Yes they were. One thing you need to remember is that whenever a side goes on defence, trenches will come up. Germans made trenches on the eastern front while fighting a defensive war.
In this post
Do ww2 trenches still exist?
Nevertheless, there are still remains of trenches to be found in remote parts of the battlefields such as the woods of the Argonne, Verdun and the mountains of the Vosges.
Why weren’t there trenches in ww2?
Attacks, even if successful, often sustained severe casualties. The development of armoured warfare and combined arms tactics permitted static lines to be bypassed and defeated, leading to the decline of trench warfare after the war.
Are ww1 bodies still being found?
Nine British soldiers who died in World War One have been buried more than a century after their deaths. Their bodies were discovered during engineering works in De Reutel in Belgium in 2018.
Who cleaned up the battlefields after ww2?
When the war ended, graves registration soldiers still had work to do—scouring battlefields for hastily buried bodies that had been overlooked. In the European Theater, the bodies were scattered over 1.5 million square miles of territory; in the Pacific, they were scattered across numerous islands and in dense jungles.
What stopped trench warfare?
The Allies’ increased use of the tank in 1918 marked the beginning of the end of trench warfare, however, since the tank was invulnerable to the machine gun and rifle fire that were the trenches’ ultimate defense.
Do soldiers still dig trenches?
In fact, trench warfare remains arguably the most effective strategy for infantry where, for whatever reason, armor and air support are lacking. During the Iran-Iraq War (1980–88), after initial gains by the Iraqi army, the fighting settled into years of trench warfare.
Did the US use trenches in ww2?
Trenches (fighting holes, slit trenches, etc) were indeed used in World War II by all major combatants. Their main purpose is to provide fighting cover for troops on the front line from enemy fire, and to fight without providing your troops the ability to gain some kind of cover will quickly diminish your forces.
What happened to dead soldiers in ww1?
They were often buried where they fell in action, or in a burial ground on or near the battlefield. A simple cross or marker might be put up to mark the location and give brief details of the individuals who had died.
What happened to German soldiers after ww2?
After Germany’s surrender in May 1945, millions of German soldiers remained prisoners of war. In France, their internment lasted a particularly long time. But, for some former soldiers, it was a path to rehabilitation.
Did World war 1 veterans fight in ww2?
But to answer your question, YES… thousands..of soldiers, not just Germans had seen combat before the outbreak of WWII. Most of the great Generals, Axis and Allies, fought in both wars. Also any of the professional soldiers who fought in 1919 were still around in 1936 when WWII started heating up.
Are there still bodies in Stalingrad?
Since the 1980s, searchers have found more than 35,000 bodies, but only 1,500 have been identified. The remains of some of those identified are buried in a cemetery about 30 minutes from the city.
Where did all the rubble from ww2 go?
The ships offloaded the rubble in Manhattan, in the East River, and New York built on top of it, creating reclaimed land just east of Bellevue Hospital between 23th and 34th Streets.
What did they do with dead bodies in ww2?
The Nazis used various methods to dispose of the corpses of their victims. In concentration camps, bodies were typically incinerated in crematoria or on open-air pyres. This work was carried out by groups of prisoners called Sonderkommando.
Where is No Man’s Land?
No Man’s Land is the term used by soldiers to describe the ground between the two opposing trenches. Its width along the Western Front could vary a great deal. The average distance in most sectors was about 250 yards (230 metres).
Why were most dead and wounded soldiers left in no man’s land?
A soldier wounded in no-man’s land would be left until it was safe to bring him back to his trench, usually at nightfall. Sadly, some soldiers died because they could not be reached soon enough. Sickness was also a major cause of casualty, and in some areas, more than 50 percent of deaths were due to disease.
Are trenches offensive or defensive?
Trench warfare is mainly a defensive tactic in war. Its main benefit in World War 1 was that it allowed protection for the defense to try to hold off…
Did ww2 helmets stop bullets?
The helmets weren’t intended to stop a bullet. Glancing rounds it might shrug off, and a small caliber round- say, a 9mm pistol round- could struggle to deal with it, but in broad terms those helmets were about stopping fragmentation, shrapnel and whatever other random crap gets kicked up in a fire fight.
How did soldiers go to the toilet in ww1?
These latrines were trench toilets. They were usually pits dug into the ground between 1.2 metres and 1.5 metres deep. Two people who were called sanitary personnel had the job of keeping the latrines in good condition for each company.
How did soldiers sleep in trenches?
Getting to sleep
When able to rest, soldiers in front line trenches would try and shelter from the elements in dugouts. These varied from deep underground shelters to small hollows in the side of trenches – as shown here.
How deep is a trench in ww2?
Most of this area was rarely a few feet above sea level. As soon as soldiers began to dig down they would invariably find water two or three feet below the surface. Water-logged trenches were a constant problem for soldiers on the Western Front. Frontline trenches were usually about seven feet deep and six feet wide.