Trench Warfare: A Manual for Officers and MenSmith, Joseph S. (Joseph Shuter)
History
Trench Warfare: A Manual for Officers and Men
Smith, Joseph S. (Joseph Shuter)
Intrenchments; Siege warfare
CORRUGATED IRON. Generally, when lengths of corrugated iron and plenty
of floor boards and stakes are available, this material is used for
revetting the lower half of a trench wall, as it removes a great many
difficulties, such as looking over substantial foundations for sandbag
revetments. It makes it unnecessary to fill sandbags, etc., thus saving
a great amount of time and labor. In revetting with corrugated iron and
stakes or hurdles, cut the slope or wall from 10 to 15 degrees from the
perpendicular, putting the soil in the sandbags and leaving it in some
handy place for any future use. Then, drive 6´ to 8´ stakes well into
the trench foundation and approximately 4´ apart, thus giving adequate
protection to each piece of corrugated, having the stakes at an angle
of 15 degrees at least, from the perpendicular, and 6″ or 8″ away from
the trench wall. Then, slide the corrugated, hurdles, or boards on
their sides down behind the stakes, overlapping slightly the ends and
ramming them well down into the mud or soil in the bottom, and filling
in the space behind with soil.
The bottom third or half of the front wall is thus substantially,
easily and quickly revetted, and the upper half or remainder is
generally revetted with the sandbags, a bed being dug so that the
first layer of headers is about half its depth below the top of the
corrugated. If stakes shorter than 6´ or 8´ have been used in the
revetting, half should be cut off to where the sandbag revetting
commences and wired to anchor stakes, driven into the parapet end of
the bed, and not wired over the top of the parapet, as it tends to
gradually pull them upwards. Then cover this wiring with your first
layer of headers. When hurdles or floorboards are used instead of
corrugated iron, empty sandbags or similar material must be hung behind
them to prevent the soil crumbling through and thus weakening the
foundation of the sandbag revetments. Corrugated should not be used
for revetting the front wall higher than 2´, which is the width of
one sheet, as the supply is generally limited and can be put to more
valuable use as dealt with later.
Corrugated iron comes in bundles of about 24 sheets to the bundle,
averaging 6´ by 3´. Two sheets is the average load for any one man in a
carrying party.
A front wall constructed in the manner shown, if prompt and immediate
attention always be given to repair if damage is done, will give very
little bother. It is the usual custom to construct your fire platform
after this revetting work has been done.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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