from rifle or machine gun bullets; only a direct hit by an
artillery shell could cause much damage. Trenches had some major drawbacks. If the enemy managed to reach the
parapet, the men inside were sitting targets. Trenches were also vulnerable to attacks from the flank (side)—it was
to avoid this that the Western front stretched from the North Sea to Switzerland.
•
Reconstructing the Trenches: Cross-Sectional View—Based on what you have read, draw a cross-sectional
view of typical western front trench. Include and label the following structures:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
A Front line Trench
Parapet
Parados
Sandbags
Firing Step
Barbed wire
A Dugout
A Soldier in the Trench standing-to
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