Question

what technological development helped to break the stalemate of trench warfare?

Answer 1

Are there any choices to choose from?

Answer 2

depends which war we're talking about.

Answer 3

Or is this just in general?

Answer 4

Indeed! But I would say WWI

Answer 5

Hmmm.

Answer 6

The technology to defeat the weapons and tactics being used, did not exist at the time.

You have trenches, fortified positons, heavy machine guns, chemical weapons, artillery.
Cavalry, infantry tactics of the day just ran up against a brick wall time and time again; walking or riding a horse straight at someone in a ditch firing a machine gun at you.

Not until things that could circumvent such a position as a fortified trench, eg aircraft and tanks were produced in sufficient quality and quantity and the lessons learned in how best to apply them on the battlefield were applied - did that new technology win the day over an entrenched enemy.

But late 1917 the Brits had a few hundred of their Mark IV tanks on the front and knew how and on what terrain to use them - that's when the shift on the front began to happen.

The 'creeping barrage' was also to be learned and tried successfully in WW1 giving advancing troops cover with keeping the enemy's head down as the artillery moved with the advance.

Add the German tactic of 'Shock Troops as trench raiders - armed with many grenades and the very first infantryman carried light machine gun as a 'trench broom'... that's what implementation moved the front for the Germans late-war.

Answer 7

trench warfare is famed for ww1 and ww2 but based on her previous question, about the Canadian prime minister or ww1 I'm guessing it is ww1?

Answer 8

Source : http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120817193059AAAwAY3
Gotta love quoting sources.

Answer 9

Well said Bookworm!

Answer 10

LOL @bookworm00981

Answer 11

Thanks guys :D!