Читать книгу Trench Warfare: A Manual for Officers and Men онлайн

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The ultimate design of a fire-trench depends upon its closeness to the enemy. When the latter are within 150 yards, the traversed fire-trench shown in sketch should be employed, as it provides adequate accommodation and protection for men who may at any moment be called upon to make use of bomb, bayonet and bullet; but if the enemy trenches are more than 150 yards distant, the ultimate design would depend upon the number of machine guns and automatic rifles available. Each of these guns has a firing capacity of about 25 rifles. Each gun therefore gives a reduction in the number of men required to hold the line, and in consequence reduces the amount of trench needed to protect these men.

A design, known as the “T” shaped fire-trench, makes an adaptable basis for entrenching under these conditions. Many lengths of a continuous traversed trench have no great field of fire, and yet, having been dug, they must be held, and unless properly held and kept in repair, they naturally become a source of danger.