sapa essentially
Alternative descriptionsFurrow for non-germinating seeds of war
Dugout without a roof
An inevitable attribute of defense
Firing position in the field
Field fortification
A shooting shelter in the form of a ditch with an embankment
Shelter for shooting and protection from fire
Fortification
Shanets, sapa, shelter, shantsa
Yama, "drafted into the army"
Saving man-made pit on the battlefield
Ditch in "military service"
What ditch are they shooting from?
What kind of trench is dug with a sapper shovel?
What does the German word “schanze” mean, from which the concept of “entrenching tool” comes?
. fighter's "rookery"
Pit connecting the redans
Special military ditch
Ditch on the battlefield
Defense attribute
He's behind the parapet
Shelter from tanks
Soldier's result of activity with a shovel
Warrior's Hideout
Trench dug in the ground
Pit with a soldier
Ditch for infantry
Combat shelter in the field
The soldiers dug
Shelter on the battlefield
Ditch's military rank
. "wrinkle" on the battlefield
Both the trench and the sapa
Infantryman's Shelter
Modern trench
Cover on the battlefield
Strategic Ditch
A hole dug by a soldier
Military trench
Combat Shelter
Shooting Cover
Pit on the battlefield
Rescue pit
Ditch with embrasures
. "wrinkle" on the battlefield
Production of a sapper's shovel
Trench defense attribute
A shelter dug by a soldier
Attribute of war
Fighting pit
Silent sap essentially
Earthwork
Marine's Hideout
Trench dug by a soldier
Where is the infantryman hiding?
. "mobilized" ditch
Pit for shelter
Full length military amulet
. soldier's "pit"
Shelter from enemy bullets
Military ditch
Infantry gun trench
Soldier's hideout
What do they dig with a mining shovel?
Field Soldier's Trench
Shooting or gun
Front-line ditch
Field military shelter
. "pit" where the soldier is hiding
Soldier's trench
Soldier's Escape Ditch
A ditch dug for himself by a soldier
Soldier's Shelter
Shelter for a soldier
. "pit" for the shooter
Dug with a sapper's shovel
Soldier's field shelter
Dug up by a soldier
Lice feeding area
. "pit" for a fighter
Military "ditch"
Soldier's Shelter
An indispensable attribute of defense
. "moat" for soldiers
Foot Soldier's Cache
Soldier's Shelter
Military "pit"
Shelter in the ground
Pit for a soldier
They dig it from the fence until lunchtime
Ditch of defensive significance
What kind of trench is dug with a shovel?
Military ditch
Field earthen shelter for personnel
Shooting Cover
Fortification structure, shelter for shooting in the form of a shallow ditch with an embankment
Original taken from helg82 in Field fortification. Part-1.
Single rifle trenches.
Trench for shooting from small arms while lying down.
It is torn off by a rifleman with a small infantry shovel under enemy fire. The volume of excavated soil is 0.3 cubic meters. Time for the passage is 25-60 minutes. If possible, develops into a trench for kneeling shooting.
A trench for shooting small arms from the knee.
Typically a development of the trench for prone shooting. It comes off with a small infantry shovel. The volume of excavated soil is 0.8 cubic meters. Time for the passage is 50-150 minutes. If possible, develops into a trench for standing shooting.
A trench for shooting small arms while standing.
It can be a development of a trench for shooting from the knee, or it can come off immediately. The volume of excavated soil is 1.4 cubic meters. The time to pull with a small infantry shovel is 120-250 minutes, with a large sapper shovel 1.4 hours. Subsequently, from the right rear corner of the trench, a section of the trench begins to be pulled towards the neighbor on the right.
A trench for firing a machine gun while standing.
It is usually torn off immediately with a large sapper shovel, or developed from a trench with a small infantry shovel for shooting from the knee. The volume of excavated soil is 2.3 cubic meters. Labor intensity with a large sapper shovel is 2.5 people/hour, with a small infantry shovel 5.7 people/hour.
