DEFINITIONS .—The following definitions may be useful, but have no See also:

• PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

In the See also:

• PRESENT

He can then advance underground by means of mine galleries, and by exploding large charges at the heads of these galleries can make a See also:

• SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

To this end it is necessary at irregular intervals to suspend all See also:

• WORK

Two main points must be observed in any system of counter-mines: the branch galleries must run obliquely forward, so as not to present their sides to the action of the enemy's mines; and the distance between the ends of the branches from adjacent main galleries should be such that the enemy cannot pass between them unheard. This distance will vary with the nature of the See also:

• SOIL

The charges of mines depend of course upon the effect which is desired. When the See also:

• CHARGE
• CHARGE (through the Fr. from the Late Lat. carricare, to load in a carrus or wagon; cf. " cargo ")

See also:

• CONSIDERATION (from Lat. considerare, to look at closely, examine, generally taken to be from con-, and the base seen in sidus, sideris, a star, the word being supposed to be originally an astrological or astronomical term)

One point is distinctly in favour of the defence, namely that when ground has been much See also:

• MINED

. 1.66 See also:

• ROCK
• ROCK (O.Fr. rake, Sp. rota, Ital. rocca; possibly from a Lat. form rupica, from rupes, rock)
• ROCK, DANIEL (1799–187t)

Formerly it was sometimes necessary in the systematic attack of a fortress to get guns down into the ditch. For this purpose a great gallery " was used, 6 ft. 6 in. in height and 6 ft. 8 in. wide, See also:

• INTERNAL

See also:

• VENTILATION (Lat. ventilare, from ventus, wind)

He has to work in a very cramped position and practically in the dark (unless with electric light) as of course no naked See also:

• LIGHTS, CEREMONIAL USE OF

The safety fuze used in the British service See also:

• BURNS, JOHN (1858– )
• BURNS, ROBERT (1759-1796)
• BURNS, SIR GEORGE

It will, however, simplify matters for thebeing See also:

• EQUIVALENT

The See also:

• ASSAULT (from Lat. ad, to or on, and saltare, to leap)

A century or more ago, the dividing line between permanent and field fortification was very rigidly drawn, since in those days a high masonry escarp surmounted by a rampart was essential to a permanent fortress, and these could naturally not be extemporized. Works without masonry, in other ways made as strong as possible with deep ditches and heavy timbers,—such as would require about six See also:

• WEEKS, EDWIN LORD (1849-1903)

See also:

• BERNARD, CHARLES DE
• BERNARD, CLAUDE (1813-1878)
• BERNARD, JACQUES (1658--1718)
• BERNARD, MOUNTAGUE (1S2o—1882)
• BERNARD, SAINT
• BERNARD, SAINT (Iogo-1153)
• BERNARD, SIMON (1779—1839)
• BERNARD, SIR THOMAS, BART

A charge of 412 lb of guncotton, calculated as means of construction, such as See also:

• STEEL, FLORA ANNIE (1847– )

Palisades and trenches, See also:

• ABATIS, ABATTIS

The defenders after firing their last volley could use their bayonets from the See also:

• TOP (cf. Dan. top, Ger. Topf, also meaning pot)

The sectional See also:

• AREA

A See also:

• LUNETTE (French diminutive of lune, moon)

Latterly, the shape of the redoubts was invariably that most fitted to the ground, or such as best parried the See also:

• ENFILADE (a French word, from enfiler, to thread, and so to pass through from end to end)

Such interior lines to rally on are absolutely essential to the See also:

• SECURITY (Lat. securus, free from care, safe)

. . for the fire of their artillery on the object to be guarded became so plunging as to lose half its powers; the musketry could not be made to scour the face of the hill sufficiently; and during the night both arms became of most uncertain effect. " The domineering situation of the redoubts, however, gave confidence to the See also:

• YOUNG
• YOUNG, A
• YOUNG, ARTHUR (1741-1820)
• YOUNG, BRIGHAM (1801-1877)
• YOUNG, CHARLES MAYNE (1777–1856)
• YOUNG, EDWARD (1683–1765)
• YOUNG, JAMES (1811-1883)
• YOUNG, THOMAS (1773-1829)

There was always an influential school of writers who declaimed against all defences, as being injurious to the offensive spirit so essential to success. Those writers who treated of the arrangements of defences devoted themselves to theoretical details of trace quite after the old See also:

• STYLE
• STYLE (from Gr. a-6'1ms, a column; a different word from that used in literature, see below)

