Part 7

The area of the gas attack is very large and will sometimes cover as far back as 12 to 15 miles behind the lines, although at that point it is not generally dangerous, but for three to four miles the gas has a killing power, and precaution should be taken anywhere within that length of the firing line the same as though in the firing line.

Another nuisance resulting from a gas attack is the wholesale slaughter of rats and other animals that infest the trenches, and while a very unpleasant job, steps should at once be taken to gather these beasts up and bury them in some place, obviously for sanitary reasons.

DUTIES OF A PLATOON COMMANDER AT THE FRONT

GENERAL NOTES: The selection and training of section commanders is of the highest importance, and a commander must assure himself that the man selected has the confidence of the men as well as his own.

A platoon commander should know his men and all about them, and keep a record in a book arranged in sections always kept up-to-date. This is easy to say, but harder to do, when the platoon changes day by day.

He should know his drill and be capable of moving the platoon into any position easily and by the shortest possible route.

He should know how to organize a task allotted to him, such as delivering over a working party, placing a line of sentries, arranging posts and reliefs, and occupying a line of trenches.

He should be able to assume responsibility for all trench stores, bombs, periscopes, etc., handed over to him.

He should know the geography of his battalion trenches, the position of company and battalion headquarters, and keep trained guides at hand who can find their way to all important points by day or night.

GOING INTO THE TRENCHES

Platoons generally enter by not more than two sections at a time, thus minimizing the danger from shell fire and delay at entrance to communication trenches.

Before leaving billets, platoon commanders should explain fully to sergeants and sections commanders the extent of trench to be taken over and the steps to be taken in case they are caught by shelling or rapid fire going up to the trenches. Arrangements should also be made that if casualties occur among the soldiers, relief will proceed as arranged.

IN THE FIRING LINE

On relieving the fire trenches, the men should make no noise, and rifles must be carried so that they do not show over the parapet. This is necessary even if enemy’s trenches are at a distance, as there is always the possibility of a listening or observation post being quite near.

Each man should pair off with one of the party occupying the trench and find out from him any points which may be useful.

A commander should consult the officer or N. C. O. in charge of the outgoing party and obtain the fullest information possible in connection with the position.

Particular points on which information should be obtained from the outgoing officer are generally: (a) behavior of enemy during period preceding relief and any point in their line requiring special information, such as enemy may have cut wire as though preparing to attack; (b) machine gun implacement may be suspected at some particular point; (c) anything ascertained by patrols about ground between firing lines, thus avoiding unnecessary reconnoissance; (d) any standing arrangement for patrols at night, including point at which wire can best be passed, ground to be patrolled, or place where they can lie under cover; (e) any parts of trench from which it is not safe to fire. Such positions are apt to occur in winding trenches, and are not always recognizable in the dark; (f) special features of trench, recent improvements, work not completed, dangerous points (on which enemy machine guns are trained at night), useful loopholes for observation; (g) places from which wood and water can be safely obtained; (h) amount of ammunition, number of picks, shovels and empty sandbags in that section of the line.

Information on these points cannot always be given by word of mouth. Written notes and plans should, therefore, be handed over to a platoon commander taking over for the first time.

In the meantime the incoming party should fix bayonets and all go temporarily on sentry at posts taken over. Occasional shots should be fired, so that the enemy’s suspicions may not be roused. The outgoing party then starts back, and when clear, the relieving party should be numbered off and sentries posted and dugouts allotted. When practicable sentries should be taken from the dugout closest to his post.

By day the number of sentries varies, but should not be less than one in six. The platoon sergeant is responsible for changing sentries, who are generally not on duty more than one hour at a time, unless under exceptional circumstances. When the maximum amount of labor must be obtained from the battalion holding the line, sentry duty is of any length that fits in with working arrangements.

Every man must see that he has a good clear position for all directions. Section commanders must satisfy themselves that men have done this and reported such. When these arrangements are completed, word must be quietly passed down for men not on sentry to stand clear, and they are all not in that position again until the “Stand to” hours, generally the hour nearest dusk and the hour before dawn.

After dark, unless the moon is bright, rifles should be kept in a firing position on the parapet, and all men not on duty should keep rifles with bayonets fixed while in the trench.

OBSERVATION. Continuous survey of the enemy’s lines through disguised steel loopholes should be made when the trenches are being held for any lengthy period, and such loopholes must always be sideways. Sites may be chosen by day, and made and disguised by night. Two steel loopholes about 3 yards apart enable a man with leveled rifle to wait by one while another with field glasses watches for target through the other.

