Elements of Trench WarfareWaldron, William H. (William Henry)
History
Elements of Trench Warfare
Waldron, William H. (William Henry)
Intrenchments; Siege warfare
A hurdle is made by describing on the ground an arc of a circle of
8-foot radius and on the arc driving ten pickets, 8 inches apart,
covering 6 feet out to out. Brush is then woven in and out and well
compacted. The concave side of a hurdle should be placed next the
earth. It warps less than if made flat.
[Illustration: PLATE 32.—Method of laying out hurdle.]
[Illustration: PLATE 33.—Hurdle.]
In _weaving the hurdle_, begin randing at the middle space at the
bottom. Reaching the end, twist the rod as described for a withe but
at one point only, bend it around the end picket and work back. Start
a second rod before the first one is quite out, slewing the two for a
short distance. Hammer the wattling down snug on the pickets with a
block of wood and continue until the top is reached. It improves the
hurdle to finish the edges with two selected rods paired. A pairing
may be introduced in the middle, if desired, to give the hurdle extra
endurance if it is to be used as a pavement or floor. If the hurdle
is not to be used at once, or if it is to be transported, it must be
_sewed_. The sewing is done with wire, twine or withes at each end and
in the middle, with stitches about 6 inches long, as shown in Plate
33. About 40 feet of wire is required to sew one hurdle. No. 14 is
about the right size, and a coil of 100 pounds will sew forty hurdles.
Three men should make a hurdle in two hours, two wattling and the third
preparing the rods.
_Continuous Hurdle._—If conditions permit the revetment to be built
in place, the hurdle is made continuous for considerable lengths.
The pickets may be larger; they are driven further apart, 12 or 18
inches, and the brush may be heavier. The construction is more rapid.
The pickets are driven with a little more slant than is intended and
must be anchored to the parapet. A line of poles, with wire attached
at intervals of two or three pickets, will answer. The wires should
be made fast to the pickets after the wattling is done. They will
interfere with the weaving if fastened sooner. Two men should make 4
yards of continuous hurdling of ordinary height in one hour.
_Brush Revetment._—Pickets may be set as above described and the brush
laid inside them without weaving, being held in place by bringing the
earth up with it. In this case the anchors must be fastened before
the brush laying begins. The wires are not much in the way in this
operation.
[Illustration: PLATE 34.—Gabion.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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