Army War College

“ A working party which is too big for the task in hand is worse than one which is too small, since one man who has no job generally makes several others idle.
(n) All officers and other ranks must be made to understand that working is as useful and important as fighting; that good work deserves as much credit as good fighting, and that bad work brings discredit on himself and his battalion.
(o) A covering party will be provided for digging and wiring parties outside the front trenches. When such parties are being employed an adequate garrison will be left in the front trench. ”

“ Section commanders are responsible that the men under their command have sufficient standing room for the purpose of firing over the parapet. It is very important to insure that the men have a clear field of fire, and are able not only to see the enemy's trenches but also the ground in the immediate vicinity of their own trench. It is of the greatest importance to arrange that the men can fire comfortably from the parapet and that they can get the butt comfortably into the hollow of the shoulder when the rifle is resting on the parapet. ”

“ All aircraft belonging to the enemy will be heavily fired on by machine guns and rifles as long as they are within range, but no firing will take place without the order of an officer, who will first satisfy himself that the aircraft is hostile. ”

“ When mining is in progress in any of the trenches occupied by the brigade the sandbags filled with earth from the mine will on no account be used in the front trenches or other points which are visible to the enemy. ”

“ They will remain under arms in the first instance until the enemy's lines are visible, and in the second instance until darkness comes on. At these hours company commanders will arrange for the inspection of arms, ammunition, and equipment by platoon commanders. The latter will satisfy themselves that each man is in possession of two smoke helmets; ammunition will be made up to 120 rounds per rifle when troops stand to arms.
Whenever men stand to arms company commanders will order the parapet to be manned to insure that every man has a post from which he can fire at the bottom of our own wire. ”

“ Every man is to know the position of his platoon commander's shelter and the company headquarters.
(j) At least two men per section of the support and reserve companies must be able to act as guides to all the company headquarters of the battalion.
(k) All officers must know the shortest route from their own headquarters to those of the company on their flanks and to their own battalion headquarters.
(l) It is the duty of every officer or man to fasten any loose wire that he may see which has become temporarily detached. ”

“ By night or in places which have the reputation of being dangerous, i.e., where enemy are suspected of mining, advanced posts, etc., no man should ever be posted alone. There should either be a double sentry post or the next relief should rest within kicking distance of the sentry. ”

“ An officer will always be present when an issue of rum takes place.
(i) Equipment will never be taken off in the front-line trenches except in the case of working parties, when equipment may be removed by order of the company commanders. In support trenches equipment may be removed at the discretion of battalion commanders.
(j) Sentries will remain standing at all times unless the height of the parapet renders this impossible.
(k) All parties, with the exception of stretcher bearers, moving in the trench area will wear their arms and equipment. ”

“ On hearing this alarm every officer and man will at once adjust his smoke helmet and fall in on his alarm post. Nobody will remain in dugouts. To make certain of the warning reaching everybody the order "Put on smoke helmets" will be passed from man to man throughout the trenches held by the —— division.
(vi) The officers in command of the trenches opposite the section of the enemy's line from which the gas is proceeding will send the S. O. S. call to the artillery, and will order rapid fire to be opened on the enemy trenches. Neighboring sectors of defense will be at once warned. ”

“ Should the enemy attack and occupy any portion of our trenches he will be immediately counter attacked and driven out by the nearest body of troops. All ranks must clearly understand that counter attacks made at once and without hesitation will usually be sucessful, even if made by small numbers, but that a counter attack, once the enemy has been given time to establish himself, is a very difficult and costly operation. ”

“ Unless emplacements are well concealed guns will not be mounted, except between evening and morning "stand to."
(c) The guns and their crews will be tactically under the orders of the battalion commander in whose subsector they are located, but no alteration will be made by him in their disposition or arcs of fire; he will, however, bring before his brigade commander any suggestion for improvement in the machine-gun dispositions for defense.
(d) Two men per gun will always be on duty with the gun. ”

“ When the gas cloud is sufficiently thick to hide the enemy's front parapets, machine guns and rifles will open fire in short bursts on fixed lines covering the enemy's trenches, in order to inflict casualties, pierce gas tubes, and break up the density of the enemy's gas cloud. ”

“ The best work is obtained from men when they are given certain definite tasks, proportionate to the time they are to work, and allowed to fall out when the task is finished. If this can not be done, a fair task must be exacted and men who idle given extra tasks after the rest are dismissed. ”

“ After a gas attack troops in the front trenches will be relieved of all fatigue and carrying work for 24 hours by sending up working parties from companies in rear. Horses should not be worked for a similar period if it can be avoided.
(iii) No man suffering from effects of gas will be permitted to walk to the dressing station.
(iv) Rifles and machine guns should be cleaned immediately after a gas attack; oil cleaning will prevent corrosion for 12 hours, but the first available opportunity should be taken to clean all parts in boiling water containing a little soda. ”

“ No man should ever leave his post in the trenches either by day or by night, without the permission of the N. C. O. in charge of that post.
12. As a general rule, by night there should be at least one sentry post to each ten yards of parapet.
13. By night double sentries should always be posted, if possible, and no sentry should be kept on duty for a longer period than 1 hour at a time. It should be so arranged that when one of the sentries is doing his last 1⁄2 hour on sentry, his comrade will be doing his first 1⁄2 on duty. ”

“ Breech covers will always be kept on rifles, and so fixed that they can be immediately cast loose. Each platoon will have its full complement of "breech clearers" in charge of men fully instructed in their use.
(g) Noncommissioned officers and men in firing line and support will at all times be in possession of their rifles and bayonets. The rifles of men in support reserve trenches or dugouts may be placed in protected racks, so that they can be seized quickly. Not more than six will be in one rack. ”

