In my experience, discussions on combat in World War I almost always revolved around trench warfare on the Western Front.
As I understand, both the Eastern and Western (before and after the stalemate) Fronts saw open warfare to at least some extent. I'm having a difficult time visualizing what this would look like in the context of 20th century warfare.
Of course, it must have looked very different than the line infantry tactics of the 19th century, and I would imagine modern tactics as well.
Can someone describe in detail what open warfare looked like in the First World War? How would this compare to similar situations in other wars, such as World War II? Was it mainly focused in urban environments?
Thanks in advance, and please forgive me if this question is founded on a misconception.
To clarify, by open warfare I mean combat beyond the scope of trench warfare.
^ These answers I've should be pertinent
Can someone describe in detail what open warfare looked like in the First World War? How would this compare to similar situations in other wars, such as World War II? Was it mainly focused in urban environments?
It was not mainly focused in urban environments. Fighting prior to the widespread construction of trenches on the Western Front, and to a lesser extent elsewhere, was fought on a wide variety of terrain. It typically involved attacks supported by artillery, with infantry moving up in loose skirmish lines via fire and movement. They would be armed with rifles, and have machine gun and artillery support. At least this is how it would have looked in theory; training deficits became explicit in the fighting of 1914.
In this respect, fighting had many similarities to late 19th and early twentieth century conflicts like the Franco-Prussian and Russo-Japanese Wars. However, the weapons technology available in 1914 was much more formidable.