An observer watching persistently through glasses in complete security should make himself so familiar with the look of the opposite trenches as to enable him to observe any alteration in the enemy’s wire entanglements, or notice immediately if a new sap has been run out from the enemy trenches under cover of night. He should watch points suspected of being machine gun implacements, and especially at night when the flashes can be detected. Observers should be told what marks, etc., to look for on men exposing themselves, and any result of these observations at once reported to the officer or N. C. O.

INSPECTION. A platoon commander should make frequent examination of trenches; at least once daily, go around with platoon sergeant and section commanders and decide on the necessary work to be done. Section commanders are responsible for carrying it out.

Before handing over a trench, a platoon commander should make a rigorous inspection to see that it is as clean as possible and that latrines are left in a satisfactory state. This includes the removal of old tins, paper, scraps of food, etc., which should be buried or burned, if possible. Empty cartridges should also always be kept cleared out, as they get imbedded in trench floors and hinder subsequent digging.

SENTRIES

If the enemy is close, sentries should be supplied with a small periscope to fix on sticks or bayonets. Magazines must be kept as full as possible. Sentries are not allowed to look over the parapet by day, but by night they must keep a continuous lookout. Shots should be fired even when no lights are showing, on the chance of catching hostile patrols or working parties. The best time to watch across No Man’s Land is exactly the minute that the enemy send up a Very light, as there is little danger of one being seen, the real danger coming when the Very light is coming down behind you. Sentries should not reply to bursts of rapid fire on the right or left, unless they have a definite object to fire at.

Arrangements are usually made for commanders of two or three neighboring platoons to divide the night between 10 P.M. and the time for “Standing to” between them.

The platoon commander on duty in each watch should patrol the line constantly and satisfy himself that the proper number of sentries are on duty and keeping a sufficient lookout; also that they have good firing positions. In each platoon the sergeant and section commanders keep watch similarly in turns during the night, and are responsible for the relief of sentries. They also visit sentries every hour.

It is a rule which must be strongly enforced, that every sentry must challenge each person passing him, as it has often happened that enemy officers with more daring than common sense and speaking fluent English, have come into the trenches and walked up and down without being molested, which was only made possible by sentries not challenging every one passing his post.

RIFLES

Rifles should be inspected every morning in the trenches by the platoon commander, and at other times during the day by the sergeant or section commander, and it should be impressed on the men that ammunition must be kept clean or the rifles are apt to jam.

The principal defects of a rifle in the trenches are:

(a) Mud in the bolt, owing to rifle being rested on wet parapet or dropped on wet ground. To remedy this a bolt cover is used, or when not obtainable, an old sock pulled over the bolt action gives the desired result.

(b) Muddy ammunition, resulting in mud in chamber. Remedy: Prohibit placing of ammunition on ground and provide proper boxes for it.

(c) Mud in muzzle resulting from rifles being pushed into the sides of the trench. Remedy: Careful and frequent inspection. Rifle barrels must be freed from mud before firing, or they will be injured.

(d) Sticking of cartridges owing to dirt in chamber and magazine. Remedy: The keeping clean of both.

(e) Rust in the lock and insufficient oiling. Remedy: Bolt and magazine tested daily. Cartridges never to be kept in the chamber.

It is a standard rule that never from the time men enter the trenches until they go out, regardless of what they are doing, does their equipment come off, not even to lie down to sleep. During working periods which take the men to the trenches, their equipment and rifles must always be carried with them.

PREPARATORY TO ENTERING TRENCHES

Things to be taken note of before entering:

(a) Check periscopes, wire cutters, field glasses, water carriers, stretchers, field dressings, emergency rations, smoke helmets, rifles, identity discs, sandbags, ammunition.

(b) See that water bottles are filled.

(c) Each officer to have an orderly.

(d) Magazines to be charged and bayonets fixed and unfixed beforehand to insure proper working. When taking over the trenches, the first thing to be done is:

(a) Ascertain position of officers’ dugouts.

(b) Arrange telephones.

(c) Check stores, tools, and reserve ammunition, and its position.

(d) Obtain rough sketch of front and number of traverses to be manned.

(e) See that entanglements in front of trenches are absolutely intact.

(f) Arrange for water and ration parties and find out position of latrines.

TAKING OVER TRENCHES

On arrival each sentry is to have a periscope, the whole company to stand at arms, and each platoon to have its own ammunition reserve and all men know where this is. It is of the greatest importance that every detail and portion of trench taken over be known, and also the adjoining trenches as far as they affect the trenches held. Accurate sketches of the trench should be made, and periscopes, prismatic compasses and ruled notebooks are required. General scale is roughly ¼ inch to 10 yards. Drains must be watched and every effort made to keep trenches dry. When large trench mortar batteries of the enemy are active, men must be told off to watch for these bombs, as they are easily seen, and many casualties may be prevented by timely warning of their coming.

