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Trench: A History of Trench Warfare on the Western Front
'Going up Beek trench on a dark night was no picnic. You started along a long narrow alley winding uphill, your hands feeling the slimy sandbag walls, your feet wary for broken duck boards; now and again a hot, stuff smell, a void space in the wall, and the swish of pumped up water under foot proclaimed the entrance to a mine. ... round corners you dived under narrow tunnels two or three feet high, finally emerging into the comparative open of the front line trench.' Soldier, 1/4th Battalion, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, 1916
In this new book, First World War trench expert Stephen Bull provides a complete picture of trench warfare on the Western Front, from the construction of the trenches and their different types, to the new weaponry and tactics employed in defense and attack. In addition, the book describes the experience of life in the trenches, from length of service, dealing with death and disease, to uniforms and discharge. Alongside his compelling narrative of the campaigns fought in the trenches from 1914 to 1918, annotated trench maps highlight particular features of the trenches, while photographs, documents, and first-hand accounts combine to give a full and richly detailed account of war in the trenches.
In this new book, First World War trench expert Stephen Bull provides a complete picture of trench warfare on the Western Front, from the construction of the trenches and their different types, to the new weaponry and tactics employed in defense and attack. In addition, the book describes the experience of life in the trenches, from length of service, dealing with death and disease, to uniforms and discharge. Alongside his compelling narrative of the campaigns fought in the trenches from 1914 to 1918, annotated trench maps highlight particular features of the trenches, while photographs, documents, and first-hand accounts combine to give a full and richly detailed account of war in the trenches.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published October 19, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
November 2, 2021
Very good read on the trenches, very detailed too. Great pictures and illustrations. Anything published by Osprey is top-dollar in my opinion!
June 16, 2020
Very detailed yet extremely interesting to read
I went into this book figuring that it would be full of details and a tedious read about Trench warfare in WW1. I was surprised at how the author made the book interesting and full of first hand accounts of way the war was fought. Very graphic and intense at times. On my re read list. Great reference material too.
I went into this book figuring that it would be full of details and a tedious read about Trench warfare in WW1. I was surprised at how the author made the book interesting and full of first hand accounts of way the war was fought. Very graphic and intense at times. On my re read list. Great reference material too.
September 30, 2023
I honestly did not read this book in its entirety as it’s too jam packed with information that I don’t have time to dedicate to right now. However, I did thoroughly skim it, looked at all the pictures, read the personal accounts, and read the parts about the trenches that I’m most interested in. Great book that I may consider buying.
January 22, 2019
The common view of trench warfare on the Western Front is 2-dimensional: men stuck knee-deep in muddy ditches for months at a time, never venturing out unless wounded in an artillery or gas attack OR until the time comes to go "over the top."
Bull does a better job of it. Yes indeed, there were ditches that were knee-deep in mud but there were also pumps and "above ground" trenches. And soldiers were not kept packed in trenches, since this would foolishly expose them to enemy artillery and sink morale; soldiers were rotated from the forward trenches to rear positions. Yes, there were artillery barrages that could last for days but there were also concrete bunkers and deep tunnels. Yes, there was gas but primitive countermeasures were invented right away and effective protective masks and clothing universally distributed within a few years; in any case, gas casualties only represented a fraction of the overall casualties on the Western Front. And finally, going over the top in mass attacks became rarer as time went by and new, specialized tactics making use of portable machine guns and other close support weapons came close to breaking the tyranny of the trenches.
Well-written and lavishly illustrated, Trench makes use of period drawings, photographs and some of Osprey's artwork to give a better idea what fighting was like on the Western Front. If you are reading a history of the war read this first as it will be an eye-opener.
Bull does a better job of it. Yes indeed, there were ditches that were knee-deep in mud but there were also pumps and "above ground" trenches. And soldiers were not kept packed in trenches, since this would foolishly expose them to enemy artillery and sink morale; soldiers were rotated from the forward trenches to rear positions. Yes, there were artillery barrages that could last for days but there were also concrete bunkers and deep tunnels. Yes, there was gas but primitive countermeasures were invented right away and effective protective masks and clothing universally distributed within a few years; in any case, gas casualties only represented a fraction of the overall casualties on the Western Front. And finally, going over the top in mass attacks became rarer as time went by and new, specialized tactics making use of portable machine guns and other close support weapons came close to breaking the tyranny of the trenches.
Well-written and lavishly illustrated, Trench makes use of period drawings, photographs and some of Osprey's artwork to give a better idea what fighting was like on the Western Front. If you are reading a history of the war read this first as it will be an eye-opener.
August 3, 2021
Thoe book called "trench a history of warfare on the western front" is a book that talks about how the first world war was fought on the french-german border.
The book explains that soldiers dug 'trenches' to protect themselves from bullets and bombs.
generally,i think this book was an intreresting and fascinating book because it accurately depicts how the first world war was fought.
The book explains that soldiers dug 'trenches' to protect themselves from bullets and bombs.
generally,i think this book was an intreresting and fascinating book because it accurately depicts how the first world war was fought.
March 18, 2024
4/5
Good, covers all the major aspects of trench warfare. Organised around topics like raiding, sniping, tanks, trench design etc rather than a chronological history. Plenty of pictures, diagrams and maps. If you are specifically interested in WWI military history this is a pretty good book.
