The years from 1914 to 1918 saw a whole series of complex and rapid changes in infantry tactics, which fundamentally altered the way wars had been fought for 150 years. This study describes the development of infantry equipment and weapons and how these items and techniques were employed in battle.

Osprey's survey of trench warfare tactics of World War I (1914-1918). The regular armies which marched off to war in 1914 were composed of massed riflemen, screened by cavalry and supported by artillery; their leaders expected a quick and decisive outcome, achieved by sweeping manoeuvre, bold leadership and skill at arms. Eighteen months later the whole nature of field armies and their tactics had changed utterly. In sophisticated trench systems forming a battlefield a few miles wide and 400 miles long, conscript armies sheltered from massive long-range bombardment, wielding new weapons according to new tactical doctrines. This first of two richly illustrated studies explains in detail the specifics of that extraordinary transformation, complete with ten full colour plates of uniforms and equipment.