PRACTICE TRENCHES

Preparing troops for battle

It is commonly believed that ill-trained troops were sacrificed in the trench war against the Germans on the Western Front. But archaeological evidence in England, in the form of elaborate training trenches, instructional models such as the Messines Model on Cannock Chase and full-size mock-ups of the German lines, is increasingly revealing the military’s attempts to provide soldiers with realistic training just as pre-deployment training is carried out today. Despite these preparations, the murderous firepower of artillery and machine-guns meant that millions died on the battlefields.

38th Battalion infantry Australian 3rd Division on Salisbury Plain training camp, Larkhill. Courtesy Richard Osgood

Practice trench systems

Remains of practice trenches, where thousands of troops trained before departing for the Western Front, survive all around the UK, on clifftops and hillsides, in woods and in fields. Many are revealed by aerial photography or on old plans and photographs. Others are now overgrown in woodland or heathland and their purpose is forgotten but can be identified from the distinctive zig zag of the front lines.

The half scale trench model at Cannock Chase. Courtesy Stephen Dean

Penally Practice Trench System, Pembrokeshire © Crown copyright: Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales © Hawlfraint y Goron: Comisiwn Brenhinol Henebion Cymru