Good, covers all the major aspects of trench warfare. Organised around topics like raiding, sniping, tanks, trench design etc rather than a chronological history. Plenty of pictures, diagrams and maps. If you are specifically interested in WWI military history this is a pretty good book.
August 25, 2020
Interesting to have both sides of the history
November 23, 2021
Interesting but too technical for a casual reader like me.
May 10, 2013
This was an odd book. Not in the writing, or the editing, or the details, or the footnotes. But in the targeting. Who is this book for?
I enjoyed reading it, absolutely. It was a well-written, engrossing explanation of the realities of trench warfare, with a style that was matter-of-fact but not clinical. I especially liked that the author made an attempt to go out of his way to dismiss certain myths about trench warfare. There is a persistant view of WWI that involves men climbing out of the trenches and then running (or even walking) in a line towards another trench. While this absolutely did happen early on, tactics did change. Not necessarily for the better, of course, but the generals weren't idiots. At least not in the sense of assaulting machine guns at a walk without a bombardment after the first months of the war. A large part of this book is about the evolution of tactics, from brisk assaults with light artillery support, to heavy bombardments followed by sprinting masses of troops, to gas attacks followed by masses of troops, to "crater warfare", when small groups of men worked there way across a battlefield, using smoke, grenades, and tactically placed machine guns to cover their advance.
The other major angle of the book is with the evolution of trench systems themselves. Initially a simple ditch to hide in, they became enormous, very elaborate networks that had second and third lines of defense and deep bunkers for the men to shelter in. The author even points out that trenches themselves really weren't that bad. It wasn't trenches that killed men, it was climbing OUT of them that was the problem. Trenches kept countless thousands, and even millions, alive during the war.
I should come back to my initial point questioning the audience. This is undoubtedly a scholarly, well-researched book. But it is laid out and edited like a college textbook, or an introductory book intended for young adults. Not a knock on it, I guess (the pictures were very well-chosen) but it just had an unusual feel to it.
I enjoyed reading it, absolutely. It was a well-written, engrossing explanation of the realities of trench warfare, with a style that was matter-of-fact but not clinical. I especially liked that the author made an attempt to go out of his way to dismiss certain myths about trench warfare. There is a persistant view of WWI that involves men climbing out of the trenches and then running (or even walking) in a line towards another trench. While this absolutely did happen early on, tactics did change. Not necessarily for the better, of course, but the generals weren't idiots. At least not in the sense of assaulting machine guns at a walk without a bombardment after the first months of the war. A large part of this book is about the evolution of tactics, from brisk assaults with light artillery support, to heavy bombardments followed by sprinting masses of troops, to gas attacks followed by masses of troops, to "crater warfare", when small groups of men worked there way across a battlefield, using smoke, grenades, and tactically placed machine guns to cover their advance.
The other major angle of the book is with the evolution of trench systems themselves. Initially a simple ditch to hide in, they became enormous, very elaborate networks that had second and third lines of defense and deep bunkers for the men to shelter in. The author even points out that trenches themselves really weren't that bad. It wasn't trenches that killed men, it was climbing OUT of them that was the problem. Trenches kept countless thousands, and even millions, alive during the war.
I should come back to my initial point questioning the audience. This is undoubtedly a scholarly, well-researched book. But it is laid out and edited like a college textbook, or an introductory book intended for young adults. Not a knock on it, I guess (the pictures were very well-chosen) but it just had an unusual feel to it.
March 31, 2016
An easily navigated look at the experience of trench warfare on the Western Front during World War I. Sections are divided according to strategy or weapon type in a sort of chronological order. Each section traces its subject from first implementation to the end of the war. Like in the book Eye-Deep In Hell, the author focuses primarily on the British forces and tactics, but does detail German and to a lesser degree French forces.
This book benefits from a wide array of photos and images, even if their attributions seem a little unusual. (The author credits some clearly photographed museum displays as being from his personal collection rather than informing the reader of their location).
As pointed out earlier, there is some repetition within the different sections and the author over relies on a few words such as "interestingly." Overall a useful introduction to combat on the Western Front.
This book benefits from a wide array of photos and images, even if their attributions seem a little unusual. (The author credits some clearly photographed museum displays as being from his personal collection rather than informing the reader of their location).
As pointed out earlier, there is some repetition within the different sections and the author over relies on a few words such as "interestingly." Overall a useful introduction to combat on the Western Front.
October 24, 2014
I agree with Chris's review; the audience for this book is not clear. It seems to fall between a text book and a popular history book but it is an interesting examination of life in the trenches. This book doesn't cover macro-scale tactics and battle planning, concentrating on the life of the soldier on the front lines (and support trenches too). This is very enlightening but lacks overall context of the battles and I thought that, at times, the book also had a somewhat disjointed feel, moving from one subject to another without a lot of structure.
I would also like to have seen a little more depth on some subjects but overall an enjoyable and informative account of trench warfare and it's horrors and hardships.
I would also like to have seen a little more depth on some subjects but overall an enjoyable and informative account of trench warfare and it's horrors and hardships.
December 21, 2021
This is a well-illustrated guide to trench life on the Western Front during WW1. The book covers the development of techniques and equipment throughout the war, with maps, diagrams, witness statements, and above all photos, in support. Apart from its entertainment value, it is an excellent book for research.
April 23, 2020
Not a bad book, not bad at all. There are others covering trench warfare but this one is a good starter of you want to know more about it.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews