FIELD FORTIFICATION. 
65 
be thoroughly protected; this means a certain height immediately 
behind his seat to protect him from long-range rifle-fire and from 
shrapnel. Our drill-book shows a man lying flat on his face in a two- 
hour shelter-trench, 8 feet wide and 18 inches deep : the attitude is 
not convenient for a long period—say, during preliminary artillery fire 
—the position is not safe, and no one can stir without exposing himself. 
Man is an upright animal, and it seems to me much better to keep a 
man, whose nerves are in a high state of tension, sitting upright rather 
than trying to flatten himself upon the ground for bare life.. 
There should be room for officers or non-commissioned officers to 
pass along the line without disturbing the men, either when shooting 
or resting, and for getting a wounded man along in case of need. 
They need not be capable of being passed by troops in formation. 
It is the essence of fortification that it enables an inferior force to 
meet successfully a superior one, partly by saving it from loss and 
partly by increasing its morale: fewer men therefore, can hold the 
line, more will be in reserve available for counter-attack; and as the 
tendency is to concentrate defence works on certain strong points, 
leaving intervals between, for counter-attacks, it seems reasonable to 
assume that the counter-attack will be made by the strong reserves in 
the intervals, and not by the men who have borne the full stress of 
the attack in the shooting trenches. 
The condition made in the early days of hasty intrenchments, that 
the cover provided should not be too good lest men should be unwilling 
to leave it to advance to the attack, seems very uusuited to trenches 
which men are to hold against a strong attack. 
It is necessary to provide proper facilities for leaving the trenches 
in case of retreat; and where long lines of such trenches are provided, 
it may be necessary to make some provision for crossing them at certain 
points by means of either ramps or steps at intervals. 
Proper drainage of the trench should be seen to : it is difficult to lay 
down anything precise regarding this, except that care should be taken 
that no more water should get into the trench than falls into it: for 
this purpose small intercepting drains are sometimes necessary. 
The section No. l.is a good type of a shooting trench, which can be 
constructed in two hours, with men at two paces intervals. 
Fig. 1. 
When more time is available and materials can be obtained near, it 
may be desirable to provide overhead cover, as a protection against 
shrapnel or long range infantry fire : a very moderate amount of cover 
is sufficient to prevent trenches being searched out. Fig. 2 shows how 
Fig. 1 may be provided with overhead cover : the whole work being 
completed in four hours. A few men (about one to four paces of front) 