The principle that thickness of parapet is no longer required, to resist artillery fire, was first laid down at Chatham in 1896. The distance at which guns now engage makes direct hits on parapets comparatively rare. Further, a shell striking near the crest of a parapet may perhaps kill one See also:

• MAN
• MAN, ISLE OF (anc. Mona)

Protection is now given by the trench rather than the parapet; command and the ditch-obstacle (which furnished the earth for the high parapet) are alike unnecessary. Concealment can therefore be studied by keeping the parapet down to the lowest level above the surface from which the foreground can be seen. This may be i8 in. or less. The need of obstacle, in daylight and when the defenders are not abnormally few, has practically disappeared. For night work, or when the assailant is so strong as to be able to force See also:

• HOME
• HOME, DANIEL DUNGLAS (1833-1886)
• HOME, EARLS OF

Fig. 78 shows the action of various natures of projectiles. From Mil. Engineering, by permission of the Controller of H.M. Stationery Office. We need not here discuss the role of the defenders' artillery in replying to that of the enemy and playing on the attack; nor for the moment consider how far the defence of the trenches while under artillery fire can be made easier by overhead cover. The main question is—what is, in view of the nature of the attack, 19th century. the best disposition of lines of trench; and do they require the addition of redoubts ? The most important point, with the object of protection, is that the trenches must not be conspicuous; this is the best defence against artillery. With the object of resistance by their own fire they must have a good view, or, as it is generally described, no dead ground in front of them. For this purpose 300 or 400 yds. may be enough if the ground is even and affords no cover. This necessity for invisibility, together with the shallowness of the See also:

• ZONE (Gr. 'WV77, a girdle, from 'wvvLvay to gird)

For a defensive position on high ground, it was usually laid down until the See also:

• SOUTH
• SOUTH, ROBERT (1634–1716)

8o, is good, but See also:

• PRO

Great care should, however, be taken not to expose the trenches to oblique or enfilade fire; or at least to protect them, if so exposed, by traversing. Concealment of trenches is generally attempted by covering the freshly turned earth of the small parapet with sods, leafy branches or grass. In this connexion it should be remembered Trenches. that after a day or two cut leaves and grass See also:

• WITHER, GEORGE (1588-1667)

83 shows the same trench improved by 2 or 3 hours' more work. Fig. 84 shows a fire trench without parapet, with cover trench and communication. The addition of a loophole of sand-bags, sodded on the top for Cover Trench cya From Mil. Engineering: Field Defences 09o8), by permission of the Controller H. M. Stationery Office. concealment (called head-cover), gives increased protection, but at the cost of greater prominence for the parapet (fig. 85). Overhead cover can only be provided in fire trenches by giving the parapet still greater height and it is not usually done. Portions of the trench not used for firing can, however, be given splinter-proof protection by putting over them branches or bundles, covered with a few inches of earth: or by boards, or sheets of corrugated See also:

• IRON [symbol Fe, atomic weight 55.85 (0=16)]

The question of redoubts has been a vexed one for years; partly they were thought to be unnecessary in view of the resisting power of a line of trenches, but chiefly because the redoubt was Redoubts. always imagined as one of the older type, with a high conspicuous parapet. Of course a redoubt of such a nature would be readily identified and made untenable. But the idea of a redoubt does not neces- sarily [imply command. Its object is that it shall be capable of all-round de-fence. T h e r e can be no doubt that as there is always a possibility of lines being pierced somewhere, it is desirable, unless the whole line is to be thrown From Mil. Engineering: Field Defences, by permission of the into confusion Controller H. M. Stationery Office. and forced FIG. 85. back, to have some point at which the defenders can maintain themselves. This is not possible unless at such points there is provision for defence towards both flanks and rear, that is to say, when there are redoubts, which can hold on after certain portions of the line have been lost and thereby can localize the enemy's success and simplify r 3 FIG.

82. See also:

• NOTE
• NOTE (Lat. nota, mark, sign, from noscere, to know)

Fig. 89 shows the section of a parapet with two shelters behind it for a work with a high command of 5 or 6 ft. This work would From Mil. Engineering: Field Defences (igo8), by permission of the Controller H.M. Stationery Office. require a concealed position, which can often be found a little in rear of the firing line. In the South African War a good deal of See also:

• INTEREST

In the Russo-Japanese War the Russian trenches at the outset were of old-fashioned type and very conspicuous. Later on better types were evolved. Figs. 90 and 91 are a couple of sections from Port Arthur; the first borrowed from the Boers but wider at the Tracers. every 15yds. 9, r n. From Russo-Japanese War. British Officers' Reports, vol. ii., by permission of the Controller H.M. Stationery Office.