USA HISTORY

AMERICAN IMPERIALISM(1890 1919)

THE UNITED STATES IN WORLD WAR I

[SOURCES]
What was the goal of trench warfare?

(A) ** To protect soldiers from enemy gunfire on the front lines

(B) to trap enemy soldiers in mud pits

(C) to establish “no man’s land” and fight only in that area

(D) none of the above

EXPLANATIONS BELOW

Concept note-1: -Long, narrow trenches dug into the ground at the front, usually by the infantry soldiers who would occupy them for weeks at a time, were designed to protect World War I troops from machine-gun fire and artillery attack from the air.

Concept note-2: -Trench warfare is resorted to when the superior firepower of the defense compels the opposing forces to “dig in” so extensively as to sacrifice their mobility in order to gain protection.

Concept note-3: -Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied fighting lines largely comprising military trenches, in which troops are well-protected from the enemy’s small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery.

Concept note-4: -The embanked rear lip of the trench was called the parados, which protected the soldier’s back from shells falling behind the trench. The sides of the trench were often revetted with sandbags, wire mesh, wooden frames and sometimes roofs. The floor of the trench was usually covered by wooden duckboards.