Trench warfare is what most people associated with the western front in WW1.

If you analyse the strength of each side then the French and British had every advantage. They had more men, they had huge overseas colonies that could supply even more men, they had better industry and supply and were on homesoil. They had better supply lines and access to the sea as well.

So why would they ever attack? All they needed to do was sit in their trenches and wait for Germany's economy to collapse. Or just wait for Germany to make increasingly desperate attacks which they could fight off easily.

It seems to me like Britain and France could have won WW1 on the western front by just doing nothing at all.

Sending millions of men to die in suicidal attacks like the Somme was therefore unnecessary and wasteful, so why do it? Sure, the war would have lasted longer but less men would have died.