The Secret Battles of the Trench Series — Without Changing History

“If these secret battles and elite units existed in your books, wouldn’t that rewrite World War I history?”

The short answer is: no.

Fictional Battles and Units in Real Wars

The Trench series does feature fictionalized clashes — skirmishes that were never recorded, armored vehicles deployed in secrecy, missions carried out behind the lines. For example:

• The Regiment of Britannia (R.O.B.) unleashing prototype vehicles during the Battle of Loos.

• The Kaiserliche Waffenspezialisten (K.W.S.) testing the Burstyn Motorgeschütz during the Gorlice–Tarnów offensive.

• The Spéciale Hasardeux Division (S.H.D.) carrying out covert actions while the larger battles raged in places like the Second Battle of Champagne.

• The Imperskiy Tayna Brigada (I.T.B.) operating deep in the Balkans or Eastern Front, striking in ways rarely recorded like Przemyśl Fortress or  Serbia.

These moments matter to the story, but they don’t rewrite the official outcomes. Verdun still bleeds. The Somme still grinds. The war remains the same.

Why Add Them at All?

Because they show the hidden corners of war — the “what ifs” that history books rarely touch. Wars are not only fought by the masses but also by specialized units operating in the shadows. These fictional operations add tension, tactical variety, and narrative depth without tipping the scales of history.

Not Alternate History

Unlike alt-history stories that change outcomes (Germany winning the war, for example), Trench stays grounded. The prototypes, elite units, and experimental weapons never appear on a scale that would alter the course of the conflict. They’re seen, tested, maybe whispered about — but they vanish into secrecy, never acknowledged by the general armies or governments of the day.

Why It Matters

Including these fictionalized hidden battles allows me to explore the possibilities without betraying the war’s reality. It shows how innovation and experimentation happened in shadows, long before official doctrines or mass production caught up.

In the end, the battles of the Trench series are like footprints in the mud — visible to the reader, but erased from the record of history. Because sometimes, the most important fights are the ones no one ever knew about.