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Offensive Fighting

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LEADING IVAR BOOKS

LEADERSHIP AND MILITARY TRAINICloth, $1.00 By LT. COL. L. C. ANDREWS, U.S.A.

. FUNDAMENTALS OF MILITARY SERVBy LT. COL. L. C. ANDREWS, U:S. A.

FUNDAMENTALS OF NAVAL SERVIBy COMMANDER YATES STIRLING

COMPLETE U. S. INFANTRY GUIDA reprint of all the material contained in the 25 Go

books pertaining to Infantry

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OFFENSIVE

FIGH1-'ING

BY

MAJOR DONALD 1\1.McRAE', MINFANTRY RESERVE CORPS

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FOREWORD

MUCH has been written on different phas

Great. War.

Offensive Fighting has a message for the

and Raiding Officer.

It is the junior officers who are called

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PREFACE

THE object of this book is to place in theofficers and men of our new Army, some of th

of the work it took me months of labor and the

sacrifice of lives to learn. Some day you wil

do the same kind of work I had to do and I ho

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CONTENTS

CHAPTER

I", MINE CRATER CONSOLIDATION" ,

II. TRENCH RAIDS •••. , , .. , .. . .. . .. . ..

III. PATROLS AND THE CONTROL OF No MAN'S LA

IV. FRONT LINE OBSERVATIONS",.",.,.,

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oFFENSIVEFIG HTIN

CHAPTER I

MINE CRATER CONSOLIDATION

A. OCCUPATION OF MINE CRA:rER

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14 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

is enough to shake the most veteran troops. Tmay blow a crater under our lines for the sam

(b) A mine may be exploded as a defensi

ure, such as the blowing of Montreal Crater

Ridge. This is done when the enemy is placi

already placed a mine under our line and in th

entire object of our mine is to destroy the ene

galleries and thus prevent him from explo

mine. If we can destroy some of his line

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MINE CRATER CONSOLIDATION

tion Officers. This was the case at l\10ntrealThe crater post was about the only place al

Vimy Ridge from which any view could be

of the back side of the Ridge. Before this m

exploded the enemy had a fine view of all our d

While we had no. observation of his lines at al

result the Germans kept up a very nasty. artill

trench mortar fire that it was hard for us to

with any accuracy, as we were firing blind. After

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16 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

(b) The officer in charge marks out the

dug and sets the men to work. As a ruleare dug as in Fig. 1. These posts are. the

done, so the party will have some sort of cthe counter-attack comes.

(c) As soon as the posts are. done it isto establish communications with the old

First a trench is dug around. the inside of

at about ground level. This trench should

-

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MINE CRATER CONSOLIDATION

( e) \Vhen the work has been carried this

outs should be constructed. They should bethe slope of the crater and not at the b~tt'o

they will be safer from shells, drier and easi

There should be a gentle slope from the ba

dugout to the crater for drainage. If Frencmaterial is used these shelters can be quickly c

All trenches must be revetted, as dug, or

, not stand any time, in the newly turned ear

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18 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

officer, during the advance, leaves our last

the open he should lay a tape, as he goes, to

positions where he wants the sap, the Y and

dug. These tapes also help to guide carryin

and stretcher-bearers to the garrisons.

(c) A French dugout should be put in

(d) Special wiring parties must be destart work at once to put wire around the ins

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MINE CRATER CONSOLIDATION

(C) Conversion of a- Number of Crate

Strong Point.-This task is fully illustrated. 4. ARTILLERY,TRENCH MORTARAND

GUN BARRAGEsee Fig. 4).-The object ofrage is to silence the enemy's fire and to

counter-attacks. The explosion of the minezero and there should be no firing before th

enemy will be warned and lay down his barrag

the parties get out into No Man's Land and th

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OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

Auto rifles for 800 yards on each flank sh

up a rapid fire on the enemy front line to k

rifle fire as much as possible.

5. GENERAL REMARKS (Consolidation

lip).- The crater will probably be about 90 t

deep and 100 to 300 yards wide:

(a) Stonning Parties.-There should be

about 40 men detailed to capture, hold and c

the crater. This party should be compose

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MINE CRATER CONSOLiDATION

These men actually dig. The remainder

covering party.Each section should have a reserve secti.

same composition waiting at its dump to re

if necessary. Fairly heavy casualties are

pected in work of this kind, for the men are

in the open and no matter how good our

the enemy fire will not be completely sile

battalion blowing a crater will probably lose

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OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

Rifle and Bayonet170 Rounds S. A. A.

'3 Bombs

I Shovel

10 Sandbags

I Full Water Bottle

2 Days' Emergency Rations.

I Field Dressing (shell dressing, if availabl

wounds are shell wounds).

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MINE CRATER CONSOLIDATION

materials needed and help the stretcher bear

n.turn trip. They should come forward imafter the storming party and bring up twpicks and as many bombs as possible.

The officer and N. C. O. should eac

" Very" pistol and white and colored lightsfor S. O. S. signals. The officer should

a flashlight, as it can be used to signal withthing else fails.

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OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

and bury the party than one perpendicular to tThe direction of the push is of course along r

the crater.If another crater or a deep depression is

the mine and the assembly trench, it is very

absorb much of the shock.The majority of the debris falls very clo

crater, thus forming the lip with an ordinar

there is little danger from the falling earth at 3

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MINE CRATER CONSOLIDATION

starting. He must now be very careful to t

look around and make certain just how the lathen lay tapes to the points he selects for

His next move is to place his men in po

start them digging under direction of the

H,e then makes certain that the covering. in proper. positions and then goes back to

communication trench from the front line

started properly. From this point on there

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26 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

yards from the front line, as a greater distan

mean too long a trip through the enemy barrage

dumps should not be established until the nig

the operation, as enemy aircraft may observe

the carrying parties and surmise what was goi

then the dumps would be put out of action

thing on zero night. For the same reason th

should not approach their dumps in large

'although every man should be shown the lo

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MINE CRATER CONSOLIDATION

5 Boxes S.A. A. (5000 total)

28 Boxes Mills NO.5 Grenades (336 total)10. Packages White "Very," Light Cart

total)

2 Packages Red " Very" Light Cartridges

S. signals2 Packages Green "Very" Light Cart

S. O. S. signals

3 "Very" Pistols (I")

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OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

takes place at night, as it probably will do.

daylight visual signals (signalling shutters)relied upon if the. barrage of the enemy is

heavy to see through, but at night runners

the only resource and they are not certain.

practically no chance of a telephone wire lastthan a few moments, though it does no harm

It is a great waste of life to send runners

barrage and it should not be done except fo

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MINE CRATER CONSOLIDATION

out. The ground flare cannot be missed or

but it will draw machine-gun and artillery fi

dead give away of the' post's location unle

from a distance to one side.

All runners should wear a white armlet.so

readily recognizable and must have "right

over everyone.

(f) Sttpports and Reserves.-As so man

be taken from the battalion, in the line, for

ent parties, it will probably be found necessar

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80 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

shown the assembly point, the artillery conc

etc. In fact, the same action is taken as if•going to explode the mine ourselves, the only

being that the zero hour is uncertain. For th

the parties must continue to do trench duties.

as the mine explodes our barrage is 'laid deach man detailed gets to the assembly point a

as possible without further orders. From heaction is' the same as before, except that ther

Fig. 1.

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70.. Enemy

\

x x x )( x x ..

-\ .Blinded En-trance whenpossible

r

r;.;!"{"

TaX ,.j""h9R~~, 1lT'~';;"':::_---;'-Jo

Elevation

~ " 

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M.G.

Farm

IE

Fig. 4.

