The Year 1915 Illustrated/Winter in the Western Trenches

WINTER IN THE WESTERN TRENCHES

AFTER the failure of the German armies to reach Calais, the fighting in Flanders and France settled down to trench warfare, and for three months the lines of the contending armies remained practically in the same position as we have described them after the Battle of Ypres. The main object of the Allies was to wear down the enemy and a great toll of life was exacted whenever an advance was attempted. Bombardments by heavy artillery were infrequent, and only over a front of a few miles at any one time.

This period, from December to March, was utilised by both sides as a breathing space, for the consolidating of their defensive works, the equipment of fresh units and the accumulation of stores of shells and guns. On Christmas Day, the soldiers in certain of the advance trenches appear to have forgotten their enmity for a few hours and to have exchanged greetings one with the other. The illustration on the opposite page is typical of what then occurred. But this unpremeditated truce soon came to an end, and sniping, sapping and mining were renewed with vigour and intensity.

On 8 January, Perthes was taken by the French, and on the 14th the Germans gained a slight success at Soissons. These were the two outstanding engagements of the first few weeks of the year. In February, there were one or two raids in force by French and British aeroplanes on Belgian forts in the hands of the Germans, and considerable damage was believed to have been done to submarines in course of construction. On 10 March, the Allies made their first serious attempt to pierce the German line, and an account of the British advance at Neuve Chapelle will be found on the following pages.

A Christmas Incident in the Trenches in the West. Sketch by Frederic Villiers.

Seventh year of issue.

The Year 1915 Illustrated: A Record of Notable Achievements and Events

Home Front

A Heroine of the War (Nurse Edith Cavell)Death of Field-Marshal Lord RobertsZeppelin RaidsThe War at Home

Western Front

Antwerp and AfterBattle of La BasséeFirst Battle of YpresWinter in the Western TrenchesThe Battle of Neuve ChappelleThe Second Battle of YpresThe Advance in Artois and ChampagneGerman Barbarism in Belgium

Eastern Front

Autumn Campaign in the EastVictory of the Serbian ArmyWinter and Spring Campaigns in the EastThe Russian Retreat in Galicia and Poland

Southern Front

The Dardanelles and GallipoliThe Balkans Again

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

The Fall of Tsing-Tau

Naval and Overseas Operations

The War on the SeasThe Intervention of TurkeyNaval Battle in the North SeaGermany's Piracy BlockadeNaval Activities in the Gulf of RigaBritish Submarines in the Baltic

Political Events

The Intervention of ItalyThe End of Liberal GovernmentThe CoalitionLord Kitchener's Review of the War

Editorials

One Year of War (By Frank H. Simonds)

Other

Diary of the War - November 1914December 1914January 1915February 1915March 1915April 1915May 1915June 1915July 1915August 1915September 1915October 1915Diary of Events Apart from the War