Elements of Trench WarfareWaldron, William H. (William Henry)
History
Elements of Trench Warfare
Waldron, William H. (William Henry)
Intrenchments; Siege warfare
The first step in the training of a grenadier is to overcome his
fear of the grenade itself. This is accomplished by first having him
practice fuse lighting with dummy grenades having live fuses. The
men will be impressed with the fact that the grenades are dangerous
weapons and that familiarity in handling them must not be permitted to
degenerate into carelessness.
The next step towards efficiency is the development of accuracy of
throwing. For short distances it may be lobbed from the shoulder by
a motion similar to “putting the shot.” Stick grenades may be thrown
for a short distance like throwing a dart. In the trenches the grenade
should be thrown with an overhand motion like the bowler of a cricket
ball, as there is danger of exploding them by knocking the hand against
the back of the trench.
The men should be taught to throw from all positions—standing, sitting,
kneeling and prone.
Should the grenade with a time fuse be dropped in the act of throwing,
there is time to pick it up and throw it out of the trench before it
explodes. Under no circumstances must it be allowed to explode in the
trench.
Communication throughout the squad in action should be maintained at
all times. System is required to insure the throwers having a supply of
grenades on hand all the time and that casualties are promptly replaced.
Quick action is essential to success. Crawling and stalking give the
enemy what he is waiting for.
Arrangements to assist a storming party by rifle and machine-gun fire
are of the utmost value and should be provided whenever possible. Care
must be taken to provide a signal which will mark the progress of the
storming party through the trenches. A helmet held up on a bayonet will
do this.
All grenadiers must be especially trained in the filling of sandbags
and making sandbag barricades.
The work of the observer is difficult and requires much practice. He
must give his directions to the thrower in no uncertain terms. When
the thrower has missed his objective the observer will give positive
directions for the next throw. Instead of saying “A yard too much
to the left,” he will say, “Throw a yard to the right.” Positive
directions, even if only half heard, are of some use; negative
directions are certain to be both confused and confusing. The observer
should be expert in the use of the periscope.
Hand Grenades and Petards
The hand grenade used by our allies on the western front is the
bracelet grenade with automatic firing mechanism and consists of a ball
of cast iron filled with an explosive and of a leather bracelet which
is fastened to the wrist. To the bracelet is attached a piece of rope
about 30 centimeters long, having an iron hook at its end.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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