Barroge for J!jf;f -Canso/lei

c.%IM.6.

o

Rest/rve

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•CHAPTER II

TRENCH RAIDS

DEFINITION.-A raid is a minor operation

a limited number of men, either with or with

lery support, enter the enemy's lines, hold th

limited time to obtain information and inflict c

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;OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

the German lines at any time, kill the garrison

get away, is of great benefit in,raising their(d)" To lower enemy morale. Few thi

the morale more, or in other words" get up

more, of troops than suc~essft11raids against

raiding party shows no mercy and after takitwo prisoners kills all other enemy it can.few raids an enemy is very jumpy, throwing

his own wire, employing constant machin

rifle fire and 'firing many. flares. When tro

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TRENCH RAIDS

(i) As a retaliation for an enefllY raid

should be especially vicious and destructive aat least five Germans killed or captured for

the German raid got. The object is to m

realize that it does not pay to attempt to raid

On the British front in 1917, there welarge number of successful British raids and

successful German raids or even attempted

raids.

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OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

there should be numerous dugouts and a ma

or trench-mortar emplacement, if possible. Tbe favorable ground for the approach and wand no commanding ground in the immedia

from which machine-gunfire may be' direct

raiders. The enemy wire is of secondary imas, no matter what its condition, the artiller

stroy it. Besides the above there should

communication trenches as possible for, eith

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TRENCH RAIDS

and the local conditions, but the average or

raid consists of about 130 men. This size raabout 600 yards ~and has strong artillery supp

For about a year, from November, 1915, t

ber, 1916, the stealth raid was highly succe

since the latter part of 1916, the enemy haviered from his initial surprise, has adopted m

defence that cause a large percentage of thes

be a failure. A stealth raid is one made

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86 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

than a company one. The men of each comp

be assigned to the same sections tho~gh, s

fighting beside friends ..

Very often the two battalions, of a briga

line each furnish half of the party. Thi

division of losses, gives each battalion equaldistinguish itself. and leads to better coope

tween the battalions of the brigade, which wi

later in an offensive. They should not be

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TRENCH RAIDS

that are strange to many officers and men.

ing a raid a scout officer cannot be expectedon with his regular work.

In picking the men never, if it can be avo

men who have not had previous experience

rage. A barrage at night is a terrifying sinew man is simply paralyzed for a few qlo

usually unable to think or move. This feeli

but as dash is essential a man of this kind

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38OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

tions for the covering parties. The patrol

certain that there are no obstructions be" jumping off" position and the enemy wir

old trenches filled with water and wire, or o

in No :Man's Land .. After the wire cutting

menced patrols examine and report the renight. The~e reports must be extremely a

the lives of the raiders are liable to depen

directly. No effort,' regardless of risk, mus

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TRENCH RAIDS

sonal investigation of the enemy wire and

self it is p~operly cut before he takes the5. WIRE CUTTING.-(a) Artillery.-Th

should be notified three or four days befo

of the exact map locations of where they

cut gaps in the enemy wire. For a raid omen on a front of six hundred yards five ga

cient. These gaps should be at least ten yarclear of all ,wire. After breaking up the w

I. can be swept clean with high explosive shra

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iO OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

heavy wire or knife re~ts. This shell has li

and must rely on the actual explosion for ittive power. The heavier metalled 6o-poun

mortar is more efficient weight for weight.

6. BARRAGES (see Fig. 7).-(a) Artillery

an~ arty number of schemes for box barrages,description of more than one simply leads to

only one example will be cited. This ba

proved very satisfactory in every way. In thi

barrage the I8-pounder is the travelling por

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TRENCH RAIDS

For this part of the barrage it is much

use percussion high explosive shrapnel thanshrapnel. This form of shell is much more

izing to the enemy, as by hugging the parape

little danger from air-burst shrapnel, while

possible to escape from a well-placed percusAnother reason for using this form of shel

. is much safer for the raiders. In using

shrapnel, due to the high speed, a very sligh

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OFFENSIVE FIGHT~G

(b) 4.5"-Howitzers.-These howitzers o

zero 7 minutes, but do not change targemaintain a rapid fire on junctions of comm

trenches and all trenches from the support

serve line, on machine-gun and trench-mortar

ments, large dugouts and suspected headquartehelp the I8-pounders to fill out the standin

on the support line.

It is difficult to say how many guns would

as. this varies with the number of targets. No

-

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TRENCH RAIDS

point reached by the raiders .. Two guns on

are sufficient.In case the ground is sUl.:hthat the I8-poun

not fire accurately on the enemy front line, St

can put up a most effective and demoralizing b

the seven minutes before zero while the I8are firing on the support line. The barrag

case would probably be continuous on the fron

not lift, until zero, when the Stokes woul

targets and form the blocks as before. In

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OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

are a certain indication that infantry action i

take place. As many as fifty guns have beegreat advantage.

(d) Auto Rifles.-Two auto rifles per

front, for 1000 yards on each flank, should

sweeping fire along the enemy parapet to prfront line from giving the raiders an enfilade

For the same reason as for machine guns, t

should remain silent until zero.

With such a barrage as this there should

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TRENCH RAIDS

not recognize the set of trenches dug. T

mies must be marked and explainetl to thetrench' should be dug also to represent our

or the "jumping off" trench, if there is

parties should then have explained to the

what their duties are and then practise theafter time until every man becomes perfect.

rages can be represented by men with flags.

of opposition should be represented and

shown what to do in any contingency. The m

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46 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

Assume that the following party is going

4 Officers

18 Non-commissioned Officer

106 Privates

10 Scouts

6 Auto Riflemen

8 Stretcher Bearers

152 Total

and that the objective is something like that

Fig. 6.

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TRENCH RAIDS

Party B enters gap 3, turns to right and

gap 2.

Party C enters gap 3, turns to left and

gap 4.

Party D enters gap 4, turns to left and c

gap 5. .Parties X and Y. take up selected position

flanks as covering parties.

The objects of sending over so many pa

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48 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

NO.3 Sec.: I N. C. O.

4 Privates

sTotal

NO.5 Sec.:

NO.4 Sec.: 0 N

4 P

4 T

IN. C.O.

4 Privates

5 Total

8. DUTIES OF SECTIONS.-I Section.-

bombing section and advances down the ene

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TRENCH RAIDS

any temporary blocks are needed they are p

2 Section and covered by I Section.*2 Section enters the enemy trench and

Section as fast as possible until resistance is m

it will help I Section to overcome it. They ad

a bombing section with a bayonet man in flowed by the thrower and carriers. They kee

lookout for dugouts. and when they find one

Section to halt and then guard the entrance, e

ing to get out prisoners, until 3 Section arriv

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50 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

sides, a raid is supposed to be a merciless affa

enemy encountered after two or three pristaken should be killed. One of the main rea

Canadian raids are so successful is that the

know that they get no mercy and often lose th

and try to get away. Raids often receivebring back only three prisoners.

The officer is usually on the parapet op

leading man of 2 Section. He can best contro

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TRENCH RAIDS

lighter. These Noble lighters have often faile

needed; if they have not dropped off before tha. This section follows closely on the heels of 2

and as soon as a dugout is turned over to th

out what prisoners they can. at once (if non

already been taken) and then roll a charge dow

entrance. The la-pound charge will complete

stroy the dugout and any enemy in it. A six

fuse is sufficient.

4 Section is equipped with slabs of gun-cott

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OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

parties of the necessity of stopping and en

themselves with their casualties. When ahe is left where he falls until 5 Section com

One or two men of this section carry s

collect enemy equipment, documents, etc.

