Trench construction and engineering geology on the Western Front, 1914–18

Peter Doyle
Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 473, 109-130, 6 March 2018, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP473.6

Article Figures & Data

Figures

  • Fig. 1.
    Fig. 1.

    Trace of the Western Front in 1915 showing the location of British and French offensives of that year. The area of interest in this study is from Nieuport at the Belgian coast to Albert and the River Somme. Image: public domain.

  • Fig. 2.
    Fig. 2.

    Geology of the northern sector of the Western Front. Six broad belts of terrain can be recognized from the coast southwards: the coastal dune belt; the Polder Plain; the clay plain of Ypres; the sand ridges to the east and SE of Ypres; the coal belt of Lens-Bethune; and the chalk of Artois and Picardy. Based on Doyle (1998, fig. 6).

  • Fig. 3.
    Fig. 3.

    Sketch cross-section of the geology of the northern sector of the Western Front. The section runs from Arras to Douai, Lille to Ypres, Ypres to Dixmude and the coast (see Fig. 2). Based on Doyle (1998, fig. 7).

  • Fig. 4.
    Fig. 4.

    Idealized trench system as developed on the Western Front in 1915–17. Based on Doyle (1998, fig. 3).

  • Fig. 5.
    Fig. 5.

    Sections of a typical fire trench showing the stages of development and over-steepened slopes or trench sides. Reproduced from General Staff (1908).

  • Fig. 6.
    Fig. 6.

    Well-built German trench with brushwood revetment, developed in friable soils c. 1915–16. Photograph taken in the summer months. Image: public domain.

  • Fig. 7.
    Fig. 7.

    Trench or A-frames introduced to British use in 1916–17. The inverted ‘A’ was intended to support the revetment and provide a foundation for duckboard tracks. Reproduced from General Staff (1917a).

  • Fig. 8.
    Fig. 8.

    In wet ground, usually associated with thin soils on clay, drainage was a problem and an insufficient depth could be developed without superior drainage conditions. In such cases, breastworks were constructed. Reproduced from General Staff (1917a).

  • Fig. 9.
    Fig. 9.

    Problems of drainage in wet trenches in 1914–15. Pumping was required before more sustainable solutions could be achieved. Image: public domain.

  • Fig. 10.
    Fig. 10.

    Location of the Boesinghe trench lines, close to the low ground of the Ypres–Yser Canal. The arc of the trench lines is from 1915. Messines is just off the image, south of Hill 60. Image: public domain.

  • Fig. 11.
    Fig. 11.

    Trench A-frames exposed in archaeological investigations near Ypres (Ieper). (a) Boesinghe, showing the cross of the ‘A’, with duckboard track sitting on it. The trench cuts through Quaternary soils and is floored by clay. (b) Forward Cottage near Wieltje (Fig. 10) showing the engineered slopes maintained in an over-steepened state, with corrugated iron sheeting in position, and once again floored by clay. Photographs by P. Doyle.

  • Fig. 12.
    Fig. 12.

    Map of the Ypres (Ieper) Salient, 1915–17, showing the location of Messines and the British front line at the start and end of the Battle of Messines in 1917. Based on Doyle (1998, fig. 13) with permission of the Geologists’ Association.

  • Fig. 13.
    Fig. 13.

    Geological section north–south through the Wytschaete–Messines ridge showing the location of the Kemmel Sands towards the top of the ridge and the use of the lower levels of the Paniselian for the construction of the British mine galleries used in the Battle of Messines, in June 1917. Based on Doyle (1998, fig. 22).

  • Fig. 14.
    Fig. 14.

    German frontline positions at Messines. Situated close to the Kemmel Sands, there was constant flooding, evidenced by successive levels of duckboarding. Here, inadequate revetment is provided by timbers salvaged from destroyed buildings. Photograph by P. Doyle.

  • Fig. 15.
    Fig. 15.

    German solution to flooding and inadequate revetment in the frontline trenches at Messines: a concrete shelter cast in situ. Photograph by P. Doyle.

  • Fig. 16.
    Fig. 16.

    Map of the Somme Battlefield showing the location of La Boisselle. The chalk is exposed at the surface here, although much of the Somme is blanketed by Quaternary deposits. Reproduced from Doyle (1998) with permission of the Geologists’ Association.

  • Fig. 17.
    Fig. 17.

    Scone Street, one of the frontline trenches cut in chalk at La Boisselle. There is direct access to the chalk, with a limited Quaternary cover. Trenches are more capable of sustaining steep slopes, although the frost-shattered chalk often required chicken wire netting support. Photograph by P. Doyle.

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