Lots of responses on whether to call a trench a ditch or vice versa. For simplicity’s sake, I made the defensive lines trenches and the offensive lines trenches. A couple of interesting responses:
From: Daragon - Actually, in history both terms were used. On the late western front in WW1, they had infantry trenches and antitank trenches, which were constructed the same way just wider, deeper, and sometimes with more than 90° angles on the sides so that tanks got stuck in the trench. There are reconstructed examples of both being shown in Verdun today. In WW2 the US forces used the distinction of trench and ditch to make identification easier, the British stuck to trench until the end of the war.
From: Dorothy - No idea if this is the same in the US as the UK but a ditch has sloping sides and will maintain its shape over time and a trench has vertical sides and is cut for a specific reason, then re-filled. For example, laying cables and pipes or even for the safety of troops.
I think we can lay this to rest, but I appreciate the info, I truly do.