German body is found all articles are remo

shoulder straps and identity disc especially

taken. Most Germans have a pocket in the

coats where they carryall their documents.

that cannot be carried away should either. be

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TRENCH RAIDS

repaired as soon as things quiet down. The whi

about I inch wide are put out to act as guides.

are on a tape and don't know which direction to

it our barrage fire should be a good enough gu

Covering Parties X and Y.-These parti"e

their auto rifles, move out at zero to the pselected for them. They usually form a li

. facing the flank and get jnto shell holes with

in the centre and bombers on each side. Their

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OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

Six Mills bombs by remainder of party,

covering party.

One field dressing per man.

Bomb throwers do not fix bayonets.

Bombs are carried in the haversack.

If possible" sawed off" rifles, with bayare used, as they make a very handy treri

and fire accurately enough for the close-rang

in a bay. These rifles are sawed off at the

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OFFENSlVE/dFIGHTING

must be taken to have the parties and sectio

proper order. The officer must plan out the

in No Man's Land, so that when the differe

start off I Section will be leading. This seem

point, but one often forgotten, and the direct

confusion that has resulted in failure. Th

must be in line when in No :Man's Land, for

long and at zero they must form file to get th

gap. Sketch" F" shows the proper order

when waiting for the barrage to lift.

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TRENCH RAIDS

trench coat thrown over the wire is often a gr

12. ACTION IN ENEMY LINEs.-After ente

enemy lines there should be no loitering or th

will have time to escape or form up a defense;

does not mean to rush the work and do it imp

. By not loitering is meant not wasting time

enemy out of dugouts and n9t being excessivtious ~n moving forward. Dash is what co

not caution. If a large party of enemy cry

another bay that they will surrender, make th

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58 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

horns in No Man's Land, and rockets from

are never noticed with so many lights up.flare cannot be missed or mistaken.

If there is an intense artillery or machin

rage on our front line it is wise to stop out in

Land until it is over. Sentinels are postedone takes cover. After things are quieted do

, can go in, in small numbers, and proceed to

bly point well in rear. They should not be

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58 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

horns in No Man's Land, and .rockets from

are never noticed with so many lights up.flare cannot be missed or mistaken.

I f there is an intense artillery or machine-

rage on our front line it is wise to stop out in

Land until it is over. Sentinels are posted aone takes cover. After things are quieted dow

. can go in, in small numbers, and proceed to.

bly point !Well in rear. They should not be

Aoto R0=.:::== Borrog

o MomentIn5tarr

.KEYT.M.2 Trench M0rt:0r

M6. Machine 6un*' 8"or 9.2" Howitzer

Fig. 6. - -

= = = 

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0-7 7minutesDefore ZQ

0"'35~5 minutesofl~rZQro

D. 6"6un

l8J 4.5"HowitzQr

0= 3"6un

5 Stokes T.M.

.A a 0" ffowitzert10chint l ( jun

Borro91Z ,

Germ on

Toptl

t

; :~~'"4 I~

Sections ..3 I..2 I :.., '1

Tope ,;:~.~:~(I/",,~.

Topu

= = = = 

 __ --- -  

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CHAPTER III

PATROLS AND THE CONTROL OF NO

LAND

1. There should be drawn a more or less

line between observation and reconnaissance.

duties are performed by the battalion Intelligen

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60 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

procedure is to get the information to the In

Officer at once. He will know the best use to m3. The organization of the Intelligence

varies in different British battalions; but the

is one that has proved successful:

1 Intelligence Officer (0. C.)1 Scout. Officer

'1 Sergeant (Scout)

1 Corporal (Observer)

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PATROLS AND CONTROL OF NO MAN'S LA

.. patrol is needed, the two reliefs can be jobombers borrowed from the companies.

In order that these men shall be prope~ly

they should be excused from all duties exce

actually pertaining to their work. For train

discipline they should be under the direct com

the Scout Officer.During training special attention must be

the following subjects: Night firing with revo

bomb, map reading, use of prismatic compass

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OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

is not put down in map form and is carried

the heads of the bJ.ttalion being relieved. Aeach battalion is forced to duplicate work alre

any number of times before, and ha:s not time

do the work properly. If each scout officer

on a map, specially constructed for the purpo

1/2,500) all information he gathers, with the

gressive .work could be done and in a very

accurate maps_could be obtained of all the

Land in France. A log book should be kept

PATROLS 'AND CONTROL OF NO MAN'S LAN

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Under ordinary conditions it worked out afollows:

6. During the first and second days three obmake a detailed map of our lines as far back

talion headquarte~s. During this time the bhas the 'use of observers from the outgoing ba

as explained under partial reliefs, and therefosome spare men. During the same time all scou

.a complete tour of all our lines and study the ob

maps. This is necessary, as the scouts are gui

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OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

points seen on patrol, can be given, the info

of little or no value. If a patrol knows allin our parapet (usually a sky line) such

sandbags from a mine sap, high points in t

isolated wooden posts, etc., or knows the

buildings, mine shafts, haystacks, hills, clum

etc., in the back country, it. can take bearin

or more of these, and these bearings when

show exactly where the patrol was at the

is the reason for spending the first night c

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PATROLS AND CONTROL OF NO MAN'S LAN

, When working down our wire it is necess

have a flanking party, of say three men, about tfive yards out in No Man's Land to prevent su

8. SECONDNIGHT.-On the second night the

examine all mine craters and det~rmine the follpoints:

I. Whether occupied by enemy

2. If so, strength and location of post.

3. State of wire protection.

4. Whether it would be practical to raid the p

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66 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

From this point head straight towards the

advantage of approaching from this direthe fact that the crater party will be loopposite direction, and that if seen from t

they will hesitate to use a machine gun

hitting their men in the crater, or they maythey saw was their own post. It is very

there will be no post in the front line dir

the crater post, as this would put too many

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68 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

lip is manned. Another sign is the firing of f

the lip and is a better indication than the a'9. THIRD NIGHT.-During the third

patrols examine all trenches running across

Land. The points to be observed '.are:

I. ,Whether trench is passable for our owraiding parties.. ,

,2 . Its direction, point of entry into our

enemy's, if possible.

PATROLS AND CONTROL OF NO MAN'S LA

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In following a trench of this kind it is usua

to place half the patrol on each side with o

actually in the trench. If the trench cannot b

crossed it is better to keep the entire patrol on

except for the one man in the trench. The

should be well ahead as usual. This is compa

easy and safe work, as cover is always handy,

enemy likely to be met, exc.ept from the front.

10.: REMAINDEROF THE TouR.-The remai

the tour is- spent investigating the enemy wire

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70 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

1. Strength.

(a) Height.(b) Depth.

(c) Thickness or density.

(d) Number of lanes of wire.

2.

Position.(a) Of inner lane from enemy fro

( b) Distance between lanes.

(c) Map location of portion exami

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PATROLS AND CONTROL OF NO MAN'S L

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fixed times, say every five minutes after the f

five minutes. -During this first three-quarters

hour no lights should be fired, as the patrol

.into position to observe .. When the time c

the flare to be fired the entire patrol must b

holes and no one allowed to look out except t

and N. C. O. One should look to the rightto tpe left and conceal themselves as describe

crater investigation. It is, necessary that the

watch and that of the man firing the flares

74 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

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knows his instructions. While the patrol i

other flares must Le fired anywhere near whare working or any at all if it can possibly b

Usually the most dangerous kind of a flare is

away off to one flank, maybe half a mile away.

lie quiet when a flare goes up, no matter how

.it is.Wa.rning.-Although patrols are more or

. pendent, there must always be perfect coopera

tween them, the infantry and the artillery.

PATROLS AND CONTROL OF NO MAN'S LA

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no warning has been given, he is presumably an

Conversely, it is just as important that the scou

notify all parties concerned before any 9f

go out.

