Going "over the top"
Definition: "going over the top" came in the war and it was referring to the soldiers rising out of their own trenches to assault the enemy. In order to attack the opposing trench, the soldiers would climb up from the parapet of their trenches to cross No Man's Land. Because of the number of deaths associated with going over the top, it was an unpopular activity for soldiers.
What did it mean for a soldier?
When the whistle sounded, the men knew it was time to go 'Over the Top'
The soldiers would get told the night before so that they could get up early in the morning and be ready to fight. They would then go Over the Top to No Man's Land. You would return later that day if you were lucky...
The soldiers would get told the night before so that they could get up early in the morning and be ready to fight. They would then go Over the Top to No Man's Land. You would return later that day if you were lucky...
How did the British send their men "over the top"?
One method of attack was sending the men over the top. A group of soldiers would climb up out of their trench and run into No Man's Land and capture the enemy's trenches. The problem with this strategy was that by the time the men had gotten over their trench and were half way across No Man's Land, they had all been killed or were badly injured. To add to the prerogative, lots of the men were afraid of going over the top that they physically threw up when the bell rang for them to go. They knew that there was a 95% chance that they would die. The reason for this was due to the fact that they used knives and guns to soften the enemy instead of using grenades and bombs. This was the main way that the British attacked and it cost millions of soldiers their lives. Even though it was killing most of their men, the British army never changed their method of attack.