Trench Warfare – Page 2 – Old Magazine Articles

War in the Trenches
(Hearst’s Sunday American, 1917)

An article by the admired British war correspondent, Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett (1881-1931), concerning the unique aspects of the Great War which combined to make that the sort of war that had never been seen before:

Everything has changed; uniforms, weapons, methods, tactics. Cavalry had been rendered obsolete by trenches, machine guns and modern artillery; untrained soldiers proved useless, special battalions were needed on both sides to fight this particular kind of war that, in no way, resembled the battles your father or grand-fathers had once fought.
A good read.

America’s First Trench Raid
(The Stars and Stripes, 1918)

An account of the first all-American trench raid of the First World War. The correspondent noted that the raid, which took place in the Loraine Sector, spanned forty-seven minutes from start to finish.

The participating unit was not named.

Trench Warfare and the Wounds That Were Inflicted
(Harper’s Weekly, 1915)

An informative article from World War I concerning the doctors of all the combatant nations and how they dealt with the filthy conditions of stagnant warfare and all the different sorts of wounds that were created as a result of this very different war.

British Military Campaign Furniture
(Mappin and Webb, 1915)

The furniture made available for private purchase to British officers during World War One was a far cry from that which their Victorian father’s enjoyed; however, the thought of going off to war without camp furniture at all was foreign to them. The page illustrates the simple, collapsible furniture that was approved by the British War Office for use in the field.

A British Drawing of a German Trench Latrine
(Royal Engineers, 1915)

Attached, you will find a mechanical drawing made by the industrious souls assigned to the Royal Engineers in order to placate those busy-body brass-hats situated so far in the rear and having little better to do than wonder aloud as to how the Hun tended to deal with his bowel movements.

The author of
The Western Front Companion is very informative on the topic of trench latrines and tells us that as the war progressed, latrines evolved into loitering centers for those wishing to read or enjoy some solitude. In order to remedy the situation officers decided to position their front-line trench latrines at the end of short saps, closer to the enemy; the reason being that a man was less likely to tarry and would return to duty that much quicker.

A Color Photograph of One of the Very First Trenches
(1914)

This will give the viewer a good understanding of what the trenches looked like in the autumn of 1914, before the adjoining communication lines were dug and the years of rain and artillery would begin to create that landscape so famously depicted by the photographers, painters and writers of the First World War. In the distance beyond the haystack, the opposing German trenches can be seen.

Visions of the Trenches by Otto Dix
(Artist’s Portfolio, 1919)

Attached are assorted W.W. I combat images by noted German Expressionist Otto Dix (1891 – 1969). Shortly after returning from the war, Dix threw away his uniform, locked himself in his print studio and began to diligently labor over a vast number of etching plates – all baring the dreadful images of trench warfare that had been burned into his memory during the course of living his beastly, troglodyte existence in the trenches of France.

The U.S. Army Trench Knives
(America’s Munitions, 1919)

The American Army contracted two varieties of fighting knives throughout the First World War:

• the 1917 model trench knife with the nine inch triangular blade, and

• the 1918 Mark I trench knife with the 6.75 double-edged flat blade

The 1917 knife was the one that was carried during the war. The conflict had ended by the time it was decided to begin production on the second knife, which saw some use during W.W. II.

This article is illustrated with pictures of both and goes into some detail at to the manufacturers and the various matters that the Quartermaster Corps considered in weighing their decision as to what should be involved in designing such fighting knives.

A British Shrapnel Grenade
(Trench Warfare, 1917)

During the earliest days of the war the British and Empire armies were seldom issued grenades, but the need for such weaponry became apparent once it was clear to all that trench warfare was going to be the norm. The earliest grenades (improvised by both sides) were simply food tins that were jam-packed with an explosive mixed with nails, glass shards and bits of iron. By 1915 grenade production was in full swing and British historians have estimated that throughout the course of the war on the Western Front, British and Commonwealth forces had used fifteen million hand-grenades.

The following article concern a British shrapnel grenade that is of the heavy friction pattern.

The British Ball Grenade
(Trench Warfare, 1917)

The attached mechanical drawing depicts one of the most common ignition grenades that were put to use by British and Commonwealth forces during World War One. The Ball grenade was essentially a cast-iron sphere that measured three inches in diameter and it was one of any number of British grenades that used the Brock lighter.

German Defense Accessories
(L’Illustration, 1915)

A collection of black and white drawings that illustrate the variety of items used along the Western Front to defend the German trench lines.

This article appears on this site by way of a special agreement with L’Illustration.

Entry to a German Dugout
(L’Illustration, 1915)

A French photograph showing the entry way to one of the many subterranean shelters that dotted the Western front during the First World War; also included is another diagram of what one of the smaller German dugouts resembled that had such an entry.

This article appears on this site by way of a special agreement with L’Illustration.

The Mills Bomb
(Trench Warfare, 1917)

A black and white mechanical drawing illustrating the most famous of British hand grenades that was ever used by British and Commonwealth forces during the course of World War One.

Night Patrol in the Trenches

Mr. Junius B. Wood, correspondent of the CHICAGO DAILY NEWS with the A.E.F. recently spent a week in the sector held by the American Army Northwest of Toul. He lived the life of a Doughboy, slept a little and saw a lot. He spent his days in and near the front line and some of his nights in No Man’s Land. Here is the second and concluding installment of his story, depicting life at the front as it actually is…