trench warfare
Fighting from ditches
Trench warfare is a form of combat in which opposing armies fight from fortified ditches facing each other, often separated by a deadly no-man's-land.
The term evokes World War I's Western Front, where soldiers endured years of bloody stalemate in muddy trenches.
Figuratively, trench warfare describes any prolonged, grinding conflict where neither side gains ground: The budget negotiations devolved into trench warfare.
Unclaimed disputed territory
- dugoutCarved-log canoe
- over-the-topExcessively dramatic or extravagant
- barbed wireSpiked metal fence material
- artilleryLarge-caliber battlefield weapons
machine gun · shell-shock · infantry · sniper · barrage · mustard gas · frontline · periscope
Gradual reduction through loss
- stalemateMutual obstruction preventing progress
- siegeEncirclement forcing surrender
- sappingGradually draining vitality
- tunnelingDigging underground passages
flanking · salient · bombardment · advance · retreat · counterattack · fortification · defensive line
Complete mutual obstruction
- impasseSituation without resolution
- standoffUnresolved confrontation between opponents
- deadlockMutual blocking, no progress
- stalemateMutual obstruction preventing progress
war of attrition · no-man's-land · battle lines · siege mentality
no-man's-land
Unclaimed disputed territory
- dugoutCarved-log canoe
- over-the-topExcessively dramatic or extravagant
- barbed wireSpiked metal fence material
artillery · machine gun · shell-shock · infantry · sniper · barrage · mustard gas · frontline · periscope · sandbags
attrition
Gradual reduction through loss
- stalemateMutual obstruction preventing progress
- siegeEncirclement forcing surrender
- sappingGradually draining vitality
tunneling · flanking · salient · bombardment · advance · retreat · counterattack · fortification · defensive line · breakthrough
gridlock
Complete mutual obstruction
- impasseSituation without resolution
- standoffUnresolved confrontation between opponents
- deadlockMutual blocking, no progress
stalemate · war of attrition · no-man's-land · battle lines · siege mentality
- Confederate WarfareRobert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, cavalry raids, blockade running, fortification
- warcombat, battle scenes, battles, soldier, soldiers
- wartimerationing, war economy, war bonds, war effort, evacuations
- World War Ieastern front, Western Front, soldiers, battlefields, Treaty of Versailles
- WWIno man's land, no mans land, armistice, doughboys, over the top
- conflictsargument, fight, war, battle, dispute
trench warfaremobile warfare
Combat emphasizing movement over position
blitzkrieg · lightning war · cavalry warfare · mechanized warfare · armored warfare
trench warfaredecisive battle
Conflict resolving the war
shock and awe · encirclement · flanking maneuver · total victory · Six-Day War
trench warfareaerial warfare
Armed conflict aloft
air combat · naval warfare · desert warfare · jungle warfare · sea battle
warfare, trench, trenchant, entrenched, trenches, entrench, entrenchment, trenched, entrenching