It is not sufficient to simply notify the c

commanders in the afternoon that a patrol

out. Every man on the front affected, the bon the flank, trench-mortar' people and the

liaison officer must be given the following fa

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78 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

posts are best for this, as they are perfectly

their ear near the ground. Besides, they armunication with the front line, by means of

while patrols have no -communication wha

listening post does not mask the fire of the

Equipment of Patrols.-Patrols should nsteel helmets, as they clink when they hit

barbed wire, show an unmistakable outline

crawling with the face on the ground, and it

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80 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

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number of different formations, but the best

eral purpo.ses is the "wedge formation."The main advantage of the" wedge form

that it can be fonned into a defensive formatio

any direction in the shortest possible time.

defensive formation for bombing of this naline facing the enemy; first you have all you

action, se<;ondit is the most difficult target.

for the enemy to get the direction at. night

PATROLs AND CONTROL OF NO MAN'S LAN

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from a German" potato masher," while it is

certain death to be standing twelve yards from

bomb. Immediately on throwing the Mills the

should lie down and start revolver fire until the

have exploded. To. be standing is to court dangeour own bombs. .

Action for a Patrol if it is Seen from

Line.-If seen from the enemy line one of tw

ditions exist. Either the patrol is within bomb

.say forty yards, or it is not. I f within bombing

8~ OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

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, Method of Crawling.-It is difficult to d

way to crawl without giving a demonstration.

necessary to get. down and crawl until w

yards of the enemy lines, unless it is a v

night, or an unusual number of lights are b

To do so wastes too much time and needlessly

men. Up to within this distance the'patrolca

by crouching or on its hands and knees. Aft

t~e hundred-yard mark increasing care mus

until when, within fifteen or twenty yards, w

PATROLS AND CONTROL OF NO MAN'S LA

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necessary to look keep one cheek on the groun

doing it and usejust one eye. Before starting

you should have decided 'where you are goin

move is usually not more than from one to fiv

when a pause' of two or three minutes is m

observe.

When a light goes up every man must rem

solutely still no matter what p6sition he is in

if he is standing up in the enemy's wire the

are that he will not be seen, if he does not make

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84 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

post and bombed out at leisure. The only t

this kind of thing is practical is when therearound the .sap leading back to the front line

can slip up the sap into the post. It is almo

sible to approach close enough above ground

surrender without a bomb being thrown or'given. In most cases it is simpler to chance

post and endeavor to enter the front line

remain hidden behind a traverse until someo

t-0

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o00

o .0

~/QyJs.~

Trove/in9

Formation ("Wqo'ge

1.

Formdtion

Ri9ht.3.

Q

'  

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FRONT LINE OBSERVATION

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Under the subject o{observation only the

and snipers are considered. These are u

direct command of the Intelligence Officer

attached to battalion headquarters for rati

accommodation.

(b) The Brigade Intelligence Section con

I Officer (Capt. Staff)

2 N. C. O.'s

18 Men'

88 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

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.any obstacles in that area, for locating the

. front line and for the information concerning

and the immediate 'support line. Any obs

made in rear of these lines are reported and

check on the data obtained by the Brigade O

(c) Brigades are responsible for loca

enemy's approaches, support and secondaryfor the information pertaining to those lines,

the direction from which the enemy's batte

firing, the positions of any forward batteries

FRONT LINE ORSERVATION

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supervision of the keeping of the Observatio

Log Book, and patrol Book.

_ (e) The Brigade Intelligence Officer issible for the following:

I. Disposition, training, administration an

line of the Brigade Intelligence Section.

2. Collating and forwarding of the informatained from the Brigade and Battalion Sect

the Artillery Forward Observation Officer.

3. The issue, supply and correction of m

90 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

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'u.:ire. (It is not necessary to forward more

identification per unit encountered during e

of the operation.)

Any man securing identifications should

at once to the nearest officer, who will see tha

sent to battalion headquarters. .

. All captured equipment (which includesrifles, identity discs, portions of uniform, d

letters, and any article of military value whats

the property of the government and must be f

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FRONT LINE OBSERVATION

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large sign boards leaning against our front l

does and main communication trenches so

servers can locate themselves. There are two o

on duty in each O. P. at all times when it is

to observe. These men must be relieved ev

hours, as it is a considerable strain to be co

looking through a telescope.

The following are some of the objects that o

are on the lookout for. List of Observations

94 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

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Enemy's M ovemenJ and o.rganization.

1. Routes and Tracks Used by Enemy.2. Trench Tramways.

3. Light Railways.

4. Dumps.

s. Movements Observed.6. Reliefs.

7. Location of Headquarters.

8. 'Miscellaneous Occurrences, Ruses, E

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96 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

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believe that a relief has taken place or is o

time. If going on at the time the Intelligence

at once notified and the artillery given the da

they can use to great advantage. The pack

municating trenches offer a fine enfilade ta

the guns.(g) Enemy working parties, patrols, etc.(h) Time and position of any horse

heard. (Can use artillery next night.)

FRONT LINE OBSERVATION

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No sniping post should be allowed within

yards of an observation post,. as it attracts a

that may lead to the discovery of the O. P.At present there are few really good snipin

in the. front line and Intelligence Officers shoul

it a point to have their sections make as many

sible. Except under exceptional cases snipinshould not be relieved during daylight and gre

must be taken not to make a path that can

from an aeroplane. Of course if the post is

98 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

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cannot be seen from the battalion O. P. and

port is a material help in drawing up the bat

telligence report.

(6 ) PARTIAL RELIEFS.- When a battali

over a new sector or one from which they have

of for a time the observers see a great many 't

.ing the first few days and hand in very lengthywhich usually contain nothing that was not re

the previous battalion. In this way they waste

and that of their brigade. Besides this, it ta

FRONT LINE OBSERVATION

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and practise firing at moving figures, silhouette

and in calibrating their telescope sights. If t

mits they should be given a chance to construct

posts.

It is a rather more difficult matter to proper

the observers. They should be given a thoroug

ing in map reading, use of prismatic compass,

ing, and have frequent lectures and .practices

ing out reports. Besides this, it is important

100 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

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When in resene or support it is a good plan

them in their dugouts and ask them over to your

who know and like each other work togethe

better than strangers, and the artillery Liaison

in the line and the Battalion Intelligence Office

be together all the time. The Intelligence Office

endeavor to learn what he can about the gunstroubles and limitations so as to be able to

intelligently for their fire. At the same time

lery officers can pick up a better idea of the d

FRONT LINE OBSERVATION

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completed, one copy is given to the artillery O.

draw the'~r zones of fire and range circles on

one copy is kept -in the battalion O. P. This

placed on a board and oriented so that the t

with a straight-edged stand acts as an alidade d

plane table survey. With the telescope sighted

ruler edge of. the stand passing through thethe map where the O. P. is, a line drawn a

ruler, which is parallel to the line of sight, w

the enemy trench at the proper point. If there

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, 104 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

 \  

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, 38. :Location of Roostile. Obse

I Balloons.

39. Effect of Our Artillery andFire.

G. Equipment (obtained) :

40. Shells Other than Gas Shell

41. Gas (and Lachrymatory) S42. Fuses.

43. Trench-Mortar Projectiles.

44. Rand and Rifle Grenades.

0

0

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106 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

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Diameter of fuse-holes at top .......•......................

Diameter of fuse holes, threaded portion .................•

Fuse markings ..............•........ ','

Fuse material

Nature of charge

Remarks ,'

... .. .. .. .

.........

.......................... (Signatu

.............. (date) (Unit)

List of

-

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110 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

INTELLIGENCE REPORT.

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14th Canadian Battalion, Royal Montreal Regiment.

DECEMBER ISth,

Enemy D'ejences.

Observation was poor owing

visibility.

1. S.IS.c.S.4.. Fresh earth is visible on parapet,has evidently deepened his trench

point.

