Wiring party Wiring parties , ( or wiring sapper s , cutters ) , were used during World War I on the Western Front as an offensive countermeasure against the enemy ’ s barbed wire obstacles . Though a hazardous and stressful duty , workers worked at night to repair , improve , and rebuild their own wire defences , while also sabotaging and cutting the enemy ' s . In battles all across the Western Front , cutting parties were successful in creating breaches in the wire lines , offering their comrades a better chance to make it across no man ' s land . Barbed wire was one of the attacker ' s great problems . There were cutters , but not enough , and men were often killed before they could cut a way . New technology . The outbreak of World War I sparked a revolution in modern warfare , and the use of barbed wire on the battlefield was one of the many technologies relied on to hamper the enemy ' s attack . Originally used by American cattle ranchers since the 1870s , barbed wire was adapted on the Western Front to serve a more gruesome purpose than containing livestock . Transformed into a weapon of war , it was shaped to create deadly obstacles in the path of assaulting enemy troops . Meant to trap , maim , and make easy targets of the opponent , they ranged from a single strand of wire arranged to trip men in the dark , to a 150 - metre - long construction and tall By spring of 1915 , barbed wire entanglements were an unavoidable element in trench warfare , and posed a serious threat to all men going ' over the top ' . The call of duty . The integration of barbed wire as an instrument of war required the formation of tactical teams , or wiring parties . Barbed wire defences needed to be maintained often , as shrapnel from the day ' s battle often cut the wire , or the enemy had sabotaged it during the battle or the night before . Still , the workers did not just deal with the actual wire ; they also had to clear the entanglements of any bodies or body parts . Under the cover of darkness , often one - third of most units stealthily climbed out of the trenches to perform maintenance on their wires , as well as investigation of the status of the enemy ' s . They were charged with the task of repairing damaged wire and reconstructing the line if necessary . In addition , these working parties attempted to cut and destroy the enemy ’ s wire in the hopes of preventing their troops from being stopped in the middle of no man ' s land during the next attack . From as early as 9 pm and as late as 3 am , they were like " so many animals , working during the night and sleeping by day " . As the war progressed , it seemed to become ' regular routine ' , but often one of the most deadly and difficult duties to perform . Equipment and methods . Due to the extreme dangers inherent with no man ' s land , specialized tools and methods were implemented to make the process quieter and more efficient . Pickets , or metal posts , were originally used to hold up the wire and were hammered in by a muffled mallet . However , this still produced noise , rendering the sappers targets for the enemies . Therefore , screw - pickets or ' cork - screws ' were produced . These looped steel posts had a drill - like end , allowing it to be twisted into the ground noiselessly and the wire then wrapped around it . The wiring parties began by creeping into no man ' s land carrying all their equipment , including the screw - pickets and rolls of sharp barbed wire . Often this was a painful task in itself : You mention in your letter about what I would like or need most … However , I ' m not complaining or asking for anything so don ' t worry about me . A good stout pair of gloves for handling barbed wire or fur gloves ( lined ) would be acceptable . ( Lt . Cecil Louis ' letter to his wife , 1916 ) Erecting wire was time consuming and meticulous ; sappers had to first repair wire by hand , then construct new defences if needed . Destroying wire , on the other hand , could done either by going through , over , or under the wire , and could be done by hand or by using wire - cutting shells and mortars . The object of the wiring parties was to slow down the enemy ’ s attack , while speeding up their own . For this reason , workers attempted to make it impossible for the enemy to get to their trench , while sabotaging the enemy ’ s wire for their own benefit . In addition , though the distance between trenches varied between 7 and 500 yards , workers tried to erect barbed wire defences as far away from their trench as possible , to prevent the enemy from getting too close to the trench , or possibly lobbing in grenades . Dangers . Working with barbed wire was a nasty job under any circumstances , but when you were handling it in the dark and within a hundred yards of rifles and machine guns that would shoot at the least sound , you were doing one of the most nerve - wracking bits of work that could possibly be imagined . . . the slightest move might mean death for half your party . Wiring parties faced the constant danger of being seen and noticed by enemy searchlights or troops . Enemy sentries were trained to listen and look for these nighttime raiders , and any suspicious sounds or movements could give away the men ' s position and consequently bring a concentration of heavy fire that way . Unprotected and often standing , wiring parties were subject to enemy flares which would expose them immediately , causing them to have to fall down and lie flat , even on the very wire they were carrying . To conceal themselves as much as possible , party members left extra supplies in the trench , and only ventured out at night . The teams scrambled to work as quickly and silently as possible , as such stressful night work and physical labour promoted fatigue and little time to sleep . Also , returning to one ' s trench in the middle of the night proved tricky , as workers often got lost on their way back . Finally , wiring parties were always wary of the enemy ' s parties , as they performed the same task each night . Popular Culture . A wiring party is described in detail in the World War I novel All Quiet on the Western Front by E . M . Remarque , as well as the 1930 film based on it . Paul Baumer , the main character , has one of his first experiences of front line duty in a nighttime wiring party . Partway through the work , they are shelled and one of his comrades is killed , the first of many of his friends to die in combat