Part 3

Finally a third method that can be transferred from the domain of fox hunting to that of the war with Germany: smoke him out.

The first plan is not applicable from first trenches as they are too near the enemy; we shall speak of this again.

In order to simulate an attack, interrupt the artillery fire suddenly and open rifle fire with a great deal of shouting; the enemy hurries out immediately to his combat positions; after several minutes’ waiting, a violent rafale of 75. This is what we did from time to time when we wished to make the Germans come out into their trenches so that we could demolish some of them by artillery fire. At Arras, there was a brusque interruption of artillery fire for ten minutes, but it was an absolute and impressive silence. The Germans were not misled by it, and when the interruption for the real attack came with its fusillade and noise, they manned their trenches to meet it.

As a third scheme we have suffocating grenades and cartridges, which irritate the eyes and produce tears and render the neighborhood of the spot where they fall untenable for several minutes. We could also have projectiles of larger dimensions, containing materials giving off heavy, suffocating gas. Thus this gas would creep over the ground, fall into the bottom of the trenches, and enter the shelters, driving out the occupants, who would then come under the fire of the high-explosive shells. This gas, being, moreover, only suffocating, would afterwards have the advantage of not incommoding our soldiers in their trench or during the attack.

While the heavy artillery may be replaced very advantageously by torpedoes for the preparation on the continuous line of trenches, it may be employed effectively against the centers of resistance, where its more concentrated effects will not produce the simply superficial disorganization of the 75, which leaves the cupolas of the machine guns intact.

The most important part to destroy in the centers of resistance are the edges, for the attack breaks through easily enough in the intermediate spaces but immediately comes under flanking fire. Moreover, a center of resistance whose borders are disorganized, becomes a harmless island, the attack of which by main strength would be terribly costly; for instance, the Labyrinth, Neuville-Saint-Vaast, Carency, which were passed by in less than an hour by groups arriving at the Cemetery of Neuville, at the La Folie Woods, and at the first houses of Souchez. Therefore try especially to neutralize the borders by concentrating on them the fire of batteries suitably placed with a view to following the attack on the intervals. If one could put a veil over the centers of resistance to isolate them and obstruct the view of the flanking works, the problem would be partly solved. It would then be necessary to have projectiles giving off large quantities of heavy smoke, which would spread out over the ground and dissipate very slowly.

The intermediate works in the intervals are easy to take because of their small dimensions. On the 9th of May, they were generally found knocked to pieces.

(c) Preparation against Artillery.

The infantry urgently demands that the hostile artillery be put out of action before the attack. If the enemy artillery gets into action, the troops, crowded into the trenches, boyaux, and parallels, have to suffer a painful bombardment, which causes losses and obliges everyone to hunt cover—an inauspicious attitude for troops which will have shortly to rush forward. Communications become difficult, the telephonic connections are broken, everyone gets nervous and perturbed. On the attack proper, artillery fire has an extraordinary disturbing effect; the bullets of the rifles and machine guns cause disorder by the sudden and serious losses they occasion, but the shells spread confusion almost solely by the sight and the crash of explosions. On the 9th of May, we hardly received any shells at all, not one during the attack itself, and this contributed in a large degree to the magnificent élan of the first attacking waves.

At Langemarck on the contrary, in a night attack on the trenches on the 4th of December, the unsilenced hostile artillery bombarded our trenches of departure, and I had my second section dispersed through being saluted by a rafale of shrapnel that had put the chief of section and the file closers, hors de combat.

In order to silence the hostile artillery, it seems that, knowing the probable emplacement of the batteries, it would be necessary suddenly and without warning to let loose on them a deluge of fire. The personnel of these batteries not being continually at their firing positions, this sudden tempest would surprise them and keep them inside their shelters. In the midst of the confusion, the fire of the batteries which try to get into action is much disturbed, impeded, and frequently interrupted. On the 9th of May, the hostile artillery must have been completely surprised and literally stupefied during the whole morning, for they abandoned their infantry. Only a few pieces fired some hasty shots.

