Why did a stalemate develop on the western front?

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Why did a stalemate develop on the western front?

During the First World War, a stalemate occurred between Germany and its rivals Britain and France. This meant that neither army was in a position to win or lose the war. This stalemate was caused mainly by the change from rapid invasions and attacking with bayonets and rifles to static trench warfare which lead to the intervention of various new weapons, modern war machines.

The failure of the Schlieffen plan had led to the stalemate.  The plan was intended to quickly invade France through the neutral Belgium.  This violation was not accepted by Great Britain who entered the war on the French side to defend Belgium.  As a consequence, the war became static in Belgium as both sides switched to trench warfare.  Spades, sandbags and barbed wire became more important than bayonets and the need for new weapons emerged.

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One of the weapons introduced was the Lee Enfield Rifle. This was an entirely new concept. The shooter did not have to reload the gun every time because the next round of bullets was kept in the clip by the cocking of the handle.  Whereas originally a rifle would have to be reloaded every time a bullet was shot.  This new rifle was very dangerous for anyone in its way as it could shoot around 25 times per minute. On the western front, the opposing armies had different versions of these types of rifles.  This meant that trenches were ...

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