Trench warfare
Trench warfare has become archetypically associated with the First World War of 1914–1918, when the Race to the Sea rapidly expanded trench use on the Western Front starting in September 1914. By the end of October 1914 the whole front in Belgium and France had solidified into lines of trenches, which lasted until the last weeks of the war. Mass infantry assaults were futile in the face of artillery fire as well as rapid rifle and machine-gun fire. Both sides concentrated on breaking up enemy attacks and on protecting their own troops by digging deep into the ground. Trench warfare also took place on other fronts, including in Italy and at Gallipoli.
The Trench (Dix)
The Trench (German: "Der Schützengraben"), but earlier known as "Das Kriegsbild" ("The War Picture") or simply "Der Krieg" ("The War"), was an oil painting by German artist Otto Dix. The large painting was made from 1920 to 1923, one of several anti-war works by Dix in the 1920s inspired by his experience of trench warfare in the First World War.