94. To conduct fire, observe and protect against destructive weapons, each soldier in a position under enemy fire arranges a single trench for himself, first for shooting while lying down, then deepens the trench for shooting from a kneeling position and then for shooting while standing.
95. A single trench for prone shooting is a excavation 170 cm long, 60 cm wide and 30 cm deep. The soil removed during excavation is poured in front, forming the parapet of the trench. In trenches intended for frontal fire, the parapet is arranged at the same height.
96. A single trench for shooting from a kneeling position, and then for shooting while standing, is obtained by increasing the depth of the excavation to 60 cm and 110 cm, respectively. When digging out the trenches, the soil is thrown forward and to the sides, forming a parapet that protects the shooter from frontal and flanking machine-gun fire and fragments.
98. Trenches for light and company machine guns are arranged for shooting while lying down, kneeling and standing. The soil dug out from the trench should be poured first in front, then from the sides and from the rear. The height of the parapet in the sector of fire from a machine gun should not exceed 20 cm, and in other parts of the trench it should be at least 60 cm. At the ends of the trench for firing from a machine gun while standing, you can arrange shooting steps for firing from a machine gun and observing Denia.
99. Single trenches can be used to fire a hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher. In this case, a parapet on the side opposite to the sector of fire from a grenade launcher is not installed.
Note: The numbers at the beginning of the paragraphs are the numbers of the articles of the Manual on Military Fortifications, which have legal force, i.e. mandatory.
The procedure for a soldier to work in a section of a trench for prone shooting in conditions of enemy fire
Trenches and communication passages.
Full profile trench profile.
Depth 150cm. For 1 linear meter of trench, the volume of excavated soil is 1.1 cubic meters, labor intensity is 1.1 people/hour.
Trench profile of the main (normal) profile.
Depth 110cm. For 1 linear meter of trench, the volume of excavated soil is 0.8 cubic meters, labor intensity is 0.8 people/hour.
103. The trench is intended for firing, observation and concealed communication. The trenches are equipped with cells for riflemen, platforms for machine guns and other fire weapons, as well as simple shelters for personnel. Trench installation work must be carefully camouflaged.
Trench in plan
104. The trenches are located on the ground depending on the combat mission assigned to the unit and the terrain conditions - the position of the trenches should provide good visibility and shelling of the terrain ahead at a distance of at least 400 m.
Trenches can be located on the front and back slopes of heights. The most convenient place to locate a trench is the combat ridge (located 10-20 m below the line of the highest points of height). When the trench is located at the base of the slope, good fire coverage is ensured, but hidden communication with the rear is difficult. The location of the trench in the area of the topographic ridge facilitates hidden communication with the rear, but makes it difficult to observe and fire at nearby approaches due to the large number of dead spaces. When the trench is located on the reverse slope, it should be located at a distance of at least 200-300 m from the topographic ridge.
105. The main profile trench should have a depth of 110 cm. Such a trench makes it possible to fire small arms while standing at the bottom of the ditch anywhere in the trench. Subsequently, if time and effort are available, the trench is deepened, bringing it to a full profile, and the depth of the trench should be equal to 150 cm. Trenches are torn off manually and using trench machines.
106. The layout of the trenches in plan is curved or broken. A trench with a curved outline in plan should be dug out with a trenching machine without lifting the working part (rotor). The straight section of the trench is called the trench face. The length of the face should not exceed 10-15m. In one front there should be no more than 1-2 shooting cells so that when a shell or grenade hits the trench, no more than one soldier is hit by shrapnel.
107.
The trenches, after being opened by vehicles, are equipped by rifle units manually. Trench equipment includes:
deepening the ditch in areas occupied by units up to 150 cm, clearing the berm (the berm is the gap between the edge of the trench ditch and the edge of the parapet and serves to prevent the soil of the parapet from crumbling into the trench), removing cells for riflemen and platforms for weapons, arrangement of dead ends and widenings for divergence during oncoming traffic, construction of shelters for personnel, ammunition for weapons.
