Manual of Military Training, James A. Moss [books under 200 pages .TXT] 📗
- Author: James A. Moss
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Such a fence may be arranged in many ways to give an automatic alarm either mechanically or electrically. The mechanical forms mostly depend on one or more single wires which are smooth, and are tightly stretched through staples on the posts which hold them loosely, permitting them to slip when cut and drop a counterweight at the blockhouse, which in falling explodes a cap or pulls the trigger of a rifle.
1184. Military pits or trous de loup are excavations in the shape of an inverted cone or pyramid, with a pointed stake in the bottom. They should not be so deep as to afford cover to the skirmisher. Two and one-half feet or less is a suitable depth. Fig. 15 shows a plan and section of such pits.
Fig. 15 Fig. 15 Fig. 16 Fig. 16They are usually dug in 3 or 5 rows and the earth thrown to the front to form a glacis. The rear row is dug first and then the next in front, and so on, so that no earth is cast over the finished pits.
An excellent arrangement is to dig the pits in a checkerboard plan, leaving alternate squares and placing a stake in each of them to form a wire entanglement, Fig. 16. One man can make 5 pits on a 2-hour relief.
1185. Miscellaneous barricades. Anything rigid in form and movable may be used to give cover from view and fire and to obstruct the advance of an assailant. Boxes, bales and sacks of goods, furniture, books, etc., have been so used. The principles above stated for other obstacles should be followed, so far as the character of the materials will permit. The rest ingenuity must supply. Such devices are usually called barricades and are useful in blocking the streets of towns and cities.
1186. Inundations. Backing up the water of a stream so that it overflows a considerable area forms a good obstacle even though of fordable depth. If shallow, the difficulty of fording may be increased by irregular holes or ditches dug before the water comes up or by driving stakes or making entanglements. Fords have frequently been obstructed by ordinary harrows laid on the bottom with the teeth up.
The unusual natural conditions necessary to a successful inundation and the extent and character of the work required to construct the dams make this defense of exceptional use. It may be attempted with advantage when the drainage of a considerable flat area passes through a restricted opening, as a natural gorge, a culvert, or a bridge.
Open cribs filled with stones, or tighter ones with gravel or earth may form the basis of the obstruction to the flow of water. The usual method of tightening cracks or spaces between cribs is by throwing in earth or alternate layers of straw, hay, grass, earth, or sacks of clay. Unless the flow is enough to allow considerable leakage, the operation will not be practicable with field resources.
When the local conditions permit water to be run into the ditch of a parapet it should always be done.
1187. Obstacles in front of outguards should be low so they cannot be seen at night. A very simple and effective obstacle can be made by fastening a single strand of wire to the top of stout stakes about a foot high, and then placing another wire a little higher and parallel to, and about one yard in rear of, the first. The wires must be drawn tight, and securely fastened, and the stakes fairly close together, so that if the wire is cut between any two stakes the remainder will not be cut loose. Any one approaching the enemy will trip over the first wire, and before he can recover himself he will be brought down by the second. In the absence of wire, small sapplings may be used instead. Of course, they are not as good as wire, but it does not take much to trip up a man in the dark.
What follows is based on reports from the battle fronts in Europe.
1188. Wire entanglements. The war in Europe has proven that the wire entanglements are the most important and effective obstacle yet devised. Owing to the intensity of the opposing fire and in many cases to the short distance between the opposing trenches, it has become necessary to construct all forms of obstacles in portable sections which are carried or rolled quickly into place, either by soldiers rushing out in day light and quickly staking the obstacles down or by placing the obstacles quietly at night.
For placing wire entanglements at night, an iron post has been devised about 1/4 of an inch in diameter, with eyelets for attaching the wire. The lower 18 inches is made as an auger, so that the posts can be quietly screwed into the ground at night and the wire attached. Another method of placing wire entanglements is to make them in sections and roll them up. These sections are usually about 20 feet long, the wire firmly fastened to the sharpened stakes. At a favorable moment the soldiers rush out, unrolling the sections as they go and with mauls quickly drive the stakes. Loose ends of wire enable the sections to be bound together as placed.
Another form of wire entanglement is shown in (Fig. 18). Triangular pyramids 3 feet 6 inches high are made of poles or timber. The pyramids are usually arranged in pairs with the wire on three faces so that, no matter if the obstacle is rolled over, a wire fence is presented. These obstacles are carried out and placed so as to break joints and are staked down as soon as possible.
