In order to attack with minimum loss, the infantry-requires that the
artillery in its preparation carry through the following program:
(_a_) _Destroy the wire entanglements._
(_b_) _Neutralize or destroy the defenders of the trenches._
(_c_) _Prevent the artillery from coming into action._
(_d_) _Prevent the bringing up of reserves._
(_e_) _Destroy the machine guns as soon as they reveal their positions._
(_a_) _Destruction of the Wire Entanglement._
The 75 produces sufficient breaches in the wire entanglements for the
infantry to get through; in order to accomplish this, each piece remains
laid on the same point of the entanglement. But the infantry should not
expect the complete and continuous destruction of the entanglement: that
would require too many projectiles.
(_b_) _Neutralization or Destruction of the Defenders of the Trenches._
The Germans, whenever they can, dig very deep and well protected
shelters, in the interior of which they crowd themselves. The 75 has no
effect on these shelters, and the infantry of the attack, who are
delighted to see the parapets, the sand bags, planks, posts, etc., fly
into the air as if pulverized by the ripping detonations, are stupefied
on finding themselves greeted by a heavy fire as soon as they start out
of their trenches. In consequence of this, the infantry is convinced
that whenever the enemy has been able to construct deep shelters, an
assault is certain massacre, in spite of the prodigious expenditure of
75’s, unless other and more powerful means of destruction have been
employed.
The aerial torpedo, on the contrary, seems to produce terrifying effects
on the defenders of the trenches; it has also considerable destructive
effect. This power is not always sufficient to break in the shelter
caverns, but it completely knocks to pieces the firing trenches,
produces cave-ins, blocks the openings of the shelters, and thus walls
in the occupants. By its formidable explosion, the extraordinary effects
of its blast, and the concussion that it induces in the ground, it
annihilates all energy in the defenders, who at every instant think
their last minute has come.
In the sector of attack of my company on the 9th of May, a portion of
the trenches in front of the 3d and 4th Sections was severely pounded by
the fire of the 75 and especially by the aerial torpedoes, while the
remainder of the trenches in front of the 1st and 2d Sections suffered
only from the preparation by the 75. The difference was remarkable.
While the 1st and 2d Sections, hardly out of their parallel, saw the
enemy rise up and melted away under his suddenly opened rifle fire, and
especially under that of a machine gun, the 4th Section reached the
German trench, crossed it without hindrance, and continued on its way.
As for the 3d Section, it had been received by only a few shots and had
crossed the first trench in one rush, when it received some shots in the
back. Returning to the rear, the men found several dozen Germans
crouching in the deep shelters, absolutely all in and crying for mercy.
The cannonade had ceased, and in spite of the violent fusillade cracking
outside announcing an attack, they had not budged. Only a few had the
courage to shoot in the back from an opening the French soldiers who
passed close by.
Conversations with numerous infantry officers have definitely convinced
me that the heaviest bombardment by 75’s alone is ineffective against
trenches organized during a long period. The heavy artillery has too
much dispersion, while the aerial torpedo, besides its considerable
destructive and demoralizing effects, is very accurate.
Thus the preparation on the zone of the first trenches may be made
largely by means of aerial torpedoes. But it is necessary that the
torpedo guns be placed close together in a continuous line (at least one
to every 100 metres of trenches) and that each one have its zone clearly
defined.
At Arras, these guns were not very numerous, and their preparation was
consequently only partial; in trying to pound several lines of trenches
at the same time, large spaces remained outside the effects of their
action, while certain corners were entirely demolished.
In the artillery depots, very numerous gun crews should be organized
beforehand for the torpedo guns, and not date only from the day before
and be at their first try out, as at Arras.
The aerial torpedo, terrorizing the defenders in the interior of their
shelters, already neutralizes them in part; but the best plan of
eliminating the enemy is to destroy him. In order to destroy him, it is
necessary to force him to expose himself, to oblige him to come out to
become the prey of the iron hail. For this there are several means:
Have the infantry advance during the preparation by the artillery;
Simulate the attack;
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_,[4] 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: