LAND AND WATER 
December 5, 1914. 
As soon as this begins to be noticed the idea of cover at 
any price will give way to the idea of greater ease and com- 
fort in getting at the enemy by direct attack, and we shall 
begin to widen out the trenches, to secure greater freedom 
of circulation within them, more comfort for the men who 
garrison them, and some way of getting out of them in order 
to counter-attack with the bayonet; that is to say, we shall 
revert more to the type in use about the Crimean period and 
in the old siege works of Vauban's days. 
rcMi 
Tlie difference is shown in the accompanying two 
sketches. A is the extreme South African type, which cer- 
tainly gives a maximum of cover in suitable soil, but which 
becomes a positive death-trap when employed against an 
enemy who will push home aUacks with the bayonet, for the 
men can neither sret out of it in the front or to the rear, but 
are like rats in a trap if the enemy ever reaches them ; and 
reading between the lines of officers' letters from the front, it 
is clear that this has happened several times already in the 
campaign. 
.%B. 
Loose earOi 
cdmostfhisK 
v'dhQimuxd 
Steps brokenoMayto enabU men wlimfiriiui ta (ie up aaauatt 
the parapet. -c -r^ 
SrSS^S ^^•^^'^ dratvy kindof ^vetting 
Moreover, it is difficult to drain and impossible to make 
comfortable, and after a short experience of French warfare 
men become quite indifferent to danger, provided they can 
keep their feet out of the freezing slush of the trenches. Our 
eld Crimean ofiicers used to warn us about this, citing many 
cases wiiere the men absolutely preferred to sit on the back 
edge of the trench, exposed to any bullets which came in with 
any drop on tliem, rather than to endure the misery of 
etanding ankle deep in the mud at the bottom of the trenches. 
Certainly the trench figured in B, being about twice the 
width of A, will catch double as many shells, but if the 
number making direct hits on A is small, and because the 
enemy's guns are now kept at a distance, the number -will 
be small, the increased risk is not great, and men will prefer 
to take it rather than endure the extra discomfort. It must 
be remembered that sickness and insanitary surroundings 
are at work all the time, and shells only occasionally, and of 
the two, in practice, sickness claims by far the larger propor- 
tion of victims in siege warfare. 
Lastly, to defend a trench efficiently you must be able 
to get out of it and go for the enemy with tlie bayonet, apd 
for this purpose lengths of the trench must be prepared with 
steps, so that the men can easily leave them for a concerted 
rush. 
All these changes will come about gradually and 
normally, but if troops trained at home to existing ideas go 
out and find these ideas set aside in practice; and other types 
of trenches adopted which at first seem to increase their risks 
unnecessarily, the consequences are apt to be demoralising, 
and it is therefore as well that they should be forewarned as 
to the changed conditions they are likely to expect. 
The ultimate fact is that whatever the weapons in use — • 
their range or power — men get just as near to them as the 
risk allows, and then tJiey automatically find out a balance 
which reconciles in cac?i particular case the opposing interests 
of cover from shot and protection from disease and surprises, 
60 in the end the old-fashioned type of trench invariably 
re-establishes itself. 
A SERIES of six handsome volumes produced by the Cambridge 
University Press in conjunction with the publishers of the Encyclo- 
-pmdin Dritannka, 11th edition, gives in concise form the history of 
the various countries concerned in the war, and also a history of the 
wars of the nineteenth century, to which a separate volume is devoted. 
The value of the Encyclopadia articles, from which these volumes are 
reprinted, is well known, and, although principally liistorical in 
character, the volumes deal with the armies and navies of the countries 
concerned, the population and resources and tha statistical items 
■which are necessary to a clear grasp of the military and naval situa- 
tion. We recommend these volumes as pi'oviding, in the most con- 
venient form possible, aU the particulars necessary to an understanding 
of the European situation, as well as for their great interest to the 
general reader. The series treats of France, Russia, and the Balkan 
States, Austria-Hungaiy and Poland, Germany, Wars of the Nine- 
teenth Century, and (in one volume) Belgiiun, Italy, and Switzerland. 
The price is 2s. 6d. per volume. 
Britain's Case Against Germany^ by Ramsay Muir, published by 
the Manchester University Press at 2s. net, is a one-sided book, &s 
its title implies. It is an attempt to state that the "poison" of 
German militarisjn — or, rather, Prussian militarism — is no new thing, 
but is an influence that has been at work for nearly two centuries, and 
the definite aim of Germany at the present time, the domination of 
all Europe, and possibly of all the world, is an idea that has existed 
for at least fifty years. The case against Germany is ably, if a little 
partially, presented, and, at the present time, with Louvain still fresh 
in the public mind, partiality may easily be forgiven. Still, we prefer 
such a statement of the case as Allen's Germany and Europe, recently 
reviewed in our columns, to this book. 
The extension of the war area to Turkey and the East generally 
has rendered desirable a general map of Europe and the Mediterranean, 
area for full understanding of the war in all its aspects, and this 
need is filled by the generaj map issued by Messrs. Bartholomew at a 
Is. on paper, and 2s. on cloth. This map is admirably clear and 
explicit, and, without giving a confusion of names, renders possible 
a clear understanding of the various areas of conflict. It is one of 
the best of the war maps at present on sale. 
Miss MARGAnET Wrightson has fashioned an excellent Portrait 
Bust of Admiral Sir John Jdlicoe, which has been reproduced in 
bronze and plaster. Height, 14^ inches. Prices : Real bronze metal, 
£7 7s. ; plaster cast, £1 5s. The sculptor will devote the profits from 
the sales during the war to Lady Jellicoe's Fund for Disabled Sailors 
and their Wives. Orders may be sent to Miss Margaret Wrightson, 
Neasham Hall, Darlington. Also on sale by leading London firms 
Help the Belgians !— The attention of our readers is called to the 
Shilling Fund inaugurated by the Daily Telegraph as a Christmas gift 
to King Albert for his people. At the time of writing the amount 
received is £76,444 6s. There are few more worthy causes than the 
one for which we now plead. All contributions (cheques or postal 
orders) should be crossed London and South-Western Bank, and made 
payable to the Daily Telegraph Fund. Letters, clearly marked 
" Belgian Fund," should be addressed to the Editor of the Daily 
Telegraph, Fleet Street, E.G. 
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