2. Enemy has been very. busy revet

FRONT LINE OBSERVATION

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4. S.I5.c.%.7%.

5.

6.

7.

Enemy listening post observed rel

this point at' about five A.M. Th

fired upon, but it is unable to statSounds of horse transport

rapidly were heard behind the

lines opposite HARTUNG RIG

6.10 this morning.

A railway train was heard by theing post at ERSATZ CRATER

this morning.

An enemy observing plane~ shortl

I I A.M., appearing and flew over o

ll~ OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

Most of these shells came. from Bois De La Fo

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The enemy did no damage to our trenches excep

direct hits made at the junction of Vincent and

South.From the rapidity with which these shells wer

appears that the enemy's 4.1 artillery has been co

increased.

Our Artillery.

, Our eighteen-pounders were active betweenA.M. and from 3.30 to 3-45 P.M., shelling front an

lines. .

From 2.45 to 3.45 P.M. our 4.5s were active, firing

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CHAPTER V

COOPERATION BETWEEN INFANTRY

ARTILLERY

(I) LACK OF COOPERATIONIN THE EARLY

OF THE \VAR.-For quite a time after the war

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COOPERATION-INFANTRY AND ARTILLER

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perfect cooperation is the presence of .Artillery

Officers in the front line. There is one such w

British battalion and he doesn't just'-sit arou

headquarters dugout. He is supposed to be the

of the Battalion Intelligence Officer and follow

all over the frontage. These two work hand i

for the discomfort of the. enemy and the insafety of our troops. They compare maps and

correct any disagreement. The names. and lo

are checked of all sections of front line trench

118 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING.

front of us and a narrow trench along the top

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the post at the end was about on a line with

man front line way down below in No ManThe Germans also had a sap on top that ra

within ten yards of ours, but they were so clo

sort of " status quo" was established. From t

derful watch tower all surrounding country

seen. On the right clear down to. Vimy Ridge

the left to Laos.

There had just been a number of successf

COOPERATION-INFANTRY AND ARTILLER

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almost childish in the joy they take in letting o

guns at almost any target the infantry finds for

When the visiting officers had grasped the

systematic effort was made to locate all the

emplacements and have these accurately registered

the Crassier in the daylight. This regist-ation

done in such a way as to lead the enemy to be.lievjust desultory shelling. The brigade machine gun

then accurately registered on the path" taken-

uo OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

again and the same process was, repeated.

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never heard of again.

Practically the same thing happened to th

trench mortars, and then the German machin

started their nightly song. They received th

treatment as the trench mortars. Only three-inch

were used. A machine gun can't very well compe

a salvo of well-placed three-inch shells. There

more machine-gun fire for days an'd then. they

just fire testative bursts to see what would hap

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OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

(d) A Battalion is covered by (if two Batt

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Brigade are in the line, as is usually the case)

6 IS-pounders

3 4.5" Howitzers

1 Heavy Trench J\1ortar (152 Pounds)

2 ,Medium Trench Mortars (60 Pounds)

4 Stokes Guns (I3-pounder, Approximate

(e) In case an offensive is being planned

COOPERATION-INFANTRY AND ARTILLER

it is very difficult to tell our trench from the

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when looking from an O. P.

(c) Immediately send in any bearings ofMortars, Machine Guns, or batteries obtained,

map locations of point the bearing was taken fr

the time taken. You may only get one bearin

others with other bearings may send theirs in aenough data to locate the target.

(d) In calling for Retaliation the enemy

fire and calibre of his shells should be sent back

OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

, (f) Any movement of the enemy that any

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officer may detect or suspect, especially working

ration parties, or above all, reliefs, should be g

the artillery, through the Liaison Officer, just as

as possible. Thisis just the chance the artillery

ing for and at night the infantry are the on

discover these things.

(g) The following is the kind of thingInfantry Lieutenant may have to do any night

A German wiring party was seen and the

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Ji6 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

2. Err'or of guns (50 per cent. and 100

zone error).

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3. Heated or worn gun.

4. Prematures.

5. It may not be the guns covering your fro

(b) Immediate steps to be taken:

I. Do not lose your head.

2. Get men under cover if fault continues.

3. Advise artillery. Do not start the conv

by a flow of profanity. It will "take just th

COOPERATION-INFANTRY AND ARTILLE

teries, trench mortars, machine guns, O. P.'s,

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in reporting on the results of wire cutting. S

infantryman's life d.epends on the excellenceartillery, it is up to him to use every means,

night, of getting all the information possible

artillery. The trained scouts and observers do

portion of this work and just before an offensbattalion intelligence officer is one of the busi

most important men on the front. He is a

general information bureau for his frontage an

128 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

little sketches can all be drawn, except for

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line, before the attack starts, and take only

complete. Information of when and where

patrols are being sent out must be given to t

at the same time, otherwise they may be cuby our own fire.

A method of locating our lines that is

use now is by the use of air maps. A contactis assigned to a certain sized unit, usually abo

battalion or brigade, and it flies over low at

COOPERATION-INFANTRY AND ARTILLER

hour's reading' may very well mean the dif

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between success and failure in a few months' t

In conclusion of this subject of cooperationagain stated that it is the infantry who recei

'greatest benefits and whose very lives hang on

therefore they must not sit around and wait

'artillery to open negotiations, but must get ustart things. They should drop this banter at m

that is so noticeable at present. While dO~le o

fun, it tends to draw a line between the artillery

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CHAPTER VI

INFANTRY IN ATTACK

INFANTRY IN ATTACK AND NEvV W

FORMATIONTHE platoon is now the fighting unit a

. cess or failure of an operation often depe

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13~ OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

holding up part of the attack, companies,

and even brigades may be used for the encircli

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ment, though the principle is the same. In

of large encirclements it usually requires an

order and further artillery treatment.

In order. to obtain success it is first nec

impress on officers and men that the primary

of this formation is. its adaptability to suddenforeseen contingencies, its mobilityand the sco

to the initiative of the platoon, section, squad

INFANTRY -IN ATTACK

is found that the Artillery is unable to do

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completely the Infantry, on the front affected

fied and they arrange their attack accordinglysuch a condition exists on a company front

pany commander and his platoon leaders get

and arrange the waves so as to best meet

tingency. The platoon" commander who actuto capture the position should be allowed

how he wants to do it, the company comman

interfering where it is necessary to cooperate

134 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

Resistance" will be just a plain trench j unct

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the locality is strengthened to any degree

become evident on an air photograph and the

\ destroyed by artillery fire. In order to build a

point" that will not look strong the Germans o

ill a system of good dugouts all around a jun

two trenches. This gives cover for a strong

on a small front. There is likely to be a mac

or automatic rifle in one of the dugouts. I

some riflemen can get out of the dugouts a

INFANTRY IN ATTACK

very important. that this fire b~ opened at o

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from such a position that the line of fire

interfere with the subsequent encirclement. Orule is that the instant enemy fire develops t

rifles should jump, without waiting for orders

whatever position they are in to the flank from

the enemy fire is coming. I f they should ofrom the opposite flank the remainder of the

could not cross their line of fire.- The work

186 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

proper direction they use these for cover, but

be taken that all three bombing squads do no

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one trench and' thus cut their throwing capa

to that of just one squad. The ideal to be w

is to finally get the three squads into. such

that there will be bombs falling into the enem

from three directions, front, flank and re

bombers may be compared to the short-rangeor the trench mortars.