In order to render the emplacements of the batteries completely untenable, they might be overwhelmed with shells giving off clouds of smoke and also asphyxiating shells; by this means the cannoneers would be obliged to quit their pieces or serve them under extremely difficult conditions.

The aviators hovering over the hostile lines could complete the preparation by indicating by means of luminous balls to the batteries on watch the hostile batteries not yet silenced or which have come into action.

(d) Preparation against Reinforcements and Reserves.

In the second and third trenches, the garrison does not generally occupy its firing positions; it is obliged to get to them in case of attack. As long as the artillery preparation lasts, it does not budge from the shelters; but as soon as the artillery ceases its fire, the garrison hastily mans the positions. It is necessary then for the artillery to extend its fire to the second and third lines and to continue this fire while the infantry rushes the first line. The approach trenches and their junctions should especially be swept. This has, moreover, the advantage of keeping crouched in their holes the defenders of the first line, who are not reassured by sensing the compact sheaves of the terrible explosive passing close over their heads. The preparation on the second line of defense is absolutely identical.

It is next necessary to cut the battlefield in two and isolate the zone of the first and second lines of defence, constantly manned by the troops near their combat positions, from the zone of cantonment. It is a matter of establishing an insuperable barrier. A barrier solely of ordinary shell fire is extremely expensive. The Germans have more simply solved the question by establishing a barrier of asphyxiating gas. They have employed this extremely effective scheme, it seems, at Bagatelle in the Argonne, on the 30th of June and the 1st and 2d of July.

The bombardment of the cantonment by long-range heavy guns throws disorder among the troops who are at rest. Suddenly surprised in the most profound quietude, the alarm causes all the more flurry and demoralization. Obliged to follow roads sprinkled here and there with fragments, they thus arrive diminished in number on the field of battle.

(e) Destruction of Machine Guns.

The weapon which inflicts the heaviest losses on infantry is the machine gun, which uncovers itself suddenly and in a few seconds lays out the assailants by ranks. It is therefore absolutely necessary to destroy them before the attack or have the means of putting them out of action as soon as they disclose themselves.

During the days which precede the attack, a minute study of the hostile trenches should be made by the infantry officers who have to attack them, in concert with the artillery officers who pound the same trenches; their study should bear especially upon the emplacements of the hostile machine guns.

The machine-gun emplacements are recognized in the continuous trenches by the low horizontal loopholes much larger than ordinary loopholes. They are generally quite easily recognized. Occasionally the machine guns are in a little separate work which is quite characteristic.

Even when they cannot be directly observed, machine-gun emplacements should be pre-supposed in locations such as the following:

1. In a re-entrant in the line.

2. On the second line, particularly when it presents an elevated position permitting a tier of fire over the first line.

3. Squarely in front to obtain a flanking fire; in this case, they are found in a small boyau (branch trench) which leaves the principal trench, and it is very difficult to see them from the front.

Thus, in front of La Targette, in studying the position in profile and having moved considerably toward the right for that purpose, I discovered a machine-gun emplacement which completely enfiladed the front of the German trenches for 600 metres.

One generally believes he recognizes a very large number of machine-gun emplacements; but it is infinitely better to mark the position of too many than to overlook one of them; moreover, the Germans have in their defensive organization an unsuspected number of them.

Means of Destroying the Machine Guns.—Machine Guns of the Trenches.—In the course of preparation by artillery, a very distinct part of the program is reserved for the destruction of the machine-gun nests. The destruction of the machine guns should not be commenced as soon as they have been located, that is to say, often several days before the final preparations, for the enemy would have ample time to shift them. The 75 is employed to destroy the machine guns. Unfortunately, on account of the dispersion, it does not perfectly fulfil its rôle; its shots often fall to one side and a great number of them are often necessary to find exactly the small space that holds the machine gun.