Photograph from the main eastern theater of war, the siege of Petersburg, June 1864-April 1865: Fortifications, earthworks and breastworks, even tunnels, have been used since antiquity. read more
Trenches are almost as old as warfare. Deep trenches are as old as firearms. American and French infantry used trenches to approach the defenses at Yorktown. Throughout the Vauban Age of fortifications, trenches were used to approach any fortification. read more
Although World War I was the first war in which disease caused fewer deaths than combat, [citation needed] sanitary conditions in the trenches were quite poor, and common infections included dysentery, typhus, and cholera. read more
In the wake of the Battle of the Marne—during which Allied troops halted the steady German push through Belgium and France that had proceeded over the first month of World War I—a conflict both sides had expected to be short and decisive turns longer and bloodier, as Allied and German forces begin digging the first trenches on the Western Front on September 15, 1914. read more