World War I Trench Warfare Pamphlets Combined: How to Survive in the Trenches; Killing at Close Quarters; Barbed Wire Training, Tactics and Defences; Grenades and Explosives; and Concertina Wire PDF Download

Author:
Publisher: Jeffrey Frank Jones
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 151

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Book Description
All these handy pamphlets were produced by the Canadian government prior to 1919: Contents: 1. How to survive in the trenches This booklet, written with the benefit of three years of experience with trench warfare, covered everything from gas discipline to rum rations. 2. Killing at close quarters This training manual stressed that effective bayonet fighting required "Good Direction, Strength and Quickness, during a state of wild excitement and probably physical exhaustion." 3. Constructing barbed wire defences This manual, used for training purposes by the 215th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, was based on two years' worth of hard experience in defending captured positions. 4. "You have in explosives a good servant" In this book, Sergeant Coleman of the Royal Canadian Regiment sought to augment the short time given to grenade training by providing practical hints on handling, arming, throwing, and making various kinds of bombs for use in trench warfare. 5. Grenades in trench warfare One lesson of trench warfare was that "bombing" (or using hand grenades) was much more important in capturing and clearing enemy trenches than had been imagined before the war. As a result, training manuals like this one by James Ferris, who joined the 63rd Battalion in Edmonton in July 1915, were published as a way to pass on new tactical knowledge. 6. Some Notes on the Minor Tactics of Trench Warfare A Brigade Major of the Corps of Royal Engineers presents a thorough overview of trench warfare tactics, emphasizing the cooperation between infantry and engineers. 7. Training in barbed wire Given the importance of barbed wire during the First World War, it came as no surprise that in the Second World War there would be considerable emphasis on instructing soldiers in its use.