World War I Essay -- Trench Warfare

World War I was a stalemate right from the outbreak of the war as a result of trench warfare. With the introduction of this system, a piece of land stretching from the Belgian coast, through France, and ending in Switzerland, became the venue for majority of the conflict. For almost three years, this line shifted by no more than a few hundred yards. All of this changed when the United States joined the war and prompted Germany to make an all-out drive on the Allies so as to end the war before the American Army reached full strength on the battlefield. The American Expeditionary Force allowed the Allies to take the offensive, thereby ending the static state of war that had settled on the Western Front as a result of trench warfare. The system of trench warfare had men facing each other across opposing lines dug into the ground. The purpose of digging trenches was purely a matter of survival. In a war where technology was the worst enemy, trenches were a must. Following the Battle of Somme in 1916 where casualties exceeded one million, the High Command on both sides of the war learned of the desperate need for trenches. The first trenches, as Albert Marrin describes in The Yanks are Coming, were â€Å"not mere slits in the ground.† Each trench system was composed of line upon line of trenches. Most trench systems were composed of three trenches. In case of an attack, there was usually another trench to provide defense if the forward trench was taken by the enemy. Smaller communication trenches linked each of the major trench lines (Marrin 80). The most memorable feature of any trench line was actually the land in between. This land was known as no-man’s land. No man's land varied extremely in length. There were extremes at both ends... ... of losing at which point the Americans entered the fray. The final act that broke this deadlock was the defeat of the Germans at Belleau Wood by the Americans. In doing this, they brought a sense of newfound desire and energy on the Allied part. For the Germans, the Americans represented a force to be reckoned with. The American Army brought the â€Å"fight† back to the soldiers in the trenches. Captain Lloyd Williams of the Marines was a prime example of this spirit. When asked by the French if he wanted to retreat, he replied: â€Å"Retreat? Hell we just got here.† (qtd. Antill, Dougdale-Pointon, and Rickard). As a German soldier noted, â€Å"The American . . . had nerve; we must give him credit for that; but he also displayed a savage ruthlessness. 'The Americans kill everybody' was a cry of terror. . . which for a long time stuck in the bones of our men. " (qtd. Bonk 91)