(d) Under cover of the above bombardm

INFANTRY IN ATTACK

beginning, but more often it is from a range o

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IS0 yards to 500 yards. In the former case

grenadiers will be within range and can openonce; in the latter case they will have to go forw

rushes until they are close enollgh to open fire.

the ~nemy opens fire the men will take cover

and then the encirclement will begin. The, mawhich the advance is made is of vital importanc

is based on the principle that as few men as pos

exposed at anyone time and then remain expos

188 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

point one would think that there were only

men in the attack instead of about sixty. The

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work with this perfect cooperation between th

and teams only comes after long and hard ttraining that is longer and harder than a m

think who has not' been through .it. It is d

get sections so trained that, even on the parade

they will be able to almost sense what the otheare going to po, and it can be imagined how m

difficult it is to train them to do it under a

INFANTRY IN ATTACK

first exercises should deal only with forecaste

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ance, in which the platoon is already atrange

proper order, before leaving the trench, and thing up to training the men to get into the pro

tions when an unexpected resistance is met.

case situations must b-eassumed in which the

comes from the flank (right Of left), fromor from both flanks at once, or just plain f

sistance along the entire platoon frontage.

these drills must be practised over and ove

140 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

It will be noticed that a platoon is in two

forms a complete part of one of the waves.

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point to be noticed is that the company is a

depth and that only three platoons per co

shown. The fourth platoon is usually left at

port lines to form a base on which to build

battaliolJ, or, as often happens, the fourth

used to bring the other three up to full strengof NO.3 company is used to form" moppers

No. I company and the remainder' forms

INFANTRY IN ATTACK

platoons following. Rega.rdless of this disa

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it is the latter method that is usually employe

, first two objectives.The following are suggestions for the arra

of platoons to meet some of the different

resistance that may be met. It is assumed t

resistances have been forecasted and that ipossible to arrange the platoon before startin

only difference in meeting the u~expected

lies in the fact that instead of making these

OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

and practically unlimited ~upport from th

must be assumed that trench X will offer no

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at all and that "R" is the only point in

w here there will be any enemy. If resistanceall along Y it would be too big a matter to h

one platoon and a much larger operation woul

Points to be noted are:

I. The auto rifles are on the flank nearest"their fire will not interfere with the other s

2. Bayonet men are placed on "each fla

INFANTRY IN ATTACK

7. Scouts are placed as shown so that

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proceed down the trenches captured and ge

with the platoons on the flanks.8. Sergeants are placed about two pac

the centre of their sections. They can see

this position the action of their section.

9. A space should be left in the line inthese Sergeants and one behind the platoon co

for otherwise it will appear to the enemy

144 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

12. After "R" is captured the platoon

and' proceeds to the objective beyond and

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in the consolidation.

13. When the platoon is encircling

platoons in rear will very likely pass on arou

flanks and leave the first platoon to handle th

If the resistance develops on the left

arrangement. of the wave is just the reverone shown, and the encirclement goes toinstead of the left. -

INFANTRY IN ATTACK

plain themselves. One. of the important t

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I

notice is that the arrangement of the spec

Fig. 14 is different than in Fig. 12. This ithe important fact that for different forms of r

. different formations are used. It is not imposs

every platoon in a battalion will go over with

different for~ation from any other. In thisthere are no trenches for cover, so the auto rifl

takes cover in a' shell hole and all movement

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INFANTRY IN ATTACK

with heavy casualties. Team work is what c

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not tactics. You don't have to be Napoleon

men work together and believe in you and thThe officer with- just plain common sense- a

trained unit is much better off than a really

. officer who has neglected his team training wh

ing out fancy plays. Success hinges on getto the enemy, getting there quickly with no

and every man knowing perfectly what he

148 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

The three examples just given are sufficie

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a clear conception of the general. principles

and to give a mental picture of a wave andposition. That is all the assistance ,that can

anyone. More details might make a beginner.

to a certain form of action which would be b

officer should think out his own scheme andgreat pride and pleasure in making his men p

must be perfection that is attained, anything

absolute perfection in team work means that

INFANTRY IN ATTACK

attack. (The attack is to be successful a

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first stage of an offensive, being made from

organized system of trenches against a highly

defens,ive position.)

, I. About a month previous to zero day

talion will be ordered to move into the back

behind the front to be attacked .. They willfind that a large number of hutment villages

put up to accommodate the extra concentr

150 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

location of his objectives and dangerous poin

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frontage, places where halts will be made, pla

the ground offers cover, etc., During thisofficer will be given a complete set of say tw

air photographs and from these, the ordnan

and his personal observation. under the In

Officer he should be able to form a very goodof the situation. The battalion intelligence se

makes a very thorough examination of No M

INFANTRY IN ATTACK

4. Before going out of the line the bat

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very likely have to send over a raid to es

identity of the German unit opposite and twhat the enemy barrage lines are. This

very valuable piece of information, and if

observed and the barrage lines plotted, mu

enemy artillery fire may be dodged on theattack. Trenches that the enemy covers with

should not be used for H jumping off" tren

can be avoided, unless it is practically certain

15~ OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

part applying to each officer or man must be m

until even under the most intense fire every

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be recalled, and a regular picture of the pag

tion can be visualized, down to the very comm

rule the battalion will find a set of trenches d

one or two feet deep) that is an exact du

the German trenches to be atta'cked. If n

dug the unit does this work at once and

practice the attack in all its details. The pla

mander arranges his platoon, along the'lines

INFANTRY IN ATTACK

The training starts with each platoon worki

its own frontage, then the company works as

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then the battalion, and finally the brigade. Du

rehearsals of the larger units the barrage is us

dicated in some manner, such as having mount

moving forward with flags. It is a very good

these final drills to have the aeroplanes, that w

with the unit in the attack, actually fly over th

and take the messages, etc., that will have to bes

ing the real fight. This gets both the Infantry an

154 OFFENSIvE FIGHTING

In order to get the men used to what a b

looks like there have been cases where a fu

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barrage has been put on, before the men coth,e line for their training. During this b

men can look over the parapet with more o

punity, for the Germans will be too busy g

dugouts to do much sniping. If the ammun

ply warra~ts this display it is a very good

the men will know what kind of protection

going to have and will also not be so star

INFANTRY~' IN ATTACK

line a minute before it is necessary; besides

is very trying to have to stand around and w

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the time to go over. While out of the line the

attack seems more or less of a bad dream, bu

you have actually moved in for the last time it b

a very real affair and there should be no morearound than is necessary.

During the last few minutes the officers. avoid all those signs of nervousness that are

for the men to see. I t is very common to see

156 . OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

ance and that they will look to him for their

and example.

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. Just before zero hour, say ten minutes

very likely to be a decided lull in the artillery

. is caused by our guns being stopped to all

and for them to relay on the barrage lines,

everything arranged for the big show. Abou

the men will be getting up and giving a finment to their equipment, looking over t

bombs, etc. It is a good thing for officers

INFANTRY IN ATTACK

In this first start it is advisable to get all the

ent waves out into" No Man's Land" as, quic

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possible, and in this way dodge the enemy barrag

will shortly fall on the old front line. Very of

the waves start out together and then sort out

l\1an's Land by having the first wave move ahea

, the others 'kneel until the proper distance ha

gained. Noone should be' allowed to lie downmay be hard to get them up again.

With the intense bombardment that is now

158 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

may start off at one pace and then change

hundred yards, as the nature of the groun

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\\Then making up an Artillery time tablefactor considered is the rate that the Inf

move forward. After the attack has once

rate of the barrage can not be changed and

time the Infantry must keep up to their bar

costs.. I f once lost it is impossible to call tback, and the attack will probably fail w

losses. The object of this creeping barrage

INFANTRY IN ATTACK'

ered, all suspected headquarters, emplacements,

observation posts, signal posts, etc., etc. This

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stroys all enemy communications, prevents rei

ments coming up trenches, destroys most of the

guns, and practically paralyzes the enemy for th

being. The time table for this barrage is so ar

that the guns will cease fire on targets as' the In

come close to them and will then change to atarget.

