MAN TRAPS

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 33, 2 November 1918, Page 9

MAN TRAPS

DEATH SNARES SET BY THE HUNS IN THE WAKE OF THE RETREAT (By Ciipfairi H. B. C. Pollard, Author of "The Story of Ypres," etc.)

' When the German evacuates a position | in his own time he spends hours of hard work preparing man-trnps. Land mines and similar recognised devices of war are allowable, ami aro used by all nations, but the German specialises, in dishonourable- stratagems, and takes a particular joy in setting concealed mantraps in quarters which will bo occupied by civilians.' He is careful, also, to arrange the timing mechanism so that the explcoion may occur months after ho has left. . • ■ it was through one of these infernal machines ihat a party of French doputies visiting a recaptured town were blown up weeks after the ploco had been rcoccnpied. Tho machine used showed a high degree of misplaced ingenuity. Hires supporting a nring weight wero passed through a vessel full of acid, which slowly ate into them until the wire was thin enough to break, thus releasing tho mechanism,, and firing tho charge. Such a"n apparatus might remain undetected, bricked up in a cellar alcove, for many weeks. It could not be set for any particular lime, but could be relied upon to go oil' at some far distant date. These rather complicated . mechanisms require a good deal of time to fix, and have been . used only in special cases, preferably in public or historic buildings of some importance. Tho greater danger conies from tho manifold variety of trench and dug-out booty traps' artfully prepared to entrap the unwary eoldier. These may take all sorts of shapes, from a helmet arranged with a gronado inside which goes oft the moment the helmet is lifted, to cases marked "ammunition," or "supplies, fitted with a firing mechanism which detonates a heavy load of explosives when the lid is lifted. Field-glasses, pistols, and even razors are tastefully displayed at the doors of dug-ouls. If on unwary man lifts one he finds it entangled in a loop of string, a strap, or a length ot telephone wire. The slightest pull and tho whole land-mine Is exploded. .The deep underground chambers and dug-outs of an abandoned German line- are favourite pieces for the setting of regular mantraps. Men exploring incautiously many feet underground in the dork labyrinths may touch a trip-wire, and explosions occur which blow ,, in the entrances, and block up the whole underground system. In order to cope- with these.dangers parties of skilled engineers who know all about the handling and mechanism of these- devices are usually the first to enter nny suspected dugouts. The traps r all depend in one way or another upon ■ the firing mechanism or detonator arI ranged to explode the charge. When j once this has been removed the bulk of I the charge is rendered harmless, and can I be taken away at leisure, j The same- methods aro used for dealing i with unexploded laud-mines or .bridges ! prepared for demolition, but not blown j.up owing to. the failure of the fuses or J the too rapid advance, of the pursuing i troops. In these the line of the. fuse or electric wire is carefully uncovered until the detonators are found, and once these aro removed the cases of, explosive can bs dug up. without undue danger. A variation of the explosive man-trap is the German trick of poisoning sources of drinking 'water before retirement, Mineral poisons such as arsenic or- lead ealts, and even sheep-dipping mixtures or agricultural poisons, used for spraying vines or potatoes, are the stuffs most frequently used. This water poisoning is of course a- direct contravening of tho laws of civilised warfare, but, the Germans are no longer regarded as a civilised nation, and these breachps are expected and prepared for. Before any well is declared safe for the Allied soldiery it is most carefully tested for poisons, both metallic and organic, by special field companies of water-testing engineers, who follow up the attacking troops for this particular purpose. In actual practice the numbers- of casualties from either man-baps, landmines, or poisoned wells is. negligible, nor is the speed of assault in any way lessened by the"threat'of hidden dangers.