Do you know the origin of the expression trench warfare? It arose from the form of combat developed by the armies involved in the First World War (1914-1918), from the second phase of the conflict, which took place from 1915 onwards. But before we talk about what trench warfare was, it is necessary to present what World War I was.
The fact that started the First War was the murder of the archduke Francis Ferdinand, on June 28, 1914, in the capital of Bosnia, Sarajevo. Francisco Ferdinando was heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and was assassinated by the militant of the Serbian secret organization Black Hand, Gavrilo Princip. Francis Ferdinando wanted to elevate Bosnia and Herzegovina to the level of importance of Austria, forming a triple monarchy, composed of Austrians, Hungarians and Slavs. Serbian nationalist groups, such as the Black Hand, did not want this alliance to take place, directing Gavrilo Princip to carry out the attack.
What a mess! It was precisely this infinity of national conflicts that gave rise to the first great conflict on a world scale. But the focus of the fighting took place even on the European continent. On August 1, 1914, the Austro-Hungarian Empire declared war on Serbia, due to the attack on the heir to its throne. Russia immediately sided with Serbia, activating a system of alliances that had been taking shape since 1870.
On the one hand, the triple alliance, composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy. On the other hand, the Triple Entente, consisting of France, England and Russia.
With Russia's support for Serbia, Germany sided with the Austro-Hungarian Empire against Russia, forcing France and England to enter the conflict. Italy declared itself neutral at the beginning of the war due to the rivalry with the Austro-Hungarians for territories on the border between the two countries. In addition, the war spread to North Africa and the Middle East, stage of dispute between countries for colonies.
Trench warfare was one of the characteristics of fighting in World War I
The first phase of the war was known as movement war because of the displacement of German troops to the west, attacking France and then east, seeking to attack Russia. But the impasses and resistance of the Entente troops led to a halt in the advances of the German army, causing what became known as trench warfare or positional warfare, with troops in trenches in small corridors dug into the ground, putting the outposts of enemy armies face to face. In addition to the fighting, this situation ended up creating closer contact between the soldiers, involved in the same situation of deaths and struggle for causes that, little by little, they realized were not the their. The result was that in many battle sites there was fraternization between soldiers from different armies, which it put commanders and officers on alert, as there were soldiers who refused to wage war against the new companions.
Other facts contributed to the end of the war. The first was the US entry in the conflict in 1917, assisting the Entente with its powerful industrial and military production. The reason for the US entry into the war was the downing of two US ships by the German navy. Another factor was the departure from Russia in 1918, after the Bolshevik Revolution, consolidated in the Brest-Litovski treaty.
The departure of Russia caused the displacement of German troops to the West, with the objective of confronting the USA and the Anglo-French alliance. At that time, the defeats of countries close to the Triple Alliance began, which was aggravated by internal problems of the Empire German, as workers and soldiers rebellions in the main cities, with the formation of workers' councils and strikes, in a process known as the German Revolution of 1918-1919, which eventually resulted in the outbreak of a social conflict that internally weakened the parents.
In November 1918, the war ended with the escape of Kaiser Wilhelm II from Germany to Holland. The new government seized power and signed the Compiegne armistice, ending World War I, which resulted in 13 million deaths. But the Treaty of Versailles, which was responsible for imposing the conditions for the end of the conflict, created more problems, which led the same countries to enter into conflict again, starting World War II.
By Tales Pinto
Graduated in History
