The PR Blog

Picture trench warfare, and you’re probably seeing World War I’s muddy, rat-infested ditches, with soldiers slogging through rain and barbed wire. That’s the image burned into our minds from history class.

But here’s the kicker: trench warfare didn’t start in 1914. It’s way older - and it’s not just a European story.

Long before French generals or our boys were stuck on the Western Front, the Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand, were digging trenches that would make any military engineer jealous. We’re talking centuries before Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban turned trenches into a European art form.

The Māori Were Way Ahead

The Māori arrived in New Zealand from Polynesia around the 13th century, building a fierce, ingenious culture. By the time European explorers rolled up in the late 1700s, the Māori were already masters of warfare and engineering.

Their secret weapon? Pā ,  fortified villages that were anything but simple. These weren’t just wooden fences or lookout towers. Pā were tactical masterpieces, built on hills for visibility and defence, with intricate trench systems that included deep ditches, embankments, and covered walkways.

These trenches were clever for a few reasons:

• Defense: They shielded warriors from spears, arrows, and later, musket fire.

• Mobility: Covered paths let fighters move fast and unseen to reinforce weak spots.

• Mind Games: The maze-like layouts could confuse and intimidate attackers, giving the Māori a psychological edge.

Muskets Arrive -  Māori Adapt

When muskets hit the scene during the Musket Wars (1807–1845), the Māori didn’t flinch. They doubled down, making their trenches deeper and more layered to handle the new firepower.

By the time British troops arrived for the New Zealand Wars (1845–1872), they were in for a rude awakening. These weren’t “primitive” defences ... they were resilient and brilliant. The British took heavy losses trying to crack pā, forcing them to rethink their playbook.

Take the Battle of Ōrākau in 1864. About 300 Māori ... including women and children ... held off 1,700 British troops for three days. Their trenches, dug into volcanic ridges and camouflaged with ferns, kept the British at bay. When the situation got dire, the Māori made a daring breakout, charging through enemy lines.

It was bold, tragic, and legendary ... and it left a lasting mark on everyone who saw it.

You can still visit pā sites across New Zealand today. Their trenches sit silent but stubborn, a testament to Māori ingenuity.

And Then There Was Vauban...

So why do we often credit trench warfare to Vauban?

Let’s give the man his fair due. Born in 1633 in France, Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban was Louis XIV’s go-to military engineer. He revolutionised siege warfare with star-shaped forts and a system called “parallels” -  zig-zag trenches that let attackers creep closer to enemy walls under cover.

His designs, like the fortresses at Lille, Besançon, and Neuf-Brisach (now UNESCO sites), were so effective they became the gold standard in Europe -  studied in military academies for centuries.

Vauban’s genius was in systematising trench warfare for sieges -  cutting casualties and speeding up victories.

But the Māori weren’t waiting for Vauban’s blueprints. And they weren’t alone.

Trenches -  A Global Tactic

Digging in has been a global tactic for millennia:

• The Assyrians used trenches in siege warfare 2,500 years ago.

• The Persians built trench systems for attack and defence.

• The Romans, like Julius Caesar at Alesia in 52 BCE, dug miles of earthworks to trap enemies.

• The Byzantines and Ottomans leaned on trenches during epic sieges, like Constantinople (717 CE) and Vienna (1529).

• The American Civil War saw trenches at Vicksburg and Petersburg, foreshadowing WWI’s stalemate.

Then came World War I, where trenches stretched from the North Sea to Switzerland. The scale ... miles of mud, machine guns, and misery ... made it infamous.

Haunting photos and soldiers’ memoirs cemented trenches as a WWI icon, overshadowing the Māori, Vauban, and everyone else who’d been digging for centuries.

The Bigger Picture

So next time someone mentions trench warfare and WWI, give them a nudge.

Tell them about the Māori’s pā, Vauban’s star forts, or Caesar’s earthworks.

Better yet, check out a pā site in New Zealand -  or dig into a bit of Māori history.

Because trench warfare’s story is bigger, older, and way more global than you might think.

And maybe -  just maybe -  we’re in the trenches again today. Not with mud and musket fire, but with censorship, silence, and digital landmines.

And many of us? We’ve got precious little left to throw back.

So maybe it’s worth remembering those who dug in, held their ground, and fought smart with what they had  -  not out of fear, but with purpose.