“ Dugouts can be efficiently ventilated by means of a small fire burning in the center of a dugout or cellar for 20 minutes. This method has been proved by experiments to be effective, but should be employed with due regard to the danger of smoke being visible to the enemy. Dry wood or other combustibles will be kept in readiness for the purpose.
(xiv) Special arrangements will be made by corps for warning the civil authorities who are responsible for the protection and warning of all civilians within the corps area. ”

“ Ration parties and parties carrying material for repairs, etc., need not wear their equipment or carry rifles, but should be accompanied by a fully armed N. C. O. as an escort.
27. Not more than twenty men are to be away from the company at the same time. 1 N. C. O. and 4 men per platoon.
28. Every soldier must remember it is of the utmost importance to keep his rifle clean and in working order whilst in the trenches. His very life may depend upon this, as he is liable to be rushed at any moment, either by day or by night. The dirty rifle means probably a jammed one after the first round. ”

“ By night all bayonets are to be fixed, and 50 per cent of the men on duty in the trenches are to be sitting on the firing platform with their rifles by their sides.
6. In case of an attack, especially at night, it should be impressed on the men that they should fire low; for one bullet that goes too low, at least 90 go too high. A bullet that goes too high is wasted, whereas a bullet that goes too low is a ricochet and is often more dangerous than any other kind of bullet. ”

“ MINES.—Should the enemy fire a mine in or near our trenches the crater thus formed will be immediately occupied by the nearest troops. This order will be made known to all ranks.
9. FIRING BY DAY AND NIGHT.—By day men will only fire when a target offers itself. If the enemy is in the habit of showing himself at any particular point, the attention of the platoon commander should be drawn to it. ”

“ All rifles by day to be in racks, except those used by the sentries, and arrangements should be made by section commanders to improvise racks if they are not provided.
31. Great care is to be exercised to keep the trenches clean and in a sanitary condition. Platoon commanders will be responsible for the latrines in their section of the trenches. Any man fouling the trenches will be severely dealt with. No water is to be taken for drinking or cooking purposes except from the water cart or tanks provided for this purpose. ”

“ Battalion arrangements will be made for the reissue of one dry pair of socks to each man daily in the trenches.
(d) Puttees are never to be worn with long gum boots. Socks can be prevented from creeping down under the sole of the foot by fastening them to the trousers by means of safety pins. On no account will anything in the form of a garter be worn, as it impedes circulation of the blood. ”

“ ALERTNESS.—Anything seen or heard in connection with the enemy, such as movements of individuals, transport wagons, troops, working parties, etc., is to be reported to the nearest officer.
14. RUM.— (a) Rum will always be kept under the personal charge of the company commander.
(b) The best time for a rum issue is in the early morning.
(c) No issue of rum will be made except in the presence of an officer; any rum left over will be handed back to the charge of the company commander. ”

“ Men should not be taken from the firing line for this purpose.
33. No soldier is to be buried nearer than 300 yards from the trenches.
34. In each platoon a N. C. O. will be detailed for duty by day. This N. C. O. will do no night duty, but will get a full night's rest. His duties are to post the day sentries and to see that they are alert and carrying out their duties correctly. He will be generally responsible for the cleanliness of his lines and will frequently visit the latrines. It is part of his duties to see that any loose ammunition lying about is collected. ”

“ If dugouts have to be entered owing to heavy shelling, this should be done with the utmost caution, and gas helmets put on at the slightest trace of gas. The clearing of dugouts should not be carried out by men who have been even slightly affected by gas. ”

“ Commanders of units in billets east of the line Poperinghe—Bailleul—Estaires will organize a system of giving the alarm and rousing the men in cellars or houses.
20. ACTION DURING ENEMY GAS ATTACK.—In the event of an enemy gas attack the following action will be taken:
(i) The alarm will at once be given by all means available; by telephone, gongs, Strombos horns, and, if necessary, by orderly, and in accordance with paras. (iv) and (v) .
(ii) There should be as Little Movement and Talking as Possible. All ranks will at once adjust their small box respirators. ”

“ These rifles will be laid on certain selected spots.
Indiscriminate firing by day or night is forbidden.
If the enemy attacks, rapid fire will be opened without waiting for orders.
10. COMPANY MEETINGS.—Officers commanding companies will hold meetings of their platoon commanders and N. C. Os. each evening in the trenches. Only a few officers and N. C. Os. should be present at each meeting. At these meetings the following points should be discussed:
Work required to place our trenches in a better state of defense and to improve the comfort of the men. ”

“ The front of our own fire parapet should be examined nightly.
15. INFORMATION.—Every effort will be made by means of patrols, field glasses, etc., to ascertain information about the enemy, his trenches and wire. Any alterations in the enemy's lines must be reported, and if any of the enemy are seen a report will be sent in stating what dress they were wearing. The importance of forwarding all such information will be impressed on all ranks.
16. SNIPING.—In every battalion a sniping section will be formed, consisting of 1 officer and 25 N. C. O.'s and men. ”

“ The battalion commander will apply to the field company for the material required through the brigade headquarters and will arrange for carrying parties to take it in.
29. PREVENTION OF CHILLED FEET AND FROSTBITE.— (a) Before marching to trenches, feet and legs will be washed and rubbed with antifrostbite grease or whale oil under platoon supervision. Boots should be large enough for two pairs of socks, and puttees must be put on loosely.
(b) The march to the trenches will be in ankle boots, every man will carry two pairs of spare socks, spare grease, and towel. ”