In addition to the Artillery 'creeping barrage

° °

160 DFFENSIVE FIGHTING

completely destroyed and so no trouble is

there. The wire may not be totally destr

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blown off the face of the earth, but there

many holes that it is a regular sieve that

can pass through with no trouble.

The last ten or so yards should be done

When arriving on the enemy parapet don't s

in with your bayonet out in front. The man, tates here is lost, if there. happens to be

German in front of him. Nothing is easi

INFANTRY IN ATTACK

will let you hold. Every little piece of grou

means just that much l<:;.ssdistance for the nex

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to go. Just as in a football game, a few yards

at the very kick-off may later mean the di

.between a touchdown or no touchdown.

After leaving the first trench the resistance

to become stiffer and stiffer until the Germa

line of resistance is reached (see Fig. 16). F

given as an example of what might be the

objectives on a Regimental Sector .. Three ba

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INFANTRY IN ATTACK

in rear by communication trenches. Thusbody is really, digging what is destined to b

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support line, while the advanced covering tdigging our new front line.

A thing of vital importance is to get up so

at .once, before the deliberate counter attack

This may happen any time after one-half hour

this time there may be numerous purely localjointed counter attacks that should be easily ha

our advanced auto rifles. It is a good policy n

164 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

utilized for this. .The trained stretcher be

the Infantry are used to do nothing but

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Besides this. work there are carrying parti

up to the new line with supplies, ammunitio

food, water, wire, revetting. material, etc

machine gun companies are moving up to

" strong points" and Engineers are going

in these "strong points" just behind the

Signalers are laying buried cables and su

artillery is moving forward, etc., etc. Eac

INFANTRY IN ATTACK

will cover the bombers who will work down t

The auto rifles will prevent any enemy fro

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fering, across the open. The rifle 'grenadiers

grenades ahead of the bombers and be of th

assistance. When engaged with a hostile

party and barely holding your own, with heav

r

166 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

draw in an attack of this kind. The enevery much awake at this junction and will h

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bombers, auto riflemen, etc.The trench will be cleared for about 60

to B-B, where the bombers will put in a

block and hold the enemy off for a few min

ing this pause each man in rear will scoop

, excavation as shown in NO.2. This need

foot or so deep.The second bombing team carry extra b

INFANTRY IN ATTACK .

too long to shovel in the whole trench, besides

the men. Sandbag blocks are temporary at

and must be held by bombers.' If these bom

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. out-bombed the block is captured. With aabove described, to all intents and purposes

no trench for the Germans to use. It will

easier for them if they try to come over the o

men or material are short, sections of the treevery ten or twenty yards, qnly, need be block

will make the enemy come up into the open

168 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

them. These may have a number of Germans

~ho will get out and fire into your back. A

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best way to handle this is to turn the trench

to your bombing teams and let them clear th

as was described in the chapter on "Raids."

one team in the trench and one outside. The

must keep up with the waves which must ke

so as not. to lose the barrage. Sentries can

at dugout entrances to guard them until the"

up" come along, or mobile charges can be put

Battalion Front

300>""S

*1 Coy '

#1 Platoon

IH Line

2~LineT.M.

KEY

.:: 4 i'Howlfzer

0= 3"GunT.M. Trench Mortar

EmplacementM.G.:: Machine Gun

EmplacementQP. Observation Post

Fig. 9:

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Id"LiI'UI

2 PI.

2dLine

#tLin12

3 PI. #

2dline

----

~---------- ----------

----

Fig. 15.

} 3!!! Wavet

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"'X'll. ,,>< x

German Front Lin~

c::::::J- Rifleman

t Auto-nfle

• Bombers

6 Rifle-'1renadiers

.. Moppers Up

} I~ Wove

l 'tLine Mappers Up

} 2e1 Wave#/ Coy.

R

""  "" 

-

-

-

-

Fig. 11.

1KEY

Close SU

trench y

• Autor if lemen

• Bomber0 - R ifle me n

6 Rifle 6renadiers6::- s.couts ).o -.Platoon Commander "i121- Serr;eants0 - Corpora ls

t .Autorifle

To 1ST Objective

-

-

- ~ ~ 

-

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No Man's -Land

f " . .. . .. . '"'!yr!&.SCO/Q

German Front I.,,,eTrench X

Our Front Line

Trench W

O ther P la foons on each f 'Jan l<

Riflf lmtln_RiflQ6rflnodiers

Pfafoon 'Front0'P lS0"d8

~ ~ 

CHAPTER, VII

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TRENCH ROUTINE

RELIEF OF TRENcHEs.-NoTE: The details

following chapter differ in nearly all armies a

even different in numerous units of the same

This is written to give a general idea of one

that has worked successfully. By comparison

other methods or by original changes a better

170 OFFENSIVE FIGHTIKG

5. Dugout Accommodation.6. State of Own and Enemy's Wire.

7. Communication Trenches.

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8. Listening Posts.

9. Dressing Stations.

10. Reserve Rations.I I. Reserve Small Arms Ammunition.

12. Reserve Signal Lights, Rockets, ,Etc.

13. Ration Dumps (Where Transport has14. Where Water is Obtained.

15. Engineer Dumps.

TRENCH ROUTINE

A copy of the above is usually given to t

going up and they make notes and sketches o

own company frontage, which are handed in to

talion commander, who has the intelligence offic

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from them a rough sketch of the front. Cothen given to the officers.. On the day of the relief the usual procedure

each company to send up an advance party

the First Sergeant and one man) to take over alstores and to sign for them (periscopes an

pistols are not trench stores and are taken ou

17~ OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

ducted by them to the right flank of the plato

relieved. No unit being relieved can go

troops from the rear take their places. All

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from rear to front. The outgoing platoon"standing to" and the incoming platoon w

along in file from the right flank. The office

leading and when he comes to a post to be

will simply put an equal number of his men in

and tell the outgoing men: to move off ahead

As he goes along there will be fewer and fe

TRENCH ROUTINE

As soon as the platoons going into the supp

have gotten into their dugouts and had a ch

remove their equipment they are detailed for the

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sary ration parties.The Company Commander, as 'Soon as he ar

the trench, proceeds to the headquarters and the

any information possible from the outgoing C

Commander. He also takes over the log book

maps and air photographs.

When the sentries, in the front line, hav

posted and their positions- have been checke

174 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

tunity to check up the men and to see that the

absentees. (b) Because this is a favorite timattack or raid. ( c) Rifles can' be inspecte

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time. (d) After a man's rifle has been pass

. be given his rum. (e) Affords a good time

the men's feet. This" stand to" is never

and is a most important function. All men anattend. As soon as it is dark enough at

.sentries put .their heads over the top, but thsense in exposing the men until there is little

their heing seen. It is not necessary to have

TRENCH ROUTINE

3. All men carry their rifles and two bombs

ever they step off the firing step for any purpose

ever. There are very strict orders on this subj

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it should never be disobeyed, as there are alwa

stretches of line that are unoccupied and som

the enemy has gotten in these places and captur

wandering along to a latrine, etc., without any wwhatever. This rule is enforced during dayl

well as at night.4. There should always be one officer on

the front line per company frontage, and at le

176 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

ship between the officer and his men that

army in suth good stead in all big offensi

Germans lack this feeling and their morale. h

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greatly as a result.(d) To see that there is no smoking

night and that there is n6 smoke coming

dugouts du.ring the days.