In conditions when a unit takes up defensive positions from a position of direct contact with the enemy, the trench is torn off manually after breaking off single trenches. Each fighter tears off a section of the trench from his single trench towards his neighbor on the right, thus turning his trench into a trench rifle cell. Later, shelters for personnel, communication passages, etc. are equipped.
108. Cells for riflemen, platforms for machine guns and other fire weapons must be arranged in the front steepness of the trench, adjacent or remote. An extended cell differs from an adjacent one in that a section of the trench, usually up to 10 m long, is first torn off in a perpendicular direction to the main trench. and at its end a cell is arranged. Remote cells are arranged if there are spaces in front that cannot be fired from adjacent cells or for conducting flanking or oblique fire. There is no parapet behind the cells for hand-held anti-tank grenade launchers. In the front steepness of the cell, niches are equipped for ammunition and property.
113.
For sheltered communication between positions and the rear, cut-off trenches or communication passages should be constructed. The communication passage looks like a trench outwardly, but it is intended for the sheltered movement of personnel from the front line to the rear or to neighboring units. In communication passages, field latrines, niches for ammunition and other materiel, extensions to accommodate stretchers with the wounded, and field water supply points are equipped. The communication passage can also be equipped with rifle cells if it is intended to be used as a cut-off position, to destroy an enemy who has broken through, or to conduct all-round defense.
For sheltered communication, it is also recommended to use uneven terrain - ravines, hollows, reverse slopes of ditch heights, ditches, forests and areas of open area behind installed vertical masks. Communication passages must be constructed to the nearest area of terrain sheltered from enemy observation, preferably with a depth of 110 cm and a bottom width of 40-50 cm.
114. In the most tactically important areas of the terrain, communication passages must be adapted to the defense, arranging in them cells for riflemen, sites for machine guns and other fire weapons. In addition, a latrine should be installed in the communication passage closest to the position.
Note: The numbers at the beginning of the paragraphs are the numbers of the articles of the Manual on Military Fortifications, which have legal force, i.e. mandatory. In total, the Manual contains 526 articles that every military officer must know, and an engineer officer must know as much as a prosecutor knows the criminal code. The commander of a motorized rifle squad (junior sergeant) must be thoroughly familiar with the articles listed in this work.
Trench of a motorized rifle squad.
The trench of a motorized rifle squad is, in plan, a section of a trench with a broken or curved outline of the main (110 cm) or full (150 cm) profile with a total length of about 100 m. with attached and remote main and spare cells for firing from a machine gun, a hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher, a light machine gun and other attached and supporting fire weapons (flame thrower, AGS-17 anti-personnel grenade launcher, sniper rifle, heavy machine gun, etc.). Each machine gun should have at least one cell, and for a machine gun, grenade launcher, flamethrower, at least 2 main and 1-2 spare cells.
In addition, the squad trench is equipped with an open or covered gap for sheltering personnel, niches for ammunition and other property. A communication line opens to the left and right neighbors, which can also be equipped with cells for firing. A communication passage is also opened to the rear, in which a field latrine and niches for the wounded, ammunition and property are equipped.
The route of communication to the rear is cut off to the point from which safe movement of personnel across open terrain is possible. The communication passage can also be equipped with cells for fire weapons (if it is intended to be used as a cut-off position or a position for all-round defense).
At a distance of 50m. from the trench, at least one main and one spare trench for infantry fighting vehicles is equipped. The trenches for the infantry fighting vehicle are located so that it can support its squad with its fire and cover one of its flanks or rear. In this case, the trenches for the infantry fighting vehicle should be located so that it can move from trench to trench secretly from the enemy. If you have time, you should open a communication route to the BMP trenches. Each trench for an infantry fighting vehicle can have an independent slot to cover the vehicle’s crew (driver, gunner-operator, anti-aircraft gunner).
