GERMAN METHODS

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2460, 13 May 1915, Page 6

GERMAN METHODS

t « An infantry officer on service in the Western theatre writes to an English exchange:— ' ' Though most of us agree that one of our men is worth three of the Germans, what their Staff doesn't know about war and its devices isn't worth knowing. Their trench equipment is magnificent and their methods beyond praise. AVhen they blew up the trench ■ that the -— were in I came up to re-' inforce about half an hour after, -just ' as it was getting light, and placed my platoon under the command or the captain. J wanted to retake the trench 1 at once, but ho wouldn't let me, and told us to wait till daylight, so , 1 watched the Germans with my periscope and saw them rush in. No soon--1 er had they got in than they had every ■ sandbag off the parai>et and blocked , up the trench against- us, and they brought in their portablo iron loopholes, which are extremely good. They had all this rigged up in under half an ; hour; when I retook the trench I found they had everything ready for a i long occupation. Their trench mor- , tars are a wonderful piece of scientifio work; they make no report when fired, as the bomb is propelled by compressed air. Ours makes a row like a thunderclap. The prisoners I took were very well dressed (smart and clean), plenty of good rations, bread, bully beef, chocolate, coffee, biscuits, good boots to prevent frost-bite; in their trenches tlio.v oil their feet, then bandage them and oil the bandage, wear two pairs of socks, thlion a pair of carpet slippers, and then gum boots over the top of. that Thoy are equipped with any number of hand grenades and bombs,' which ] don't think aro as good as ours, but they have plenty of them, ami in tho trenches they have fixed rides, which is an advantage. Their tronohes lire usually parallel; they have a firing-line trench, and then 'about" 10 yards in -ear. which is connected up to the firing-lino trench by several communication trenches': this has the advantage that only those men actually on watch need be in the firing trench', the others can rest in the trench behind. The men we tool; were fine, big men, but quite young—l should say ;f.UUW SO.-Hjaiß. oi )t-