Striking photos of the Ukraine war's front-line trenches echo scenes from the World Wars

Chris PanellaAug 3, 2023, 22:44 IST

Trench warfare is far from obsolete — and these photos show its enduring presence.John Moore/Getty Images/FPG/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Ukrainian and Russian forces have dug sprawling trenches along the front lines of the war.
The trenches echo scenes from bloody combat of World War 1 and World War 2.

As Ukraine's troops go head-to-head with the Russian army, they face plenty of modern weapons, such as drones that can drop bombs on soldiers, Ka-52 attack helicopters armed to the teeth with anti-tank guided missiles, and precision munitions that can hit with accuracy not seen in past conflicts.

Both sides are also navigating threats and challenges that have long been a part of land warfare, like overwhelming artillery and minefields full of anti-tank and anti-personnel mines, threats hidden in the mud that erupt with a violent explosion when triggered and make any sort of advance tricky and time-consuming.

There are also sprawling trenches. They run deep along the front lines and have been seen in photos from the war, such as around Bakhmut, which saw some of the bloodiest fighting of the war. The trenches are, as a French photographer described them years earlier, "endless bowels of Earth."

These winding trenches hinder advances by enemy troops and protect defenders, zig-zagging and crossing the battlefield, and in some respects, they're strikingly reminiscent of scenes of trench warfare from World War I and World War II, showing the enduring presence of this type of fighting.

The following photos show the front-line trenches in Ukraine today, where the most devastating land war in decades is being fought, and those of two of the 20th century's worst conflicts.

Trenches have been an aspect of land warfare throughout history, but they're perhaps most known for their use in World War I.

The Great War Realistic Travels Military photographs circa 1918. Bombing the Germans out of their deep dugouts at Martinpuich during our advance on the Somme.Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Today, Ukrainian and Russian soldiers rely heavily on trenches, positioning themselves in dug out areas along the front lines.

Ukrainian soldiers keep their position in a trench on the front line with Russian troops in Lugansk region on April 11, 2022.ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP via Getty Images

In World War I, soldiers dug out the earth, surrounding it with dangerous barbed wire. Sandbags and wooden planks were positioned along the muddy walls.

The Great War Realistic Travels Military photographs circa 1918. Ready for the great Somme push, officer and signalers keep sharp look out over Sausage valley.Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Ukraine's trenches look similar — dug out dirt, wooden plank "duckboards" to keep out water and mud, and sandbags to fortify the walls.

A shovel in a trench on the frontline contact line in Lugansk oblast, Ukraine, 29 July 2023.Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

In World War II, trenches remained an element of combat. In the run-up to the conflict, troops could be seen practicing how to attack enemies inside trenches and defend themselves from potential assaults.

Members of the Home Guard practicing combat techniques during maneuvers around 1939.Hulton Archive/Getty Images

In World War II, trenches remained an element of combat. In the run-up to the conflict, troops could be seen practicing how to attack enemies inside trenches and defend themselves from potential assaults.

Trenches allow troops to position themselves inside and fire at enemy positions while remaining mostly covered.

US army trainees in trenches on the Western Front during World War One, France, 1918.Archive Photos/Getty Images

In Ukraine today, infantryman employ a certain degree of camouflage to remain hidden while on the lookout.

Ukrainian infantrymen in a trench on the front line contact line in Lugansk oblast, Ukraine, 29 July 2023.Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

In some cases, troops in Ukraine use a dummy or mannequin to draw enemy fire, either diverting it away from real soldiers or to locate the position of an enemy sniper. It's a tactic that also saw use during the World Wars.

An Ukrainian serviceman walks in a trench by a sort of mannequin as he stands at his post on the frontline with Russia backed separatists near the town of Zolote, in the Lugansk region on April 8, 2021.STR/AFP via Getty Images

In some cases, troops in Ukraine use a dummy or mannequin to draw enemy fire, either diverting it away from real soldiers or to locate the position of an enemy sniper. It's a tactic that also saw use during the World Wars.

Trenches have long protected troops from artillery and weaponry on the front lines, such as the devastating machine guns of World War I, though a direct hit from indirect fire can be catastrophic.

1914: German soldiers sleeping in their trench in the snow as two stand guard with rifles poised, near the Aisne River valley, Western Front, France, World War I.Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Trenches have long protected troops from artillery and weaponry on the front lines, such as the devastating machine guns of World War I, though a direct hit from indirect fire can be catastrophic.