(e) To see that men do not go into dug

in the front line. This is the most dange

to be, for if a raid or attack comes over,

TRENCH ROUTINE

(j) To generally supervise the firing of "

lights. As a rule, the officer on duty and the

sergeants have the ~'Very" pistols, with any re

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ones. being given to the Lewis gun crews. Th. of lights should also be held down as much as p

as they give away our posts and also indicate raw

Besides this, if the enemy sees a number of ligh

up he knows that we have no patrols or otherout i'n " No Man's Land" and will feel fairly

This is not good, for he should never feel sec

178 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

tailed every evening at "stand to" and im

go out and i11eet the transport limbers at a p

place. \;Vhenever possible the hot rations ar

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little .way behind the line and carried uporderlies. \Vhen these rations arrive th

want to prevent the men from gathering aro

in a crowd, for this makes a fine Artillery

many a platoon has been wiped out complegetting rations. As soon as the cold ratio

they °are divided and given to the nien fo

TRENCH ROUTINE

be neglected and even if strong, should bstronger, if possible.

Some battalions have a "Works" officer

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charge of all the work done by the battalion

runs all the work rosters, but in any case the C

Commander is responsible for the condition oftrenches and his wire.

Note: Rum issue takes place after" standin the morning and is one of the most importan

.of the day and must be carefully supervised

180 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

6. Make. arrangements for rations and

look after the comfort of the men as far as7. Always see that he has good comm

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with Battalion Headquarters, his flanks and

Artillery.8. He is responsible that the S. O. S. sig

place and in good condition, and that all ra

. what they are. A sentinel is posted at the eCompany Headquarters and is responsible foof these signals. He must be well trained i

TRENCH ROUTINE

a sentinel, one is sitting at his feet on the firi

and must be awake and the third may be asleep

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firing step, but must be within touch of the othThe third man should never be allowed in a

under any circumstances. Reliefs take place ac

to the state of the weather, in the coldest weath

about once every hour.

The number of the sentry posts is doubled

if possible. During the day there is normally

18~OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

In normal conditions a unit may stay in the

system (front line, close support and maybe

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for about seven days. It will then moveBrigade support, which may be about 1500

the rear and the men may either have to

trench or in the cellars of houses. During

days in this position every man will be sent u

hours a day or 9 hours at night, maybe as

close support line on working or carrying p

~

TRENCH ROUTINE

and an enemy raiding patty comes along, as th

do any night on a front held by a weak battali

4. To see that all messages are passed on.

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5. To . report anything unusual that. he

hears, at once, to the platoon N. C. O. or to th

on duty. If he thinks that his information is o

tance he should put his relief on duty and look

officer.

DIVISION OF TROOPS AND DUTIES.-

184 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

and in that c.3,secome under the command of

mander of the front line troops, regardless

respective ranks of the two commanders.

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responsible for the condition of tpeir own trenmay be called upon for working parties for

line.

Men in "Strong Points" will not rein

front line, but will hold out at all costs, ev

.rounded. This is a sacrifice position and

up the advance so as to give the troops in re

TRENCH!ROUTINE

Our trenches and Battalion Headquarters; our t

and trenches on the flanks; our trenches and A

---------------

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either via Battalion Headquarters, or direct linemeans of communication .is very likely to fail

critical time, due to the lines being cut by shell-

2. Runners (Most Important).- This is the o

isfactory means of keeping up communications awires are cut. When in a trench 'this is not

waste of life as in an attack, and the runner

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CHAPTER VIII

NOTES ON USE OF PRISMATIC CO

THE prismatic compass in the hands of aknows how to use it is one of the moslt deadly

we possess .. If it comes to a choice of wheth

NOTES ON USE OF PRISMATIC COMPAS

lucent scale B is read (see Fig. 18, A). With

close to the eye-piece both scales can be seen a

To read the compass, in daytime, turn up

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as in C, lift the cover aiId then hold the

by the ring, with the right hand .. Now kee

dial horizontal, raise the instrument to one

order to read, the prism must be placed so clo

eyes that the eyelid is touching the metal.

closing the other ,eye both dials can be seen, thr

glass prism, and also a view of the object s

188 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

march along and then set the compass. In

will be noticed, around the side of the com,pas

figures. These indicate d~grees. The zero

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(Fig. A) where the cover is hinged to thethe largest figure is 36,.the numbering being

clockwise. Therefore each full division is

'circle, or 10 degrees, and each of the half

5 degrees. In the milled edge of the m

which surrounds the glass over the dia

noticed a line marked in Fig. C, " zero mark

NOTES ON USE OF PRISMATIC COMPAS

explain magnetic variation. In most text-bo

very simple thing is so obscured by complicate

tific phraseology and rules as to get a beginn

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pletely confused. Don't try to remember runder fire you will forget them. Just get in yo

a picture of what this variation is and no c

can ever again exist Study the sketches here g

close the book and explain the whole thingyourself, drawing the little sketches, using

angles. The following description may not be

190 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

the true north line the magnetic north line

from where you are standing the magnetic

the east of the true north ithe variation is call

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Although this variation is different foparts of the world, the change is so gradua

anyone sheet of a map the magnetic variatio

considered the same. The local varia1tion isthe,border of all plaps.

. Where this angle comes into play, in mili

is in trying to draw on a map a bearing read

NOTES ON USE OF PRISMATIC COMPAS

the bearing, of "00," with a compass and t

this bearing on a map. When you read the

while sighting at "0" you read the -angle M

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being the magnetic North. You read this acause your compass needle points to 11 and y

is zero over the needle. What you are trying

is the true bearing TXO, T being the true Nor

want this bearing because the map you desirethe bearing upon is made with reference to true

Now just remember the little grammar school

19~ OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

(a ) You want magnetic bearing (M X

( b ) You have true bearing (TX 0) .

(c) You have magnetic variation (TXM

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MXO == TXO + TXM (see Fig.So far only a westerly variation has

sidered. I f this variation is easterly the pri

exa<;tly the same; though the arithmetic

different.To get a true bearing from a magnetic b

have taken on the compass (see Fig. D) :

NOTES ON USE OF PRISMATIC COMPAS

moment's inspection of the instrument will

use evident to anyone. After getting the bea

the compass the protractor is used to measure

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angle when drawing it on the map or conve

measure the angle on the map before setting

compass. The protractor should be transpare

should have a long string through the centre

as not to make it necessary to draw pencil line

n~ap. It is a good idea to have small cross-

194 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

a line on the map, through the point where

standing at the time, 'making the same angle

for variation, with the north that you read, t

of the object will be somewhere on this line

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you have taken a second reading from some o

to the flank and draw a second line, the posiobject' will be where these two lines inte

more 'bearings can be taken the intersections

ably form a polygon and the centre of thiwill be a more accurate location than the i

NOTES ON USE OF PRISMATIC COMPASS

Intelligence Officer. Just one bearing of your

very well cause a machine gun to be put ou

would cause a hundred deaths a few weeks or

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later. It is worth the trouble. It is at night thaopportunities for this work arise. At that time

firing gives a flash that you may see if it is not p

screened. Also it is safe to put your head abo

parapet and take a deliberate reading on yourreading instrument.

If it is desired to take a patrol to a' certain

-

196 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING

points where you were when you took the

These readings can be recorded by writing

note-book (with no other data in it). 'It is

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write down figures in the dark which can belater.

'. A unit can march in line, at night by s

compasses exactly alike on the bearing' yo

. march upon, and giving one compass to a mflank and the other to a man on the other f

will keep your unit from getting spread

c

.. !mns/L/ct'/ lf

NEEOi.£

luminous P

B . Se

A

-

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lamp (OrooIJO! luminous pinside orcoilJ~T({l17slucent [JIU

Plan

. , .

A

71Clynetic Bearinj

l10tjnetic North

I1tlt;l7etic Beori171

ObJeci

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0'

object

D

/

j

t

iI

t .