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Description
History:

these are mainly what I use for info, I know, not professional by any means, but it provides the basics on the topic.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trench_r…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfKUd8…

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trench_r…

During the beginning of the war, both sides had attempted using Napoleonic doctrine, but with the combat effectiveness of rifles, both in precision and firing rate, as well as the defensive ability of the German army with trenches and newly invented Maxim guns: both the Entente and Central powers had taken to defensive trench fighting. The Germans had underestimated the ability of the British army, as well as it's rather effective Lee-Enfield, especially with the practice of the "mad minute" which could collect a small troop of Britons to fire in such a fast volley that many had been convinced they were fighting against Machineguns.

This stalemate continued for years, with more emphasis being drawn on artillery by each day. However, a new form of warfare developed in the night-time of those trenches, with regular night-time raids, which mainly served as a way of sabotage, information collecting, and collecting the dead and wounded during the night. These raids consisted of small parties, between 3-20 men depending on what kind of operation was planned. In these trenches, the Germans often preferred the steilhandgranate as it could be thrown further compared to the standard "pine-apple" grenade or mills bomb (though those had their own strengths). Eventually however, these raids found that the bayonet designed to act as a spear against cavalry was far too long and unwieldy for the close proximity of the muddy trenches, and even when one could kill, the blade would often get stuck between the ribs, and would catch especially often for the German blades as many of them were saw-toothed. Eventually new means of almost medieval fighting was employed, the Germans utilized a sharpened Feldspaten (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entrench… ) but moved on to custom made shanks,a gauntlet dagger(www.iwm.org.uk/collections/ite… ), and of course swords, sabers, axes, clubs. Those clubs could be made out of things such as a tree branch( www.iwm.org.uk/collections/ite… ), cogwheels, and god-knows what else.

Description
History:

these are mainly what I use for info, I know, not professional by any means, but it provides the basics on the topic.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trench_r…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfKUd8…

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trench_r…

During the beginning of the war, both sides had attempted using Napoleonic doctrine, but with the combat effectiveness of rifles, both in precision and firing rate, as well as the defensive ability of the German army with trenches and newly invented Maxim guns: both the Entente and Central powers had taken to defensive trench fighting. The Germans had underestimated the ability of the British army, as well as it's rather effective Lee-Enfield, especially with the practice of the "mad minute" which could collect a small troop of Britons to fire in such a fast volley that many had been convinced they were fighting against Machineguns.

This stalemate continued for years, with more emphasis being drawn on artillery by each day. However, a new form of warfare developed in the night-time of those trenches, with regular night-time raids, which mainly served as a way of sabotage, information collecting, and collecting the dead and wounded during the night. These raids consisted of small parties, between 3-20 men depending on what kind of operation was planned. In these trenches, the Germans often preferred the steilhandgranate as it could be thrown further compared to the standard "pine-apple" grenade or mills bomb (though those had their own strengths). Eventually however, these raids found that the bayonet designed to act as a spear against cavalry was far too long and unwieldy for the close proximity of the muddy trenches, and even when one could kill, the blade would often get stuck between the ribs, and would catch especially often for the German blades as many of them were saw-toothed. Eventually new means of almost medieval fighting was employed, the Germans utilized a sharpened Feldspaten (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entrench… ) but moved on to custom made shanks,a gauntlet dagger(www.iwm.org.uk/collections/ite… ), and of course swords, sabers, axes, clubs. Those clubs could be made out of things such as a tree branch( www.iwm.org.uk/collections/ite… ), cogwheels, and god-knows what else.