At all stages of setting up a trench for a squad, it is necessary to ensure camouflage of the work being carried out and its results. In this case, special attention should be paid to camouflaging trenches for infantry fighting vehicles, gaps, and heavy weapons cells. If possible, the trench should be disguised as an unoccupied one or a communication passage (without structures for firing). Certain sections of the trench should be covered from above with knurling and turf, and camouflaged, thereby creating increased protection for personnel and giving the enemy the impression that he has an unfinished structure in front of him that is not ready for defense.
On average, the equipment of a trench (at a minimum) for separation in medium soil when performing work manually requires 214-250 people/hour and 2.9 cubic meters. timber, and with the use of mechanization means (ditch excavation by machines) 148 people/hour.
A full-blooded department is able to complete priority work in one to one and a half days, and all major work in three to five days.
The improvement of the squad's trench is carried out continuously as long as the squad occupies this position. Secondly, and subsequently, the trench and cells are completely covered from above with a knurling and turf, the gap develops into a dugout, a lattice flooring is laid along the bottom of the trench ditch, and drainage grooves are torn off, the slopes are strengthened with poles or a knurling, drainage wells and a drainage ditch are installed; A water supply point is set up at the rear of the communication.
Literature:An article about the Russian Front of the First World War during the period of positional warfare and the features of the defensive positions created on it.
The basis of defense in trench warfare is the need to fight in the conditions of the so-called. "positional deadlock" – i.e., carrying out offensive measures in the presence of a stabilized front and layered enemy defense. The following facts will give you an impression of the power of positional defense.
1. During the period of trench warfare, standard defensive positions on the Russian Front included 2–3 fortified strips located at a distance of 3 – 4 km from one another - so that the enemy could not destroy 2 lanes at the same time with artillery fire. Each strip included 2–3 lines of trenches (the distance between these lines is 100 – 300 steps). Strongholds, consisting of villages, groves, cemeteries, etc., adapted for defense, or an entire system of trenches, were of great importance. Closed field fortifications were sometimes built between strong points (or in the trench line itself or behind it).
Fortified positions of the Russian army with 3 rifle lines.
2. The basic element of the position was rifle trenches for shooting while standing, the so-called. full profile - that is, with a parapet, an internal ditch and dugouts (“ditches with a roof made of poles, on top of which earth is poured”). Frontal shelling from a trench (without dead spaces) is at least 200 steps, and visibility is at least 1000 steps.
Traditionally, trenches for standing shooting and communication passages were called trenches, and trenches for shooting prone or kneeling – lodgements.
Trench for kneeling shooting.
Trench for standing shooting (with steps).
Instructions for self-digging of infantry. St. Petersburg, 1909.
3. The trench was built according to a certain system.
A full-fledged trench had rear traverses (a kind of fence made of two rows of boards or wickerwork, covering the shooters from longitudinal fire and scattering of fragments during frontal fire) and visors or loopholes for protection from shrapnel bullets. The loopholes protected from rifle bullets (they were built from logs, bags of earth, turf, etc.; sometimes the loopholes were replaced with rifle shields), and the visors – from shrapnel bullets and light fragments (we used 2 earth-covered – 2.5" boards). But they greatly unmasked the trenches. The instructions emphasized that in order for them not to unmask the trenches before the start of the fire battle, they should be kept plugged with available material (earthen bags, grass, straw, leaves), and during firing – tent flaps curtained at the back (so as not to show through).
In addition to shooting through loopholes in case of an increase in the number of shooters or for conducting oblique fire, even a deep trench was adapted for shooting over a parapet or visor - for this it was equipped with steps or stepladders. Steps and ladders were especially important during grenade combat and during counterattacks.
To protect against fragments in the event of a direct hit from a shell, the trench must be zigzag-shaped (with breaks or corners - the length of the break is 12 – 16 steps). The inside of the long-term trench was lined with wattle fences or poles.
In order to stop the spread of enemy soldiers who burst into the position, earthen bags, wooden bulkheads with barbed wire, slingshots, hedgehogs, frames with a smooth wire net against hand grenades, etc. were stored in special niche rooms throughout the trench.
