THE ATTACK--DEFENCE
Sooner or later in the course of his trench experience the soldier
will be subjected to an infantry attack. Artillery shelling, aeroplane
attacks, mining, etc., are part of everyday's programme, but infantry
attacks come only now and then. They _may_ come at any time and the
enemy is not in the habit of announcing them beforehand. It is not
likely that they will occur in broad daylight without any warning.
If they are to be made then, they will be preceded always by a
concentrated artillery preparation. Night is the danger time. There are
two periods of special danger--one, the hour before sunrise, and the
other the hour after sunset. At these times there is sufficient light
for men to be able to see their way to advance over almost any ground,
and not sufficient light for the defending force to be able to take
careful sight with their rifles and machine guns, etc. Consequently
these hours are the most favourable for making an attack, and every
one must be on the alert to ward them off. These times are called
"Stand tos" or properly "Stand to arms." While they last, every officer
and every man of the front and support line is on duty. Rifles are
cleaned, inspected and loaded, bombs, gas-masks, revolvers, bayonets,
etc., are got ready, and every one remains at his post of duty. In
the blackness of night and in the broad light of day the danger is
much less and consequently some of the force can be relieved for other
tasks, during the night, or for rest during the day.
Should an attack be made, it becomes the business of the men in the
trench to hold the enemy off just as long as they can, at whatever cost
to themselves, while some one telegraphs back for the supports and
reserves, and possibly for the assistance of the artillery. Trenches
must never be surrendered without giving these fresh men a chance to
regain the advantage, and should the trench be lost, a counter attack
must be immediately arranged before the enemy has had time to reverse
the trenches and connect them up by saps and communicating trenches
with his own system. No time must be lost, for the longer the delay,
the greater the difficulty of making the counter attack successful.
As to the methods of holding the trench against an infantry attack, it
will be evident that the men must take up their position on the firing
step and fire as rapidly and as steadily as they can. Bombs should
be kept and thrown only when the enemy has got well within range for
them. Machine guns can do effective work of course and the artillery
should be communicated with and they will open fire with shrapnel.
Where ammunition permits, a barrage or curtain of fire should then
be established behind the enemy's front line to prevent him bringing
up reserves to take the place of those that have fallen, and also to
weaken him for the time when a counter attack on him has to be made.
Star shells, that illuminate the ground, will of course have been fired
to give the machine gunners and the rifle marksmen a better chance to
find their targets.
Obedience, steadiness and tenacity are required of the men, and
only training and experience will develop these excellent soldierly
qualities. The poor type of soldier will either forget to use his
weapon altogether or else fire wildly and uselessly. An infantry attack
is not a pleasant experience, but soldiers must be taught to expect it,
and that it will probably give them the opportunity of using the final
and greatest weapon of the infantryman--the bayonet.