The fire trenches should contain as few men as possible, and work should be done at night, the men resting by day.

SNIPING

Each company generally has specially selected men told off as snipers. Strict discipline is necessary. They are generally on duty by day and excused from night work, and it is the rule that they are either told off to a definite post or given what is known as a roving commission. These men must be expert in building loopholes of all kinds by day or night, use of telescopic sights, periscopes, etc., the selection and judging of good sniping positions, either for use in front or behind fire trenches; expert in judging distances, in aiming and trigger pressing, in laying fixed rifles for night firing, and in the fixing and laying of rifle batteries.

PATROLS

Patrolling both day and night is of great importance, and generally during the night each unit holding a front line sends out several small patrols which frequently obtain information of great value and at the same time counter the enemy’s efforts in this direction.

These patrols generally consist of an officer and four to six men, according to the job in view. Sometimes on highly important work, it is three officers and sufficient orderlies to carry any valuable information obtained quickly back to a pre-arranged headquarters.

Bombs, revolvers and trench daggers are the only weapons of any value on these patrols. They frequently carry out small operations, such as raiding parties, cutting out parties, etc., obtaining from prisoners taken in this way information as to what enemy troops are opposing them in the line.

When a patrol is out every man in the section of firing line concerned must be warned, as well as the listening posts, and this cannot be done too carefully. It is not a sufficient warning to tell the sentry on duty at the time a patrol goes out, as men cannot all be trusted to pass on instructions, and generally word is quietly passed down the line by an N. C. O. or officer in person, and never passed from man to man. At the same time care must be taken to see that all firing does not cease, as this is undesirable, obviously arousing the enemy’s suspicions that something is going on. When these patrols have to lie out in trying conditions during winter months, special dugouts should be kept ready for them on their return.

DUTIES OF AN OFFICER

Some of the questions an officer should ask himself on taking over a trench and keep in mind during his stay there, are:

1. I am here for two purposes--to do as much damage as possible to the enemy and to hold my part of the line at all costs. Am I doing everything possible to insure my being able to do this?

2. Do I worry the enemy as much as I might, and are the periscope rifles, rifle grenades, catapults and patrols at my disposal organized in the best way to effect this purpose?

3. Am I doing all I can to make my part of the line as strong as possible?

4. Should the enemy succeed in getting into any part of my line, will I be able to at once bring up a section of bombers for immediate counter-attack?

5. Do I connect properly with units on my right and left? Do I know the position of the nearest support, and the position of all machine guns in my vicinity, as well as their lines of fire?

6. Does every man know his firing position, and can he fire from it over the parapet at the foot of our wire?

7. Do I do my best to prevent men exposing themselves needlessly? Have I ascertained and warned all my men of the places in my part of the line, including communication trenches, which are exposed to the fire of hostile snipers?

8. Are my sentries in the right places? Are they properly posted by N. C. O.’s and have they received proper instructions? Are the sentries visited at frequent intervals?

9. Have I always got a man ready to take messages to company headquarters? Do I realize that I should at once report any information I may obtain about the enemy, and that such information may be of the greatest use to the highest commanders?

10. Do all my men know their duties in case of attack, especially the bombers? If the enemy succeeds in working into my line at any point, how can I best arrange for counter-attacking him?

11. Are there any suitable places in my part of the line which snipers can use? Have I pointed out to section commanders the portions of the enemy’s trench which each one is responsible for keeping under fire, and where the enemy’s loopholes are?

12. Do I thoroughly understand the best method of relief and bringing up of ration and water supplies, and do my men come up into the trenches in absolute silence?

13. Do my men know their way about the trenches in various routes to company and battalion headquarters?

14. Am I acquainted with the arrangements for access to the artillery and for asking, if necessary, for their immediate support? Do I know the location of the nearest telephone?

15. Am I doing my best to collect information about the enemy, his defenses, his activities and movements, and especially about his patrols at night? What points in my front particularly require patrolling?

16. Are my listening patrols properly detailed?

17. Which is my best way to get through the parapet in order to go towards the enemy?

18. Do I know the last order regarding the use of S. O. S., gas and Zeppelin messages, and do I know exactly what messages to send?

19. Are the arrangements in case of gas attack complete and known to all ranks? Do I know the gong position, and does the sentry know the orders as to sounding it?

20. Have my men always got their gas helmets on their person and are they in good order?

21. Are my parapets and traverses bullet-proof everywhere?

22. Is my wire strong enough and am I doing all I can to prevent my trenches from falling in?

23. Am I doing all I can to drain my trenches?

24. Have my men got weather-proof places to sleep in?

25. Are the trenches as clean and sanitary as they might be? Are live ammunition and empty shells properly collected? Have I made all possible arrangements for the collection of refuse and do the men realize that it must not be thrown over the parapets or in the sump-pits for sanitary reasons?

