1. Fortified Positions: Trenches were fortified with barricades, barbed wire, and machine gun nests, making it challenging for attackers to advance and capture enemy positions.
2. Machine Guns: The introduction of machine guns provided defensive forces with a significant advantage. Machine guns could inflict heavy casualties on advancing troops, creating killing zones in front of the trenches.
3. Limited Maneuvers: The trench systems were extensive, often stretching for miles, which restricted the movement of troops. Maneuvers were limited to narrow areas, making it difficult to outflank or surprise the enemy.
4. Artillery Barrages: Artillery played a crucial role in trench warfare. Defenders would use artillery to bombard enemy trenches, both as preparation for attacks and as a defensive measure to repel assaults. Artillery barrages could cause significant casualties and damage, making it challenging for attackers to cross open areas.
5. Trench Raids and Skirmishes: Trench warfare often involved frequent raids and skirmishes between opposing sides. These small-scale engagements added to the continuous danger and stress faced by soldiers.
6. Stagnation and Attrition: Trench warfare led to periods of prolonged stalemate, where neither side could make significant advances or achieve decisive victories. This resulted in extended and costly trench warfare campaigns, with constant attrition and heavy losses.
7. Disease and Poor Sanitation: The conditions in the trenches were unsanitary and prone to disease outbreaks. Soldiers faced a constant threat from diseases such as cholera, typhus, and trench fever, which could spread rapidly in the close confines of the trenches and further deplete the fighting strength of armies.
8. Psychological Toll: Trench warfare's intense and prolonged nature took a significant psychological toll on soldiers. The constant shelling, exposure to death, and living in cramped and hazardous conditions caused stress, anxiety, and mental exhaustion among troops.
In summary, trench warfare made offensive operations long and deadly due to the combination of fortified defensive positions, machine guns, limited maneuverability, artillery barrages, raids and skirmishes, prolonged stalemates leading to attrition, disease and poor sanitation, and the psychological toll on soldiers.