The parapet (i.e., the embankment in front of the trench) should have been constructed in such a way that the shooters, without even aiming, but by placing the rifle in its designated place on the parapet, could keep the closest approaches to the position under fire. Taking into account the specifics of German shells, which produce a large number of fragments, Russian instructions recommended making trenches at same (bottom width ¾ step) and deeper. Moreover, it was recommended to deepen the profile of the trench by reducing the parapet - at the same time this improved camouflage.
Loopholes made of sandbags (plan).
Manual on military engineering. – St. Petersburg, 1910.
4. Considering the fact that the front edge was the object of close attention from enemy fire weapons, at a distance of about 100 – Special shelters were created 300 steps behind the battle line - they housed soldiers free from service in the front-line trenches. Between the battle line and shelters, as well as towards trenches for reserves, communication passages were laid - deep zigzag ditches, serving for the transfer of units to the front line and for evacuation from the front line to the rear. The side of the communication passages facing the enemy was covered by an embankment.
Progress of the message. Instructions for self-digging of infantry. St. Petersburg, 1909.
5. Dugouts are the most powerful structure in a trench, able to withstand even heavy artillery fire. The standard dugout was designed for 15 – 25 people, had 2 exits, anti-fragmentation and anti-gas bulkheads and was connected to the trench by communication passages. The embankment above the dugout should not exceed the embankment of the trench parapet.
There were shelter-cracks in the trenches (“fox holes” – earthen caves for 10 – 12 people) and living quarters – dugouts.
In order for the shelter to be protected from heavy artillery fire, the thickness of the floors should be 3 rows of thick logs (each trunk - 18 – 27 cm thick) plus a 2.5 meter earthen embankment. For greater strength, a stone powder was made in the upper layer of the earth - it caused a projectile to explode before it penetrated deep into the pillow. In order to give the ceiling spring properties, 18 – 27 cm fascine.
Shelter design diagram.
6. The blockhouse was a strong wooden frame, covered with earth on the outside, with an elbow rest and loopholes for shooting. Often, well-camouflaged blockhouses and lunettes were brought forward of the position and connected to the trenches by communication passages. Well camouflaged and equipped with machine guns, they were very effective forward firing points that defended approaches to barbed wire and other artificial obstacles. At the same time, many blockhouses were located in the depths of the defense - behind the trenches of the 1st line, so that their fire would be a surprise to the enemy.
Blockhouse and its place in the defense system.
Instructions for strengthening positions. Ed. 2. Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief.
– Pg.: Military printing house of Empress Catherine the Great, 1916.
7. The so-called were created. closures for reserves - special ditches serving for the secret concentration of troops. It was recommended to build such closures behind the reverse slopes of the heights, equip them with reliable communication passages and make them covered, if possible. Communication passages for the accumulation of troops were often equipped with special extensions, and in order to prevent the enemy from quickly spreading along them, with special barriers. The width of the standard communication passage should have allowed the passage of a stretcher with the wounded, and the device should have protected it from crumbling and allowed the placement of military equipment. According to standards, there was one message for every 100 – 150 m of trenches, built in a zigzag or snake pattern and, if possible, also adapted to the defense.
To make it easier to carry out counterattacks and go on the offensive, special crossings were built through the trenches. But to carry out sorties, searches and reconnaissance and for a surprise attack on the flank and rear of the attacking enemy units, covered communication passages (holes) were created from the internal ditches of trenches and closings for reserves, which were well camouflaged and led into dead spaces, into the neutral zone, to wire fences. With a significant number of such holes, it was possible to pursue the enemy briefly, cut off his retreating units and prevent the approach of reserves.
Closings for reserves. Instructions for self-digging of infantry. St. Petersburg, 1909.
8. Often the key to a position was closed fortifications or redoubts. Redoubt – This is a closed polygonal defensive structure, the garrison of which, as a rule, did not exceed one company. Redoubts were created mainly at commanding heights with close fire connections between them and had independent artificial obstacles and obstacles. Such an autonomous reinforced defensive position in the most important tactical direction served as a significant obstacle to breaking through the positional defense.
