FIRST LINE AS SEEN ACROSS THE FLOODS
A TYPICAL COMMUNICATION TRENCH
With protective Arches and Light Railway Track.
The trenches of the Belgian line are not the least like the narrow, deep ditches of the western front, of which we all have seen many illustrations taken from all points of view. Properly speaking, they are nothing else than ramparts raised above the ground. Behind these breast-works, built throughout with the greatest difficulty, the defenders tread on the natural ground, which thus really forms the bottom of what is incorrectly named a "trench."
The mere fact that one cannot excavate obviously makes it necessary to bring up from the rear—often from a great distance—all the materials required, including earth, hundreds of thousands of cubic yards of which is piled up in millions of bags.
The transport of these materials meant a very formidable task, especially in the early days. We have referred to the country's deficiency in means of communication of any value. So everything—sand-bags, stakes, tree-trunks, rails, cement, bricks, shingle, hurdles, barbed wire—has to be moved to the front lines by night on men's backs or in light vehicles able to carry only a strictly limited load, as a heavy one could not be got along the muddy and soft roads. Need one dwell upon the peculiar difficulties encountered in consolidating the ground sufficiently to bear the weight of special defences, such as those of concrete?
Not till long after the battle of the Yser, when the main positions had been adequately strengthened, could attention be given to improving the road system by building new roads and constructing additional railways of narrow and standard gauge. It is, therefore, not surprising that the recollection of the labour, more particularly that done during the winter, has remained a veritable nightmare to the men engaged upon the task. Shot and shell raked them incessantly. They had to toil knee-deep in water and mud, perished with cold, whipped by wind and rain. Owing to the depleted condition of the ranks, most of the fighting forces had, one may say, to mount guard continuously along an extended and still imperfectly consolidated front.
An appeal was made to the older classes, elderly garrison troops, or "old overcoats" as the soldiers picturesquely called them. Working tirelessly behind the lines, they "shovelled their fatherland into little bags," so they jokingly described it among themselves. These old fellows, assisted by a few resting (?) units, toiled day and night, preparing all the indispensable materials and carrying them to the front trenches over sodden roads swept by the enemy's fire. There, the stoical defenders of the Yser, protected by watchful guards and with their rifles always ready to hand, patiently, persistently and with marvellous pluck raised bit by bit the invincible barrier which they had sworn to hold against every new effort of the enemy.