Why did stalemate develop on the western front?

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Why did stalemate develop on the western front?

The western front was a term used during the First World War to describe the "contested armed frontier" between lands controlled by Germany to the East and the Allies to the West. A contested armed frontier during a war is called a front. The war on the western front was a new kind of warfare; nobody had experienced anything like it before. All the men had to adapt to these changes. A stalemate developed which would run for the entire duration of the war; 1914 to 1918. A stalemate is when neither army (or side) can advance through the enemy lines. So why did this lengthy stalemate occur?

Stalemate is the situation in which no progress can be made or no advancement is possible. Trench warfare is a form of  in which both opposing armies have static lines of  dug into the ground facing each other. In September, 1914, the German commander, General  ordered his men to dig trenches that would provide them with protection from the advancing French and British troops. As the Allies soon realised that they could not break through this line, they also began to dig trenches. By the end of 1914, the trench lines stretched all the way from the Belgian coast down to Switzerland, and the two armies had reached a stalemate.

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The stalemate was a consequence of the failure of the Schlieffen plan. The , aimed at dealing with war on two fronts, failed to achieve the quick and decisive victory over France that Germany had hoped for. Their initial advance was met with strong resistance from Belgium giving Russia and Britain time to mobilise their troops. Then the French and British halted the German attack on Paris at the . The German Army was forced to retreat behind the  where they dug in to protect themselves against the advancing Allies. Faced with an impenetrable German line the Allies themselves dug ...

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