The wire used for entanglements is found more convenient to handle when wound on a stake a yard in length, in a sort of figure eight winding. Special barbed wire of heavier material and barbs placed close together has been found much more effective than the commercial barbed wire.
In some localities electrified wire has been used. In such cases the obstacle is charged in sections, so that, if one section is grounded it will not affect the others.
1189. Wire cheveaux de frise. Two forms of this obstacle have appeared. Both are portable. They consist of two or more wooden crosses fastened at their centers to a long pole and connected with each other by barbed wire. This obstacle retains its effectiveness when rolled over. (Figs. 19 and 20) give an idea of their construction. The form shown in (Fig. 19) is often made small enough for individuals to carry. These are prepared in the trenches and used for throwing into one's own entanglements to make them more complex or may be carried when making an assault and thrown into the enemy's trenches to prevent movements from one part of the trench to another. The long stick projects out of the end to be used as a handle.
1190. Guarding obstacles. It has been found necessary to keep a constant watch over obstacles after they have been placed.
1191. Listening posts. One of the best methods is to post one or more men in listening posts in or beyond the line of obstacles. These listening posts are rifle pits with over head cover, fully protected from fire from the rear as well as front, and loop holes for observation and fire. They are connected with the fire trenches by means of a covered communication or even tunnels in some cases and are provided with some form of prompt communication with the firing trenches by telephone, bell or other means. The communicating trench or tunnel is provided with a strong door which may be closed to prevent an enemy from securing access to the fire trench, in case the lookout is surprised. Pits with trap doors are also used to prevent an enemy from creeping up the tunnel to the fire trench.
These lookouts can give early warning of the approach of an enemy, either for the purpose of assault or cutting through the obstacles. In many instances they have detected mining operations of the enemy by hearing the blows of picks under ground.
1192. Automatic alarms. Many automatic alarms have been used to give warning of attack on the obstacles. These vary from the simple setting of a pistol or rifle, which is fired when the enemy attempts to cut through the entanglement, to intricate electrical alarms.
1193. Searchlights. Searchlights have been provided so that, the instant an alarm is given the obstacles are flooded by a brilliant light and the enemy exposed to fire.
TRENCH AND MINE WARFARE[14]
1194. Asphyxiating gases. The asphyxiating gases employed may be divided into three general classes, viz:
Suffocating gases, the most common of which are carbonic and nitrogen.
Poisonous gases, under which head come carbon monoxide and cyanogen.
Gases which affect the throat and bronchial tubes, such as chlorine and bromine. The latter class is most commonly employed.
The methods usually employed for liberating these gases are to have a plant some distance in rear of the trenches where the gas is stored under pressure and carried to the trenches through pipes, where it can be liberated towards the enemy's trenches when there is a favorable wind to carry it along; or, the gas may be carried in cylinders or other containers and liberated at the desired points. Hand grenades or bombs are also employed which, upon bursting, liberate the gas or in some cases scatter acids or caustic soda. Some of these bombs contain a chemical which when liberated affects the eyes, causing impaired vision. The Germans employ several kinds of shell containing gases of different densities, one of heavy gas fired as a curtain to the rear to permit reinforcement of the trenches and another of lighter gas to demolish the trenches and destroy the firing line. As a general rule these gases are employed when the fire trenches of the opposing forces are close together though the shell containers may be used at long ranges. All of these gases being heavier than air lie close to the ground and flow over and down into the trenches.
1195. Protection against gases. The best protection against these gases, is a mask of some kind. The commonest form employed is a flexible mask that conforms to the head, is fitted with glass for seeing through, and has an arrangement of tubes and valves which require the wearer to inhale through his nose and exhale through his mouth.
These masks have an absorbent composed of hyposulphite of sodium or of 72 per cent of the nitrous thiosulphate and 28 per cent of bicarbonate of soda. This absorbent placed so that air must be breathed through it, neutralizes the acids in the gases. Soldiers are provided with these masks, sometimes with two of them, and are required to have them renewed every three months.
Trench sprays may be used to spray neutralizing liquid in the trenches to kill the gases.
The favorable conditions for the employment of gases are wind blowing toward the enemy's trenches and warm weather. Unfavorable conditions are rain, cold, and adverse winds.
In some localities weather vanes placed in the direction of the enemy's trenches and arranged so that they may be watched at night give an indication of favorable winds and enable the defender to prepare for a gas attack.
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