This essay will discuss which of the three previous topics was to blame for stalemate on the western front. The three topics were, trench warfare, weapons and tactics.

Trenches, tactics and weapons however, all worked together in prolonging the Great War. One of the three reasons alone wouldn’t have been enough to cause the stalemate but all three together caused problems. Without trenches there would have been no need in some of the weapons used, such as artillery guns and tanks. Although you have to think was it that way round. The new weapons introduced were so powerful that trenches had to be invented, as it wasn’t possible to have one big charge across a field with those weapons. Take the trenches away and the tactics would have been completely different and most probably more effective, again though was there any need for tactics without the use of trenches and new weapons.  The tactics used in the Great War were greatly influenced by the use of trenches. The tactics used by the British generals were to bomb the enemy, to try to poison the enemy and to attack them on foot. The tactics used by the Germans were to encamp themselves in their trenches, not to attack, and to defend the land they had previously gained. With the Germans choosing attrition this greatly limited the tactics the British could use. To recapture the land the Germans already occupied they were forced to attack. Attacks were often unsuccessful and flawed with many problems. To overcome these problems new and more advanced weapons would have to be invented to enable them to make advancements on the German strong holds. This shows how all three were interlinked, stalemate couldn’t have occurred with one and not the other. The new weapons that were manufactured were supposed to ease the soldier’s plight, and break the stalemate.

The fact that all three reasons were interlinked with each other in causing stalemate on the Western Front is shown in the Battle of the Somme. This battle began on 1st July 1916 and lasted until November the same year. The same tactics, weapons and trenches were used in the battle. Injuries were shockingly high. On the very first day 20,000 British allied men were lost, and 60,000 British allied men either died or were injured therefore being put out of action. With this amount of men out of the battle on the first day only, it was blatantly obvious that something was wrong with the decisions being made. This stated the obvious; that the same weapons, tactics, and trenches were not very effective and needed to be improved in the Great War. The fact is though, that not much was changed at all. Consequently this caused stalemate on the Western front.