INDICATIONS REVEALING THE ENEMY GALLERIES.
Freshly placed earth coming from underground is white and less dull in color than that of the parapets, which have been washed by the rain and blackened by explosives. The difference in color for the first day or so is striking. In chalk, large white spots are seen on the reverse of the German trench, daily growing larger. Without doubt they are working near by, and should be watched.
A communication trench comes out at a salient, and runs back from 150 to 200 meters. Patches of chalk, freshly moved and increasing daily, are observed. These are indications of underground work starting from the salient.
Four or five meters of enemy trench without loopholes, but with loopholes close together to the left and right, may mark a gallery entrance.
A miner's working relief reaches the gallery, each man carrying a piece of the frame or a lining plank over his shoulder, the ends of which can be seen over the parapet or through the loopholes. These are indications of a gallery position, especially if the men all move in the same direction and are lost to view at the same place.
From a raised point on the second or third line we see, with field glasses, an abnormal accumulation of sandbags in a well-known area. These sacks may indicate an underground gallery.
Patrols sent out in front of the enemy trenches sometimes bring back valuable information. They may hear the rumble of ventilators, the noise of a truck moving on the rails, men working near a gallery entrance, etc.
The enemy fire with heavy calibers on portions of the first line. Often the same corner is bombarded. This may indicate that the enemy artillery is seeking to facilitate the miner's work by overthrowing the entrances to troublesome galleries in the trench attacked.
Listening for underground noise.—The observation of hostile trenches may give indications which will limit the zone necessary to be watched; but for accurate results we must listen for underground noises.
Positions of listening posts.—The listening post is placed at the head of a gallery, in an angle of a gallery, in a deep dug-out, in a niche under the parapet, or on the bottom of the trench. The points nearest to the enemy trench are selected for the listening posts. Below the outposts there is always a niche, allowing a man to place his ear to the ground (hence the name listening posts).