Specimens of British Trench Orders

by Army War College

SPECIMEN OF BATTALION TRENCH STANDING ORDERS.

1. Trenches are usually divided up into a certain number of bays; the number of men to defend these bays depends on the length of trench allotted to each company. Each section is detailed to guard a certain number of bays.

2. N. C. Os. and men must always wear their equipment by day and night; a man found not complying with this order commits a "crime."

3. Every company will stand to arms daily half an hour before dawn, and half an hour before dusk and will remain so till dismissed by O. C. company.

4. The enemy's trenches are so close that it is very important for the men to have their rifle sights always at "normal," so that there will be no necessity to alter the sights in case of alarm.

5. By night all bayonets are to be fixed, and 50 per cent of the men on duty in the trenches are to be sitting on the firing platform with their rifles by their sides.

6. In case of an attack, especially at night, it should be impressed on the men that they should fire low; for one bullet that goes too low, at least 90 go too high. A bullet that goes too high is wasted, whereas a bullet that goes too low is a ricochet and is often more dangerous than any other kind of bullet.

7. Section commanders are responsible that the men under their command have sufficient standing room for the purpose of firing over the parapet. It is very important to insure that the men have a clear field of fire, and are able not only to see the enemy's trenches but also the ground in the immediate vicinity of their own trench. It is of the greatest importance to arrange that the men can fire comfortably from the parapet and that they can get the butt comfortably into the hollow of the shoulder when the rifle is resting on the parapet.

8. When making new trenches it should be impressed on the men that the parapet must be at least 5 feet thick at the top in order to be bullet proof.

9. If any part of the parapet requires repairing or altering, the matter should be reported at once by the section commander to his platoon sergeant, who will in turn report the matter to superior authority.

10. The general work of repairing the trenches, fatigues, etc., will be carried out either by day or by night according to company arrangements. Certain hours will be alloted for these tasks, and no man in the company is to be employed in any kind of work out of these hours, unless permission is obtained from O. C. company.

11. No man should ever leave his post in the trenches either by day or by night, without the permission of the N. C. O. in charge of that post.

12. As a general rule, by night there should be at least one sentry post to each ten yards of parapet.

13. By night double sentries should always be posted, if possible, and no sentry should be kept on duty for a longer period than 1 hour at a time. It should be so arranged that when one of the sentries is doing his last ½ hour on sentry, his comrade will be doing his first ½ on duty.

14. Sentries by night should always have their rifles resting on the parapet ready to fire at moment's notice.

15. As few sentries as possible should be posted by day, so as to give as much rest as possible to the remainder of the men.

16. By day any existing loop holes may be used by a sentry for observation purposes, but this is strictly prohibited at night, when the sentry must look over the parapet.

17. If a sentry is continually fired at, the section commander will take steps to post him in another position, but not far away from the original position.

18. By night arrangements must be made in each platoon for a N. C. O.[2] to be continually on duty for the purpose of visiting the sentries, etc., etc. He will report to his company officer at odd hours and to his platoon officer at even hours.

19. Cases have occurred of men going to sleep on sentry duty. This is the most serious crime a soldier can commit on active service. The G. O. C. has clearly stated that in future, if any man has been convicted by court-martial for this offense and sentenced to be shot, he will confirm the sentence. There is no excuse for a man going to sleep on sentry duty; if he is feeling too ill to perform this duty he should report the fact to the N. C. O. on duty of his platoon, who will in his turn report the matter to superior authority.

20. If an armed party of the enemy approaches the trench under a flag of truce, they should be ordered to halt at a distance and lay down their arms, and the matter should be reported at once to the O. C. company. If the party fails to halt when ordered to do so, or does not convey a flag of truce, they should immediately be fired upon. An unarmed party should be halted the same way at a distance, and the matter be reported to the O. C. company.

21. By night it is not necessary to challenge anyone in advance of the trenches, but fire should be opened at once. If, however, the company is sending out listening, working, or covering parties, these orders should be modified, and special instructions issued to meet the case.

22. Men will be specially picked from the company for listening patrols and as sharpshooters. These men will be given special privileges and their work is such that they will be afforded greater opportunities of being mentioned in dispatches.

23. It is the duty of officers and N. C. Os. to check men talking loudly during the night, as this practice makes it impossible for the sentries to hear any movement in front of the trenches. The Germans take advantage of this talking by the British soldier during the night to send listening patrols quite near to our trenches, and even build trenches on clear moonlight nights close to our lines without our knowledge.

24. All working parties must wear their equipment and carry their rifles, but when actually working they can lay these on the ground close to them.

25. All picks and shovels after use will be returned to the company store.

26. Ration parties and parties carrying material for repairs, etc., need not wear their equipment or carry rifles, but should be accompanied by a fully armed N. C. O. as an escort.

27. Not more than twenty men are to be away from the company at the same time. 1 N. C. O. and 4 men per platoon.

28. Every soldier must remember it is of the utmost importance to keep his rifle clean and in working order whilst in the trenches. His very life may depend upon this, as he is liable to be rushed at any moment, either by day or by night. The dirty rifle means probably a jammed one after the first round.

29. The first duty of a soldier, therefore, is to clean his rifle every morning as soon as there is sufficient light to enable him to do so; an hour will be appointed by O. C. company for this purpose. The platoon sergeant will be responsible that section commanders superintend this work, and inspect the rifles of their section. Any man who is found with a dirty rifle will be made a prisoner.

30. All rifles by day to be in racks, except those used by the sentries, and arrangements should be made by section commanders to improvise racks if they are not provided.

31. Great care is to be exercised to keep the trenches clean and in a sanitary condition. Platoon commanders will be responsible for the latrines in their section of the trenches. Any man fouling the trenches will be severely dealt with. No water is to be taken for drinking or cooking purposes except from the water cart or tanks provided for this purpose. Disregard of this regulation will probably cause an outbreak of typhoid or dysentery amongst the men of the company.

32. Stretcher bearers will be stationed at a place appointed by the C. O. If a man is wounded, information should be sent at once to these stretcher bearers, whose duty it is to carry wounded to the aid post or dressing station.

Men should not be taken from the firing line for this purpose.

33. No soldier is to be buried nearer than 300 yards from the trenches.

34. In each platoon a N. C. O. will be detailed for duty by day. This N. C. O. will do no night duty, but will get a full night's rest. His duties are to post the day sentries and to see that they are alert and carrying out their duties correctly. He will be generally responsible for the cleanliness of his lines and will frequently visit the latrines. It is part of his duties to see that any loose ammunition lying about is collected.

35. The platoon sergeant will always send, if possible, a N. C. O.[2] to draw the rations, and this N. C. O. will be responsible for their safe delivery. This especially applies to the issue of coke. The C. S. M. will, prior to his day of relief from the trenches, always collect the articles of trench equipment supplied for his company and make out a list of the same. These articles will be handed over to the company sergeant major of the relieving company.

36. The system of passing down messages by word of mouth, man to man, must not be used. If an officer or N. C. O. has anything important to report he should do so in writing. If there is no time to do this, a special messenger should be intrusted with a verbal message which should afterwards be confirmed in writing.

37. Special instructions have been issued as to precautions against gas. These are to be strictly followed.