There were essentially two problems for the attacker. First, infantry charging into fixed machine gun nests were suicide. Second, if they are able to clear out the enemy and take over a trench line, they would need re-supply. Meaning, eventually, another trench would have to be dug to connect the newly won trench with your own lines. Meanwhile, the enemy is counter-attacking.
The creeping barrage (Allied) and blitzkrieg (German) solves the first problem of how infantry can attack machine gun nests. The Allies would closely synchronize artillery a few hundred feet in advance of their attacking infantry. The creeping barrage of artillery fire suppresses the enemy so the infantry can charge. The Germans developed the first steps towards blitzkrieg tactics. Basically small squads armed with grenades were empowered to make tactical decisions. They would advance when resistance was soft. They would move laterally when resistance was stiff. The metaphor was like the ocean wave crashing against a rocky beach. The wave would advance but would bypass stiff defensive points. Eventually those defensive points would fall when they run out of ammo. Either side did not effectively solve the re-supply problem. At that time trains would bring forward supplies, trucks would then transport to communication trenches, and soldiers would have to hoof the last mile. All of which was difficult when someone was shooting at you.
In WWI, concrete pill boxes were rare. Most machine gun emplacements were protected by sandbags and makeshift defenses. The defenders would have to be out in the open. When artillery rain down on them, they would stay in their bunkers which had no ports for them to fire out of. They would wait until the shelling stopped, get of their bunkers, and then man the machine guns.
The attackers, meanwhile, if they got their timing right... would be on top of the trenches when this happens. Giving the attackers a chance to engage the defenders before the machine guns open up.
The creeping barrage was "creeping" in some sense. This is what I don't get. Surely, it would've been enough to aim it at the opposing trench, and not have it "creep up" at all.
I feel like every explanation I'm getting now is deja vu.
This link has an image of the artillery plan for the Passchendaele campaign. The barrages were timed at 3 minute intervals. Advancing a hundred yards at time.
There were essentially two problems for the attacker. First, infantry charging into fixed machine gun nests were suicide. Second, if they are able to clear out the enemy and take over a trench line, they would need re-supply. Meaning, eventually, another trench would have to be dug to connect the newly won trench with your own lines. Meanwhile, the enemy is counter-attacking.
The creeping barrage (Allied) and blitzkrieg (German) solves the first problem of how infantry can attack machine gun nests. The Allies would closely synchronize artillery a few hundred feet in advance of their attacking infantry. The creeping barrage of artillery fire suppresses the enemy so the infantry can charge. The Germans developed the first steps towards blitzkrieg tactics. Basically small squads armed with grenades were empowered to make tactical decisions. They would advance when resistance was soft. They would move laterally when resistance was stiff. The metaphor was like the ocean wave crashing against a rocky beach. The wave would advance but would bypass stiff defensive points. Eventually those defensive points would fall when they run out of ammo. Either side did not effectively solve the re-supply problem. At that time trains would bring forward supplies, trucks would then transport to communication trenches, and soldiers would have to hoof the last mile. All of which was difficult when someone was shooting at you.