How were army formations deployed in the First World War in trenches?
score:2
Accepted answer
This obviously changed from year to year, and from country to country.
- For much of recent history, many military formations were triangular. Three combat companies plus supports to a battalion, three combat battalions plus support to a brigade, three combat brigades plus support to a division. That was the case during much of the Cold War, for instance. The US briefly played with two battalions as part of the Armored Brigade Combat Team.
In a triangular battalion during non-trench warfare, two companies could be "up" on the frontline. On the offensive, both move forward, the first to make contact fixes the enemy, the other forward company flanks and attacks, the third company is far enough to the rear to exploit openings with fresh troops. Or so the theory goes. The US Cold War division had 9 combat battalions, plus one battalion-sized cavalry squadron. - During WWI, the US went for square divisions. That means a division of two brigades of two regiments each with three battalions each, for a total of 12 (infantry) battalions to the division. The idea was to have one regiment in each brigade in the trenches and the other regiment in the rear. The divisional artillery brigade had two 105mm regiments, one per infantry brigade, and one 155mm regiment.
- Later on the Germans came up with a doctrine where the forward trenches were thinly held by a few machine gun teams and riflemen, and the main defensive force used counterattacks to retake a lost position. That exploited the fact that attackers became disorganized and outran their artillery and logistical support.
That was the theory. It didn't always happen as planned.
More post
- 📝 Was John Cabot the first European to reach Newfoundland since (arguably) the Vikings?
- 📝 What percentage of Jews were in "finance" (money-lenders) throughout Middle Ages?
- 📝 Do Egyptian mummies contain DNA? If so, was it viable enough to analyzed it?
- 📝 Why was the WW2 air war over Europe fought considerably higher than the Eastern Front?
- 📝 Why was metal armor phased out after gun powder was weaponized?
- 📝 How was early Indian history re-constructed?
- 📝 How well were early WW2 naval tactics and strategy accounting for the importance of aircraft carriers?
- 📝 Why was the British University Grants Committee abolished in 1988?
- 📝 When and where were the first coins made showing the currency or a face value?
- 📝 Why didn't Wehrmacht soldiers refuse to kill civilians?
- 📝 Was knowledge derived from the scientific method required to build commercial steam engines?
- 📝 The practice of translating foreign monarch's or noble's name
- 📝 What does the forward "Bullnose" of a Bailey Bridge that is under construction look like?
- 📝 Which parts of the Townshend Act were repealed in 1770?
- 📝 Ports with ships in the commercial Halifax trade, late 18th Century
- 📝 Why did China decide to support Poland in 1956, but not Hungary?
- 📝 Non-Italian European mafias in USA?
- 📝 Was there a reason Hitler saluted differently to everyone else?
- 📝 Did Iran host anti Soviet Afghan factions during the 1980's?
- 📝 Was anyone blamed for Japan's defeat at Tai'erzhuang?
- 📝 Thoroughbred horse history on British Islands prior to 1686
- 📝 What is the origin of the rampant lion herald?
- 📝 Giving a child to Thor
- 📝 Which European country sent the most slaves to the Americas?
- 📝 What are the "blue books" of Mr. Balfour?
- 📝 When did keeping convicts in Australia become unprofitable?
- 📝 Did any African-American slaves with Jewish owners ever adopt Judaism?
- 📝 Who first published Marcus Aurelius' Meditations?
- 📝 Is there a historical basis for the "day of the false King" described in The Egyptian?
- 📝 Was Robespierre in the pay of the British?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 How were army formations deployed in the First World War in trenches?
- 📝 How were the Bulgarians regarded by the Nazis during World War II?
- 📝 How many pens were used by MacArthur to end the final chapter of World War II and where are they now?
- 📝 How was the Free Czech Army formed in World War 2?
- 📝 How were tanks scrapped after World War Two?
- 📝 How did such a relatively minor event as the assassination of an archduke start World War I?
- 📝 How did the Nazis plan to defeat America during World War II?
- 📝 Why did the German army execute so few soldiers in World War I compared to most other armies?
- 📝 How beneficial were war bonds to the US during WWII
- 📝 How were diplomats and their staffs treated when World War II was declared?
- 📝 What were the post World War 2 effects on Germany?
- 📝 How did the Allies communicate during World War II?
- 📝 Why did it take so long for the Germans to develop the first tank model in World War I?
- 📝 How frequently were homing pigeons used in the World Wars?
- 📝 How did the Japanese treat captured "Flying Tigers" in World War II?
- 📝 During World War I, why were church bells stopped until the war was over?
- 📝 What were the individual soldiers motivated by during World War 1?
- 📝 How were the Venera Probe missions received/presented in the Western world during the space race?
- 📝 How is it that King Philips War devastated the colonists so much, but the Colonists were not driven out?
- 📝 How did diplomats of the Axis powers travel and communicate among themselves in World War II
- 📝 How much of "Russia" was actually occupied by the Germans in World War II?
- 📝 How were the first American citizens granted citizenship?
- 📝 How did the Swedish army deal with prisoners of war in the Thirty Years War?
- 📝 Were the heavy war reparations on Germany after World War I the main cause of its hyperinflation in 1923?
- 📝 What benefits were there to the USA of developing both Uranium and Plutonium bombs in World War 2?
- 📝 During the 1930-40s - World War 2 - were children taught English in Nazi Germany?
- 📝 What were factors that led to a decline in bond yields during World War II given that the opposite should have happened?
- 📝 How many British prisoners of war were taken by the Wehrmacht and how many died?
- 📝 What were the causes of the "Dardanelles" fiasco in World War I
- 📝 What deaths were caused by weapons deployed during a war long after the war has ended?
