Posted on 03/08/2015 7:02:11 PM PDT by DogByte6RER
The US Army Still Trains For Trench Warfare
Even in an era of combat aircraft, tanks, and an endless array of technological advances, the US Army still trains troops in the tactics of trench warfare. And sometimes they go to Poland to do it.
It may sound archaic, but the truth is that while trench warfare – and the horrors that go along with it – are more closely identified with World War I, the practice has continued throughout the last century.
During WWII, Russia was well known for its use of trench warfare as a defensive measure. The outcome of the Battle Of Kursk, in particular, was partially a result of Russia's extremely elaborate maze of trenches and defensive fortifications. In the Pacific, the Japanese used a series of intricate entrenchments, tunnels, and underground bunkers in an attempt to fortify the many islands it held. When the invasion did come, the trench complexes were a bane to US forces, resulting in some of the most fierce close-quarters fighting of the entire war.
During the Cold War, NATO forces had to train constantly to fight through elaborate Soviet trench systems, a tactic that was well-ingrained in Russian military doctrine after defending against Nazi Germany in WWII. Both Korea and Vietnam also had their fair share of trench and tunnel warfare.
Decades later, trenches made another appearance during the Iran-Iraq war. Even the siege on Sarajevo during the mid-90s resulted in a complex trench system due to the constant threat of sniper fire.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com ...
WWI American troops train for trench warfare in France
The GOP Congressional Leadership need to go to these Polish trenches to learn the finer points of trench warfare ...
A trench can easily become a grave very quickly.
I spent some time in trenches in Bosnia before the Dayton Accords were signed. It was like a trip back to 1918 in almost every respect, except that in trench dugouts, commanders and their staff were preparing orders on laptops and emailing them to corps headquarters. They were using common field wire and 1200 baud modems to send the files.
Somebody, photoshop white flags into their hands.
The French soldiers are from a regiment of Chasseurs Alpins, their mountain troops. I suspect the photo is from the region of Belfort, so the US soldiers may be from the 29th or 88th divisions that held sectors of the line here. This was mountain country hence the stone parapets.
Active Duty ping.
As long as there is ground that a shovel can dig into, there will be trench warfare. As long as there is snow and ice, there will be arctic warfare. As long as there is sand, there will be desert warfare. As long as there are buildings, there will be urban warfare.
Train for all lest you be caught unprepared.
The politicians have done a smashing job taking arms out of the hands of those that would use them against said politicians. We will be relegated to semi-auto from trenches and no magazine will hold more than 3 rounds... and NO GREEN TIP M855 for YOU, plebians... Meanwhile the Federal drones will be sending over mustard gas.
</nutjobconspiracyguy>
Well, quite honestly the military forces are generally unlikely to not fire on the citizenry. At least not until they are all Transexuals, transvestites, homosexuals and gender queers.
Trenches work very well. On the East slope of Culp’s Hill at Gettysburg, General George Green ordered his NY Brigade to stack arms and start digging. Hours later, his trenches were complete with head logs, firing ports and firing steps. About 5 pm or so Allegheny Johnson’s Confederate Division attacked Green. They were stopped dead in their tracks. Steuart’s Brigade worked their way onto Green’s right flank in front of a perpendicular trench that Green did not have the manpower to fill. Just as Steuart was launched his attack on Green’s flank, a Yankee regiment from another Brigade piled into the empty trench. They stopped Steuart’s assault cold. Had Green not entrenched, Johnson may have been able to capture the East slope of Culp’s Hill that afternoon.
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