Field fortification (redoubt).
9. In trench warfare, special attention was paid to camouflaging fortifications. If the defensive positions were unmasked, a hail of hand grenades, bombs and mines, bomb throwers and mortars, and, of course, artillery shells awaited them.
Standard density of small arms defense in trench warfare – up to 3 steps per fighter. The strength of the fortifications, the effectiveness of fire due to the presence of a well-thought-out system and the long stay of the fighters in position contributed to such a sparse formation.
Machine guns, which had such significant properties for positional defense as accuracy and accuracy (compared to rifle fire) of fire, were installed in the most tactically dangerous positions (on “paths of probable enemy attack” and on reverse slopes of heights) and on the flanks (this made it possible to concentrate cross machine gun fire). It was considered desirable to achieve fire coverage of the advancing enemy.
Machine guns were either interspersed with shooting positions or installed separately – “independently” (usually in a platoon). In the latter case, special machine-gun trenches were built. It was recommended to place machine guns in armored shelters, and carefully camouflage those located on the very line of fire, connecting them with the rear positions via communications.
It was recommended to place bombers and mortars behind folds of terrain and reverse slopes of heights, if possible away from the trenches, and to change their positions as often as possible. The bombers and mortars were located in special trenches, approximately 50 steps or more behind the rifle position (so as not to attract retaliatory fire from the enemy for their actions). Such trenches were equipped with their own shelters and communication passages with rifle trenches.
The key place was given to artillery actions. Part of the artillery was in the battle line, and the other – in the general reserve. Artillery in positions was placed in special trenches, mainly in closed positions. Light batteries were located at a distance of no further than 2, and heavy batteries - 3 – 5 km from the front line. The batteries were also provided with spare positions. Rails were sometimes connected to heavy artillery positions, along which trolleys with ammunition approached. Particular attention was paid to the massing of artillery fire, as well as the possibility of its concentration at any point in the area under fire, especially the most important approaches to the position. Whenever possible, they tried to disperse the artillery, guided by the rule: “Stand apart and shoot together.”
Machine gun nests and shelters. Plan.
Instructions for fighting for fortified zones. Ed. 4., Typo-Lithograph of the headquarters of the Special Army, 1916.
10. A qualifying, “external” sign of the positionality of the combat confrontation was the presence of fortifications ahead and in the battle line of the so-called. artificial obstacles. They interfered with the advance of the enemy infantry, dismembered his battle formation - and under powerful fire from the defenders. Even a slight delay under enemy fire led to large losses of the advancing units.
The main requirements for artificial obstacles are maximum “invisibility” for enemy artillery observers and difficulty in destroying them, as well as the ability to cover them with effective fire.
Particularly strong artificial obstacles were ditches filled with water, at least 4.2 m wide and 2 m deep (especially when reinforced with underwater wire barriers).
But the most widely used were standard wire barriers up to 4.5 m wide. They were the strongest and most successful artificial barrier that a defender could create. This is not surprising: wire fences were an effective barrier preventing the movement of the main power of the armies of the First World War - manpower. But on the other hand, thanks to the presence of wooden stakes (the distance between the stakes is 3 steps), such barriers were not only clearly visible from a distance, but also unmasked the rifle trenches that were almost certainly located immediately behind them.
They tried to place wire barriers at an appropriate distance from the trenches (exceeding the length of a grenade throw - i.e. 60 – 80 steps) and, if possible, in several rows (this made it difficult to destroy the barrier with artillery - each row required separate shooting). The distance between the rows should not have allowed the enemy to maneuver (the standard distance between the rows is 1.5 steps). Moreover, it was believed that it was better to have a larger number of narrow strips of wire fences than a smaller number of wide strips.
Barbed wire was wrapped around stakes driven into the corners of equilateral triangles. The wire was not stretched tight. Each stake was connected by wire to six nearby stakes – and they tried to make the network as irregular as possible. To achieve this, the height of the stakes above the ground was made unequal (standards determined the existence of large and small stakes). The standard wire fence consisted of 3 – 6 rows of stakes and had a width from 4.2 to 8.5 m.
