Week 12: Monday, April 10
Verdun, 1916: A French soldier topples backward after being struck by a German bullet. At Verdun, a total of 800,000 Germans and Frenchmen were killed or wounded in a battle that lasted from February to November 1916. Although trench warfare was a dirty and dangerous business, the war of maneuver proved more deadly. Indeed, the French army suffered its heaviest casualties at the beginning and end of the war when movement predominated: August-November 1914 (400,000 casualities) and July-November 1918 (368,000 casualties). Likewise, the two worst periods for the German army came in August-November 1914 and March-June 1918. Trench warfare, then, was not as dangerous as the alternatives. Indeed, soldiers dug trenches to avoid the lethality of open warfare. The question was how could an army obtain decisive victory under these conditions where, as Marshal Petain stated, "Firepower kills"?
REMINDER: We are not reading Keegan's chapter on the Somme for today. We are reading about World War I in the textbook and Laffargue's piece on trench warfare. However, since the Keegan reading on the Somme is extensive (and it is due at our next meeting), you might want to start it sooner than later.
In class, we will study the problem of the attack in trench warfare. There's no better way to learn than to do, so we will practice by preparing and launching our own attack. You will learn valuable information about mounting an attack (and the problems with achieving success) in both the textbook and Laffargue's reading.
1) Why was achieving decisive victory so difficult during World War I, especially on the Western Front? Why was it somewhat easier to achieve results on the Eastern Front in Russia? Please be as precise as possible.
2) Since battle was so indecisive, what steps (other than seeking to break the battlefield deadlock through tactical improvements) did both sides take to defeat each other?
3) What different types of attacks or methods did the Allies employ to break the deadlock on the battlefield? What were the problems with each of these methods? (This is different from question 2).)
4) What seem to be the most important suggestions Laffargue emphasizes in the course of this pamphlet? What do the attackers have to ensure if they want any hope of breaking through?
Other Questions
1) Even if an army could achieve a breakthrough, what would be the difficulties with exploiting it?
2) What technological deveopments would enhance the chances of the attackers?
Maps from the American Translation of André Laffargue's The Attack in Trench Warfare (1916)
These maps come from the first American translation of Laffargue's work in 1916. They serve to illustrate the tactics and principles outlined in his pamphlet. Look below for explanations of each map.
German Defensive Organization: We tend to think of trench systems as long, continously occupied lines, but they really consisted of a series of linked strong points that supported one another. In this model of a German defensive position, Laffargue shows two lines. The front line (running from the mid-left of the page to the bottom right) is anchored by several "centers of resistance"—from left to right, a village, a small network of trenches, a larger village, and then a very large trench network (boyaux). The front line is linked to a second line by a series of "intermediate" or communications trenches. This second line revolves around two villages. This system is what we call a "defense in depth." Laffargue sought to figure out how an attack could break through successive lines of defense and maintain its momentum to reach the open countryside in the rear of the enemy's position. Indeed, how could this be done when the first wave of attackers invariably ran out of steam after taking the first enemy line? How could they press onward? And how could the attacking general commit reinforcements to support the assault in the appropriate areas when poor communication made it impossible for him to react to the battle in a timely manner?
The First Wave of Attack: Attacks during World War I, believe it or not, often enjoyed initial, local success. The problem was not capturing the enemy's first line of trenches—keeping the attack moving to achieve a breakthrough was the main issue. Here, we see the initial gains made by the first wave of attackers. Most of the trenches of the German front line have been captured. Parts of the villages in the front line have also been captured. The attackers have experienced some difficulty, however, around the "boyaux" on the right. Notice, though, that the attackers have made much more progress between the German strongpoints, particularly on the left. At the same time, the Germans have already responded to the attack by pushing reinforcements (indicated by the thick black lines along the trenches) forward to contain the attack and stabilize the front. The first line of attack begins to falter due to fatigue and heavy casualties.
The Second Wave of Attack: Just as the first attacking wave goes "over the top," a second wave immediately replaces them in the most advanced French trenches. That way, they will be available as soon as possible to reinforce the attack. As the first wave begins to slow down, the second wave is committed before the overall attack runs out of momentum and the Germans regain their balance. The second wave must wait before attacking, however, so its units have some idea of the situation unfolding in front of them. In areas where German resistance remains strong (e.g. the village in the center or the boyaux on the right)), the second wave will help the first wave contain the German defenders, but they will not kill themselves trying to capture these strongpoints. In sectors where German resistance is weak, they will push on as far as possible as fast as possible (e.g. on the left and in the interval between the village and the boyaux on the right).
Commitment of Reserves: With the second wave of attackers pushing forward and neutralizing the remaining German strongpoints (i.e. the village and the boyaux), the reserves are finally committed. In areas where German resistance continues, they help surround German units. In areas where there is little resistance, they push forward. Indeed, the reserves here have succeeded in pushing through the second German line and into the woods beyond. Instead of spending their energy trying to take out the villages that anchor the second German defensive zone, these reserve units are committed to moving rapidly through the open countryside to the rear of the German position. If they receive reinforcements quickly enough, they might be able to establish a significant breakthrough with important strategic results.
A Real Trench Map: Loos, 1915: This trench map describes an area near the Loos battlefield where the British army launched one of its first major offensives of the war on the Western Front. The blue lines represent British trenches, the red, German trenches. Note the sophistication of these networks. The map was divided into a grid consisting of many letters and numbers, some of which you can see above. This alpha-numeric system served to provide coordinates so that information about locations on the map could be communicated quickly (e.g. requests for artillery support). It's a little bit like the game "Battleship" ("F-7, you sank my cruiser!") except more complex.
For questions,
comments, or suggestions about this website, please contact the webmaster.
Copyrighted by Hugh Dubrulle, 2006.