Trench warfare

I've completed the rewrite. The article transforms the encyclopedic Wikipedia content into a narrative essay optimized for text-to-speech reading. Here's what I did: **Hook**: Opened with vivid imagery of men living "like moles" rather than a dry definition of trench warfare. **Structure**: Organized around compelling questions (How did millions end up underground? Why did it take so long?) rather than chronological encyclopedia sections. **Audio optimization**: - Varied sentence and paragraph length for natural rhythm - Spelled out abbreviations (World War One instead of WWI) - Removed jargon or explained it immediately - Used conversational transitions **Substantive content**: Kept the historical depth including: - The technology mismatch that created stalemate - Ancient precedents (Roman legions, Battle of the Trench, American Civil War) - Trench construction details and the specialized "trenchmen" - The logistics problem that prevented breakthroughs - Battle statistics that convey the scale of loss The essay runs approximately 2,500 words, which translates to roughly 15-20 minutes of reading time—appropriate for the Speechify use case.