26. Where are my small ammunition and bomb stores, and are they under cover from weather?

27. Are all my rifles and ammunition clean and in good order, and have all my men rifle covers? Are their magazines always charged?

28. Am I doing all I can to prevent my men from getting trench feet? Have my men greased their feet before entering the trenches, and have they a pair of spare dry socks to change? Do my men wear gum boots when it is not necessary? Have I made all possible arrangements for drying socks?

29. Are the orders as to wearing equipment carried out?

30. Are my men using as firewood notice boards or wood from the defense or from the engineer or trench stores?

31. Are my men drinking water from any but authorized sources?

32. Do I know the name of every N. C. O. and man in my platoon, and do they know mine?

33. Do I insure that my men get sufficient sleep?

34. Have I sufficient periscopes and are they in good order?

35. Almost always remember that I am here for two purposes. Do as much damage to the enemy with the minimum amount of casualties resulting from retaliation, and to hold my part of the line at all costs.

HOW TO FIRE A MACHINE GUN IN CASE OF EMERGENCY

As a machine gun textbook is very dry, and it is difficult for a man who is not of a mechanical turn of mind to obtain the most elementary knowledge of the action from a book, officers should lose no time in getting in touch with a machine gun officer and learn from actual experience, how to load, fire and rectify simple stoppage.

LEWIS GUN. To load, put a full magazine on the magazine post with the cocking handle forward.

Pull back cocking handle to its fullest extent, and raise tangent sight unless the target is within 200 yards.

To fire, press the trigger and the gun will continue to fire as long as pressure on the trigger is maintained. It will only stop when (a) the magazine is emptied; (b) stoppage is set up. To remedy this (1) take off empty magazine and put on full one, reload relay and fire; (2) cocking handle stops in one of three positions. To remedy this one must have a thorough knowledge of remedying of stoppages.

VICKER’S AUTOMATIC. To load, pass the brass tack of belt through feed plug (right to left), pull back crank handle and pull belt to the left; release handle and belt; repeat this process and the gun is loaded. Vertical adjustment for sighting is obtained by moving elevating wheel on quadrant of tripod, horizontal adjustment by tapping the rear cross-piece. The clamping handle is in front of the cross-band of the tripod. To fire, raise safety catch with first or second finger (the safety catch is a strip of steel which is under the thumb-piece or double button) and press the thumb-piece. The gun will now fire until pressure is released or until a stoppage occurs.

STOPPAGES. There are four common stoppages, distinguished by the position of the crank handle. Remedy: (1) Pull crank handle back and belt to the left, let go crank handle; (2) open rear cover, take out lock, remove bent cartridge from face of lock; (3) hit crank handle down. If it will not go, lift it a little, pull belt and hit again; (4) raise crank handle, pull belt, let go of crank. If not effective, then put in the spare lock, but unload first. To disable gun, remove lock and fuse from fire belt through the breech casing.

PREVENTION OF FROST BITE AND TRENCH FEET

These conditions are generally caused by long standing in cold water and mud, or the continuous wearing of wet socks, boots and puttees, and the conditions are accelerated when the blood circulation in the feet and legs is interfered with by the use of tight puttees, or anything calculated to cause constriction of the lower limbs. They can be prevented or diminished by constant improvement of trenches and reducing the time spent in the trenches as far as the general situation will permit by battalion arrangements; by insuring that men entering the trenches are warmly clad in dry boots, socks, trousers and puttees, and that before entering, the men’s legs and feet are thoroughly rubbed with whale oil. Provisions are made for the men on coming out of the trenches to get warm shelters, hot foods and facilities for washing the feet and drying wet clothes, and all along the line just behind the trenches soup kitchens are kept where the men may stop on the way to billet and get hot soup, etc.

The arrangements made when a battalion is going into the trenches are roughly as follows:

The men’s feet and legs are washed and dried and then thoroughly rubbed with whale oil and dry socks put on. A second pair of dry socks is carried by each man, and when it is possible, battalion arrangements are made for wet socks to be brought down from the trenches one night and dry ones exchanged, this taking place every night. This is generally managed by the men changing in the early morning, the relief party for that night taking down the wet socks and bringing in the dry for the next morning.

Hot water must never be used, nor the feet held near a fire. Where necessary, and circumstances permit, long gum boots are put on on entering the trench, while the men’s feet are still dry, and taken off as soon as they prepare to leave and handed over as trench stores.

In some parts of the line, where conditions are very favorable, battalion rest posts are formed as close to the firing line as permissible, and men showing signs of suffering from exposure are frequently attended to.

Transcriber’s Notes