But five days after Ethiopia mounted an offensive, the trenches are empty and the war has shifted firmly into Eritrean territory.
The Raiders' offensive line won the trench battle, both with stellar run-blocking (center Samson Satele had his best game in years) and in identifying the Jets' pass-rushing concepts.
It was a classic matchup in the trenches, the offensive tackle against the defensive end.
While rifles were shot at those extreme ranges, they could not equal the destructive power of artillery and machine guns, and they were too cumbersome and powerful for offensive assaults on enemy trenches.
The same month, French General Robert Nivelle ordered a new offensive against the German trenches, promising that it would end the war within 48 hours.
The remaining Iraqi forces abandoned their offensive and drove into defensive trenches.
Yet to be determined is whether Bynum wants to be a great offensive tackle, laboring in the trenches.
That's a particular cause of angst for offensive-minded coaches, who believe that defensive linemen, whose hand placement will be blocked from the umpire's view, may have an advantage in their trench tussles with their offensive counterparts.
Lloyd Daniels, a small forward, beat long odds by snaking his way into the trenches to grab the offensive rebound that became a three-point play with 12.9 seconds left, giving the Lakers a 93-91 victory before 12,764 at the Forum.
They then launched a huge frontal offensive, driving the Eritreans out of their trenches and into the hills.
RC Sherriff's account of life in the trenches shortly before a German offensive could be a creaky old war horse of a drama, with its talk of decent public school types, and times being "topping".
