Infantry Hasty Field Fortifications 1938 US Army Training Film; Machine Gun Emplacements...

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• published: 16 Apr 2015
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more at http://quickfound.net/links/military_news_and_links.html 'TRAINING FILM: On locating and constructing foxholes, barbed wire entanglements and machine gun emplacements. R.1: shows how to dig a foxhole under fire. R.2: deals with "standing" foxholes and connecting trenches. R.3: demonstrates how a "wiring party" constructs obstacles. R.4: and 5 concern the proper emplacement of 30 and 50 cal. machine guns. Last reel shows how to construct miscellaneous infantry positions such as command posts and battalion aid stations.' US Army Training Film TF-35. US Army Training Film playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0C7C6CCF1C0DEBB3 Public domain film from the US National Archives, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and mild video noise reduction applied. The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and/or equalization (the resulting sound, though not perfect, is far less noisy than the original). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trench_warfare Trench warfare is a form of land warfare using occupied fighting lines consisting largely of trenches, in which troops are significantly protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery... Trench warfare occurred when a revolution in firepower was not matched by similar advances in mobility, resulting in a grueling form of warfare in which the defender held the advantage. In World War I, both sides constructed elaborate trench and dugout systems opposing each other along a front, protected from assault by barbed wire. The area between opposing trench lines (known as "no man's land") was fully exposed to artillery fire from both sides. Attacks, even if successful, often sustained severe casualties... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbed_wire#In_war Barbed wire was used for the first time in the Spanish–American War during the siege of Santiago by the Spanish defenders. Less well known is its extensive usage in the Russo-Japanese War. More significantly, barbed wire was used extensively by all participating combatants in World War I to prevent movement, with deadly consequences. Barbed wire entanglements were placed in front of trenches to prevent direct charges on men below, increasingly leading to greater use of more advanced weapons such as high powered machine guns and grenades... Barbed wire could be exposed to heavy bombardments because it could be easily replaced, and its structure included so much open space that machine guns rarely destroyed enough of it to defeat its purpose. However barbed wire was defeated by the tank in 1916, as shown by the Allied breakthrough at Amiens through German lines on August 8, 1918... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defensive_fighting_position A defensive fighting position (DFP) is a type of earthwork constructed in a military context, generally large enough to accommodate at least one person... Terminology It is known more commonly within United States Army slang as a "fighting position" or as a "ranger grave". It is known as a "fighting hole" in the United States Marine Corps, a "Gun-Pit" in Australian Army terminology, a "fighting pit" in the New Zealand Army and as a "slit trench" in British and Canadian military argot... A foxhole is one type of defensive position... After the Battle of Kasserine Pass, U.S. troops increasingly adopted the modern foxhole, a vertical, bottle-shaped hole that allowed a soldier to stand and fight with head and shoulders exposed. The foxhole widened near the bottom to allow a soldier to crouch down while under intense artillery fire or tank attack. Foxholes could be enlarged to two-man fighting positions, as well as excavated with firing steps for crew-served weapons or sumps for water drainage or live enemy grenade disposal... Modern defensive fighting positions Modern militaries publish and distribute elaborate field manuals for the proper construction of DFPs in stages. Initially, a shallow "shell scrape" is dug, much like a very shallow grave, which provides very limited protection. Each stage develops the fighting position, gradually increasing its effectiveness, while always maintaining functionality... Typically, a DFP is a pit dug deep enough to stand in, with only the head exposed, and a small step at the bottom, called a fire step, that allows the soldier to crouch into to avoid fire and tank treads. Also, the fire step usually slopes down into a deeper narrow slit called a grenade sump at the bottom to allow for live grenades to be kicked in... When possible, DFPs are revetted with corrugated iron, star pickets and wire or local substitutes... Developing and maintaining DFPs is a constant and ongoing task for soldiers deployed in combat areas. For this reason, in some armies, infantry is referred to as "gravel technicians", as they spend so much time digging...