The Western Front
On the battlefields of northern Europe, theBritish Empirefoughtagainst the enemy and the elementsalonga system of trenches that stretched over 600 kilometres from the Channel to the Swiss frontier.
The attritional struggle here transformed the landscape of northern France and Belgiuminto a lunar mud-scape ofshell craters, corpses, abandoned equipment and wire entanglements. Commanders faced the tactical problem of getting troopssafely across this fire-swept terrainto penetrate theenemy’s defences.
For most of the war, the front here was locked in stalemate, despite a series of costly offensives. Thisbitter struggle to overcome the deadlockdefined the conflictfor many involved. Italso decided its outcome, with an Allied breakthrough finally defeating the Germansin 1918.
