I'd advise reading Steel Wind by David T. Zebecki. It'll be a lot easier for you to find than the work of Georg Bruchmuller. Essentially his work that came from WWI had a huge effect on artillery doctrine, and his doctrines were taken up with gusto by the Soviet Union in WWII. Essentially in response to something like artillery barrages, under certain conditions mind you, the suicide rate can be 1-2% as it goes on. There's a lot more to it and if highly advise you read Bruechmueller's work.

Edit: after doing some poking around the book you might want to read is actually Die Artillerie beim Angriff im Stellungskrieg.

The front lines sucked, but you'd only be there for a few days a month, possibly less. They cycled out men.