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Attrition - Coggle Diagram
Attrition
Why did both sides adopt it
Germany's Advance was stopped at the battle of the Marne
British and French troops began digging trenches to defend Paris
Germans also dug trenches to consolidate the land they won
Defeating entrenched enemies is extremely difficult, so both sides attempted to outmaneuver and outflank the other
After many attempts to attack and counter attack, by Christmas 1914, there was a long line of trenches set up
Western front became a stalemate. Neither side could achieve a breakthrough, which meant the only way to win the war was by strengthening their armies
Larger an more powerful artillery, shrapnel
At battle of Verdun, 4m shells fired in 18 days
German General Erich Von Falkenhayn planned to capture french fortress town of Verdun
Verdun was of extreme cultural importance to the French, and so the Germans predicted that they would protect it to the last man
The Germans tried to make them do exactly that - they thought the French would 'bleed themselves white' protecting the town, wasting many men and resources which could be used elsewhere on the front
Battle lasted 10 months, and both sides lost equal numbers of men, approximately 70,000 a month
At battle of the Somne, 1.5m shells fired in 7 days
French and British still aimed to make big breakthoughs
Germans adopted strategy of attrition - tried to slowly wear down their opponents numbers and supplies until the point of total collapse
Trench warfare
Heavily favored defenders
defensive protection of trench and powerful defensive weapons i.e. machine guns meant a full frontal attack was unlikely to succeed
Basic battlefield communications: all telephone wires destroyed and no radio tech yet
Very easy to counterattack after a breakthrough due to lack of communication