Trench Warfare

[7thWisconsin]

The siege warfare of the Civil War was very different in character from the trench warfare of the Great War. It had more in common with the tradition of siege warfare developed in the 17th and 18th centuries. Defenses were laid out by engineers, then constructed by infantry or civilian laborers, or, in the case of the Confederate works, often slave labor contracted from local owners. IIRC, the works at Petersburg were commanded by Gen. Kemper, who wasn't expected to survive his Gettysburg wound, then did and did an extremely able job there whilst recuperating. An attacker develops a line of forts and batteries to protect his artillery, then uses infantry to dig forward and around the enemy in order to advance the guns to more advantageous positions, called "an advance by regular approaches." One of the key differences in the Civil War trench warfare, as opposed to that of the Great War is in the use of infantry. Infantry in 1864 at Petersburg for instance, is really a place holder, keeping the enemy from making quick advances on fortified batteries. And he digs for them. There is little patrolling between the lines. Why bother? He's right there and has a line of pickets looking back at you and sometimes sharpshooting at you. Any attempts on the works are made like any other open field assault: file out of the works, line up and go ahead. Infantry rotated in and out of the lines daily, going back to relative comfort and safety of log huts at night. Most diaryies written during the Petersburg siege speak about boredom a lot, especially during the winter. Contrast that with 1915, when the infantry are expected to man the lines in an active posture all the time, patrol the enemy works, raid, gather intelligence, make deliberate attacks, etc. It's not the same experience at all.