But to mount larger assaults, troops had to exit their trenches and enter "no-man's land" between their trench lines and the enemy's. Here, advancing troops were easy targets, and casualties were high. Assaults on enemy trenches were also brutal, just as they have at times been in Ukraine.

First World War: soldiers of the English infantry in France, running out of their trenches at the signal to assault, Somme, France, 1916.Fototeca Gilardi/Getty Images

But to mount larger assaults, troops had to exit their trenches and enter "no-man's land" between their trench lines and the enemy's. Here, advancing troops were easy targets, and casualties were high. Assaults on enemy trenches were also brutal, just as they have at times been in Ukraine.

Today, troops fight with a greater variety of weapons. Ukrainian soldiers, for instance, can fire shoulder-launched weapons, like what appears to be a RGW-90 long-range multi-purpose weapon in the picture below, from trenches, devastating a variety of targets and hidden enemy positions.

A Ukrainian serviceman mans a position in a trench on the front line near Avdiivka, Donetsk region on June 18, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP via Getty Images

Today, troops fight with a greater variety of weapons. Ukrainian soldiers, for instance, can fire shoulder-launched weapons, like what appears to be a RGW-90 long-range multi-purpose weapon in the picture below, from trenches, devastating a variety of targets and hidden enemy positions.

But life inside trenches also had and continues to have its slow moments. Troops sleep, eat, and catch up on the news in them today just as they did decades earlier.

The British Army In France 1940, Men of the 1st Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment enjoy a tot of rum in a section of trench named 'Pudding Lane,' 4th Division near Roubaix, 3 April 1940.Lt. L A Puttnam/ Imperial War Museums via Getty Images

In many respects, life is similar for Ukrainian soldiers positioned on the front lines.

Ukrainian infantrymen sit in a trench on the front line contact line of the frontline as Russia-Ukraine war continues, in Lugansk Oblast, Ukraine on July 29, 2023.Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

But there's always a certain degree of anxiety as well about what may come. In WWII, troops had to remain on the lookout for any sign of enemy forces.

A soldier in a sandbagged trench on a beach on the English coast, circa 1940.Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Today, a lot has — and hasn't — changed.

Ukrainian serviceman looks through a binocular inside a trench on the frontline near as Russia-Ukraine war continues in New York, Donbas region, Ukraine, on July 28, 2023.Ignacio Marin/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

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Striking photos of the Ukraine war's front-line trenches echo scenes from the World Wars

Trenches have been an aspect of land warfare throughout history, but they're perhaps most known for their use in World War I.

Today, Ukrainian and Russian soldiers rely heavily on trenches, positioning themselves in dug out areas along the front lines.

In World War I, soldiers dug out the earth, surrounding it with dangerous barbed wire. Sandbags and wooden planks were positioned along the muddy walls.

Ukraine's trenches look similar — dug out dirt, wooden plank "duckboards" to keep out water and mud, and sandbags to fortify the walls.

In World War II, trenches remained an element of combat. In the run-up to the conflict, troops could be seen practicing how to attack enemies inside trenches and defend themselves from potential assaults.

Trenches allow troops to position themselves inside and fire at enemy positions while remaining mostly covered.

In Ukraine today, infantryman employ a certain degree of camouflage to remain hidden while on the lookout.

In some cases, troops in Ukraine use a dummy or mannequin to draw enemy fire, either diverting it away from real soldiers or to locate the position of an enemy sniper. It's a tactic that also saw use during the World Wars.

Trenches have long protected troops from artillery and weaponry on the front lines, such as the devastating machine guns of World War I, though a direct hit from indirect fire can be catastrophic.

But to mount larger assaults, troops had to exit their trenches and enter "no-man's land" between their trench lines and the enemy's. Here, advancing troops were easy targets, and casualties were high. Assaults on enemy trenches were also brutal, just as they have at times been in Ukraine.

Today, troops fight with a greater variety of weapons. Ukrainian soldiers, for instance, can fire shoulder-launched weapons, like what appears to be a RGW-90 long-range multi-purpose weapon in the picture below, from trenches, devastating a variety of targets and hidden enemy positions.

But life inside trenches also had and continues to have its slow moments. Troops sleep, eat, and catch up on the news in them today just as they did decades earlier.

In many respects, life is similar for Ukrainian soldiers positioned on the front lines.

But there's always a certain degree of anxiety as well about what may come. In WWII, troops had to remain on the lookout for any sign of enemy forces.

Today, a lot has — and hasn't — changed.