Training for the Trenches / A Practical Handbook Based upon Personal Experience During the First Two Years of the War in France

by Leslie Vickers

The erection of these entanglements is really the work of Engineers, but so extensive is the task that infantrymen have to be called in to do the pick and shovel work while the engineers do the directing. Stakes are driven deep into the ground, and round them the wire is twisted as it is taken from stake to stake. Some wires are laid on a level with the ground, some a few inches above it, then all the way up to ten or fifteen feet into the air, making a regular network. We tried to have our wires extending over a width of ground of at least twenty feet.

But not only are barbed wires used, but also electrically charged wires in some cases, though between the lines they will seldom be of much use for a single shell may short circuit the system and it be rendered harmless. An effective method was that of placing trip wires near the ground, and then a little beyond them bayonets with the sharp points uppermost, or pointed sticks, so that when the man tripped over the wire he would fall and impale himself on the spikes. Sometimes bombs were attached to the wires in places where it was thought likely that the enemy would attempt to cut them or come through them.

As these entanglements have to be erected during the night and under the fire of the enemy it will be seen that it becomes exceedingly dangerous work. But it has to be done, and the risk must be taken for the sake of the additional security it will give to the trenches. It has been suggested that this is work to which the conscientious objectors in England—the Pacifists here—might be put. It is necessary work for the preservation of life, and is not specifically military. It is labourer's work. There is no chance of fighting out there nor of taking human life. Then it offers an excellent opportunity of winning the martyr's crown because some one is sure to turn a machine gun on you if you remain out there long enough. All of these points should appeal to Pacifists. But the greatest reason from our point of view is that it would save the lives of valuable men!

The men in the trenches are further protected by men whose business it is to go out into No Man's Land and remain there hours at a time, lying in some kind of hole, and listening to be able to detect the presence of the enemy. Should the enemy make his appearance in small parties, these listening posts can usually take care of them, but when they are in large parties, the listening post men return to the trenches and give warning. The best nerves are needed by the men who go out into the open to do this work, and sooner or later every one has to take a turn at it. These listening posts are sometimes entirely disconnected from the trenches, and out beyond their own barbed wire, through which the men have to make a passage for the time being, and of course keep it secret. But sometimes they are connected with the fire trench by a shallow trench or sap which is dug out into the neutral territory whenever circumstances are favourable.

When the troops landed at Suvla Bay, on the Peninsula, they found several excellent water holes that were most inviting to parched and thirsty men. A rush was made for them, when suddenly a terrific explosion was heard, and dozens of men fell flat on the ground, some dead, some wounded. The Turks had taken the precaution to place land mines round these wells, and as soon as they were stepped upon, the mines went off. This is a genuine ruse of war and was used also between the lines. The Turks never resorted to the treachery that General Botha had to overcome in German East Africa where he found the wells, not mined, but poisoned. A recent report from France tells us that in the present retreat the Germans are employing the same dastardly tactics. It is one thing to protect your trenches or your line of retreat; it is quite another to take the lives of men in this barbarous way.

Trenches dug in the foregoing manner and protected by barbed wire will give the infantryman a chance to live. But he will increase or decrease the probability of coming out alive according as he is careful or careless during the time he is there. Nothing, of course, can save the men if the enemy is determined to thoroughly shell the line, and the orders are to hold it. The sanest thing when a bombardment begins is to withdraw to the next safe line. But the enemy will sometimes be content to allow men to remain in their trenches for a while without shelling them provided they do not wilfully provoke him. A column of smoke arising from the trenches where the men were cooking was usually considered by the enemy as provocation, and over the shells would come. This brings us to the point that I wish to make regarding fires. The men must eat during their tour of duty, and they must have hot food, consequently fires of some kind are needed. But they should be made of very small pieces of wood cut up with a pocket knife so small that they will not give off any smoke. By following this method a safe and very hot fire can be made. At times we were supplied with small quantities of charcoal which was very acceptable. As a matter of fact, more liberties in this connection can usually be taken in the firing trench than in the support or reserve trenches. The enemy knows perfectly well men are in the firing trench. He sees from the rifle fire that that is manned, but it is a good thing to keep him guessing about the other trenches.

For the same reason there should never be any unnecessary noise in the trenches. It provokes the enemy to throw bombs and other unwelcome missiles.

I have indicated that the present form of trenches, being in a continuous line, makes it necessary either to construct loopholes or to look over the top of the parapet in order to fire. I have indicated too that there are several forms of rifles that can be fired through periscopes, but these must as yet be considered special and are not for the ordinary man to use. No doubt such a rifle will be invented and generally used in the future. But in this war we soon learned that it was "unhealthy" to put our heads above the parapet any more frequently than we had to. Therefore, in order to see what the enemy was about, and to wait for sniping opportunities we used periscopes. Some of those that were brought to France were huge cumbersome boxes that made a fine mark for the enemy's sharpshooters. But the kind that was most generally used after the first six months of the war was that which consisted of a stick with two slanting grooves in it, one near each end, into which grooves small mirrors could be fitted. We found them quite effective, and should an accident happen and a mirror be broken they were easily replaced from the store we carried with us for that purpose. Not having a box of any kind they were very difficult to see from the enemy lines.

Certain gunners who used to come to the trenches as Forward Observing Officers were equipped with a splendid periscope that had beautiful lenses in it. But it was very costly and could not easily be repaired if once damaged.

To make the image in the periscope clearer, binoculars can be applied to the lower glass at the proper angle, and almost as clear a view obtained as by looking over the parapet. One disadvantage of the periscope is that it makes the distance seem greater than it really is, and many a man receives a shock when he places his head above the parapet after looking through a periscope for a while, to see how close the enemy trenches are.