Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-08-28

dig faster than modern army can
advancesiB one OF the principles of
defensive tactics. Notwithstand-
ing all that has been told along this
line, notwithstanding the heroic eff
forts to rouseE.shis enthusiasm over
the pick and shovel, the American,
soldier a remained decidedly luke
warm. He came to France to fight
the Germans he says, and not to dig
a hole and look at them through a
spy glass. The French, Canadian and
Australian soldiers all resented the
idea of digging in, and would not adj
init the necessity of doing 50 until
bitter losses taught them a dearly
bought lesson. Z.
This is "a Time Clock War"
It Is purely a. matter Of tempera-
ment, and there seems to be little
doubt now that only actual battle ex-
perience will convince American SOL
diers that The ability to take advan-
tage Of any bit Of cover is one Of the
greatest assets the modern man 1t
arms can have. I5,
IT seems a shame to have to curb
the. first fine fighting spirit of our
troops said. an. American training
officer yesterday, but the men must
be made to understand as far as pos,
sible that impetuosity must be subor-
oAIldSSO " SLSduluoSS. - HIS mas DS-
come a time-clock war. The men
must advance in given time and go no
further. Every step Of infantry adj.
vanc must first be worked out with.
the artillery, and when the plan is
arranged 1t must be strictly adhered
to.
I'VE realize that it will be difficult
to hold our men to this plan. If they
see a battle going on their favorite
impulse will be to push on as fast as.
they can, and some are bound to do.
earlier stages. We will undoubtedly,
have big losses in this way, but the
men who come through BUR first bat
ties will be worth their weight in gold
thereafter. They will learn quickly
the value of steadiness and absolute
discipline under fire, and they will
be the %steadying influence we can dis
tribute through the newer units of
u great army as they get their final
preparation for trial by fire."
The natural fighting man, it seems,
Eve in these late months Of war
British fTommies would much rather
remain above ground and stand
chances Of getting killed by shells
than to dig the deep dugouts SO
adored by the Germans. In planning
the battle Of Messines Ridge, which
was a model of a clean-cut victory,
the British army commander took in
to accoun the fighting mans point OF
view, n when the advance had
reached a stage where 1t gave the
British covered high ground the fight
ing men were directed to take a rest,
while specially organized labor bat
talions were rushed up from the rear
TO 40 the necessary digging and con-
~solidating Of new trenches SOFAS Ito
make them thoroughly proof against
The result was that the fighting
men were unhampered and unworried.
by h necessity of digging, went for
ward later In the day and took OBJ.
1ectiyes that were rather hoped for
than actually expected. Those are
the tactics the American fighting man
would k to see. They appeal to.
Snlp, but Just now he is being put
fhroughSa pretty stiff course Of dig
ging.
Taught to Make Individual Cover.
This does 3 apply to digging
alone. He 10 being taught
while lying fiat on the ground in|the
face of enemy fire, thus getting the
temporary shelter and projection Of. d,
sort Of grave-like excavation, It ia
not SO often nowadays, however, thar
a man a actually to dig himself in
on solid ground, for there is seldom
an inftnary advance made over any
thing but ground alt pitted and torn
with shell craters.
Fighting from shell holes is an art
in itself. and one that Americans
must learn before taking their pIace
In the allied line German prisoners
q that they would rather fight from
shell8holes on an active part sc the
front than from q regular Organized
trench system. The latter affords the
artillery too goodsa target, while iso-
lated shell holes are sdificult for the
enemy guns to5deal with. The Ger
mans even conceal some 1of their shell
holes by putting brown waterproof
sheets over them whenever an allied
airplane 10. een approaching. The
passion for digging iii Is IS strong
with h Germans that they have been
known desperately to claw holes IN
the ground with their hands TIL the
ends OF their fingers were practicaIiy
worn of. Thus some were FOUND
dead, and others, who had been taken
prisoners, had to be semitic the hosps-
tai with All heirffngernails gone.
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