Produced by Brian Coe, John Campbell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE Italic text is denoted by _underscores_. A superscript is denoted by ^x or ^{xx}, for example G^2 or 1^{st}. Some minor changes to the text are noted at the end of the book. CONFIDENTIAL FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY NOT TO BE TAKEN INTO FRONT LINE TRENCHES USE OF MINES IN TRENCH WARFARE (From the French School of St. Cyr) TRANSLATED AND EDITED AT THE ARMY WAR COLLEGE JULY, 1917 [Illustration: (Seal of the 'UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WAR OFFICE')] WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1917 WAR DEPARTMENT. Document No. 635. _Office of The Adjutant General._ WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, _July 23, 1917_. The following notes on Use of Mines in Trench Warfare are published for the Information of all concerned. [062.1, A. G. O.] BY ORDER OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR: TASKER H. BLISS, _Major General, Acting Chief of Staff_. OFFICIAL: H. P. McCAIN, _The Adjutant General_. WAR DEPARTMENT, THE ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE, _Washington, June 19, 1917_. _To all officers of the Army_: You are advised that this and all subsequent documents of a similar character which may be furnished to you from this office are to be regarded as strictly confidential. They are to be kept at all times in your personal possession, and are not to be copied, nor are any parts of their contents to be communicated either directly or indirectly to the press, nor to any person not in the military or naval service of the United States. In Europe these documents are not to be carried into the front-line trenches, nor farther to the front than the usual post of the officers to whom issued. Strict compliance with this injunction is enjoined upon every officer into whose hands any of these confidential documents may come. BY ORDER OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR: H. P. McCAIN, _The Adjutant General_. CONTENTS. Page. Use of mines 5 Specially menaced points 5 Surface observations 5 Indications revealing enemy galleries 6 Listening for underground noise 6 Position of listening posts 6 Hours and precautions 7 What is heard 7 Distance at which noise can be heard 7 Direction from which noise comes 8 Useful information on mines 8 Defensive systems 8 Interval between galleries 8