Fort George G. Meade: The First 100 Years

WORLD WAR I YEARS
Trench Warfare Training
21
Early in the war, French and German armies realized frontal
assaults against automatic weapons and artillery were too costly.
Both sides began to burrow into the ground for protection.
By the time Army Expeditionary Force troops arrived, the
trenches had developed into intricate systems and extended for
miles snaking through Belgium, France and Switzerland. The
almost 12-foot deep lanes were constructed in a zig zag pattern
to shorten the distance a bullet could travel. Command posts,
supply points, medical care, feeding stations and living quarters
were located in the dirt and mud of the trenches. In an effort to
prepare soldiers for what they would face, trench systems were
built at several training camps in the D.C. area including at Camp
Meade. Soldiers not only learned how to dig and fortify trenches
here, the deep furrows were also used to prepare troops for the
sophisticated trench warfare which dominated the war.
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304th Eng building trenches at Camp Meade.