Why did a stalemate develop on western front?

The Battle of the Marne was very important as where the Germans first dug trenches; this was the first sign of a stalemate developed. The race to the sea in October 1914. The two sides kept trying to outflank each other through north- eastern France. This pushed the forces back to the North Sea coast in western Belgium this way the race to the sea finished. This brought stalemate because the teams kept trying to outflank each other and it didn't work so the teams just dug trenches and the trenches reached from the sea to the Swiss border.

The battle of Ypres was the last major battle of the first year of World War 1. The battle of Ypres caused a stalemate because the Belgians flooded an area between their positions and the Germans along a 20 mile strip between Dixmude and Nieuport. This stopped the German advance moving so this caused a deadlock so the sides dug trenches and they were just fighting from the trenches once again.

Artillery caused further stalemate because soldiers needed more protection from those big guns so they dug more trenches. They wanted to do this because they knew that the weapons will kill the enemy and they don't want to risk more lives, also, the damage caused huge artillery shells, churning ground up, making the enemy advances and attacks even more difficult.

In conclusion I think a stalemate situation developed because troops needed protection from the big guns, so the teams started digging trenches so they don't lose lots of men. Each team was trying to outflank each other and this brought the teams to dig trenches.

James Aparicio 10D