By 1917, wire barriers also appeared on rows of slingshots, densely braided with wire in the form of “leg loops,” leg loops, and wire snares.
Wire fence.
Manual on military engineering for all branches of the military. – St. Petersburg: Military Printing House, 1910.
11. Wire nets were often connected to wolf pits. This artificial obstacle was more than 2 m deep, and at the bottom of the hole there was a sharpened stake driven into the ground. Such pits were located in several rows in a checkerboard pattern, and in the spaces between them stakes were also driven in, onto which a wire net was stretched. The Austrians who opposed the troops of the Southwestern Front were especially big fans of wolf pits. But, unlike wire fences and fences, wolf pits were the easiest thing for an attacker to neutralize - from heavy artillery fire, the craters and pits merged into a single earthen mass.
Wolf pits reinforced with wire mesh.
Manual on military engineering for all branches of the military. – St. Petersburg: Military Printing House, 1910.
12. The number of artificial obstacles also included abatis. They were made from three rows of trees – Moreover, the tops of the rear ones covered the trunks of the front ones (if necessary, reinforced with poles). The notches were attached to the ground with flyers. This obstacle greatly hampered the movement of the attacker - it was difficult to destroy even with heavy artillery fire. Such abats were set up by the Germans on the Dvina, Riga and Mitau fronts.
Notches of short trees.
Manual on military engineering for all branches of the military. – St. Petersburg: Military Printing House, 1910.
13. The palisade was made of pointed logs, which were buried in the ground one next to the other and tied together with horizontal boards nailed on the defender’s side. This obstacle looked like a fence and, as a rule, was placed in a ditch in front of the positions.
The slingshots consisted of 2–3 pole crosses (about 107 cm high) and a crossbar connecting them (1–1.5 m long). The slingshots were braided along the diagonals and edges with barbed wire, and in order to make it difficult to pull apart, they were fastened together with the same wire. This slingshot was a mobile barrier (it blocked exits through wire fences) and was used to repair stationary barriers.
Slingshots.
Manual on military engineering for all branches of the military. – St. Petersburg: Military Printing House, 1910.
14. Sometimes dry ditches were built, reinforced with a horizontal wire net located at such a height from the bottom of the ditch that it could not be reached with wire-cutting scissors worn on a rifle.
Moreover, positional warfare revived another relic of the Middle Ages - the so-called. stone throwers. Stone throwers were boxes with a charge, covered with a thick wooden shield on which stones were piled – and then it was all covered with earth. For ignition, the charge was connected to the position by wire or a special ignition cord. As soon as the enemy approached such camouflaged stone throwers (located 150 – 200 steps from our own positions), followed by an explosion.
Land mines were often laid (if a stone thrower had a box of gunpowder filled with stones, then for a land mine it was covered with earth), and hedgehogs were scattered between wire fences and abatis. The latter were made from 3 stakes (each 107 cm long) and tied together with wire in such a way that they stuck out in three perpendicular directions.
Gooseberry.
Manual on military engineering for all branches of the military. - St. Petersburg: Military Printing House, 1910.
To make it difficult for the enemy to fight artificial obstacles, they adapted to the terrain as much as possible and were placed in a checkerboard pattern or in waves. The best positions for their placement were considered to be reverse slopes of heights, lowlands, and folds of terrain. Observation posts and special teams equipped with machine guns, mortars and bomb throwers were on duty at the wire fences.
Artificial obstacles were also erected in front of the rear defensive lines.
Thus, the assault on positional defenses was very difficult and was only possible if the artificial obstacles were properly destroyed. In general, as noted by the Russian Headquarters, the fortified zone represents “a difficult to overcome force under 3 conditions: the greatest vigilance<…>the ability to keep as many people as possible capable of hand-to-hand combat until the last minute<…>when the number of troops corresponds to the length of the position.”
