1 Div Sigs Coy Signal Office underground. tation from the dangers of the front line to the The Engineers fostered improvements in the less dangerous support line, about 300 - 400 design and building of trenches, dugouts, and yards behind, and then to the reserve line, about headquarters by the copious use of barbed wire, 1,000 yards in rear. A battalion usually did six sandbags, timber, and corrugated iron. Within days in each position, and then, if pos- sible, was the next two years, the standard for a good removed to a reserve brigade posi- tion further defence system was set: for every 1,000 yards of back still. While the positions back of the front front line, there had to be 1.5 million yards of line would seem to be less dangerous, men there barbed wire arranged in great depth, and 6 were expected to work at night bringing up million sandbags to build up parapets above supplies and ammuni- tion, digging trenches and ground level, particularly in areas where the dugouts, and dig- ging cable trenches into which water table was high. For bombproof dugouts was laid the telephone wire. This last duty and headquarters re- quired 150,000 cubic yards required enor- mous amounts of work, which of timber and 33,500 square yards of corrugated had to be done by the infantry, since there were iron. The most essential tool was the spade; insufficient men in the signal organizations. All digging-in was the key to survival. of the work done by the men in the less For Signallers, the biggest improvement was dangerous positions had to be done in the open, the decision to bury all telephone cable at least making the men vulnerable to artillery fire. Men six feet deep. This decision was driven by the in the front lines were safer generally because German’s increased use of the 5.9 inch howitzer, they were below ground level. Artillery fire which produced a deep crater. The 1 Div Sigs caused over 50 per cent of the casualties, the rest Coy mandate of 28 July 1915 to bury the cables mainly by machine gun and rifle fire. to a depth of three feet was in-
1 Div Sigs Coy Signal Office underground. tation from the dangers of the front line to the less dangerous support line, about 300 - 400 yards behind, and then to the reserve line, about 1,000 yards in rear. A battalion usually did six days in each position, and then, if pos- sible, was removed to a reserve brigade posi- tion further back still. While the positions back of the front line would seem to be less dangerous, men there were expected to work at night bringing up supplies and ammuni- tion, digging trenches and dugouts, and dig- ging cable trenches into which was laid the telephone wire. This last duty required enor- mous amounts of work, which had to be done by the infantry, since there were insufficient men in the signal organizations. All of the work done by the men in the less dangerous positions had to be done in the open, making the men vulnerable to artillery fire. Men in the front lines were safer generally because they were below ground level. Artillery fire caused over 50 per cent of the casualties, the rest mainly by machine gun and rifle fire. The Engineers fostered improvements in the design and building of trenches, dugouts, and headquarters by the copious use of barbed wire, sandbags, timber, and corrugated iron. Within the next two years, the standard for a good defence system was set: for every 1,000 yards of front line, there had to be 1.5 million yards of barbed wire arranged in great depth, and 6 million sandbags to build up parapets above ground level, particularly in areas where the water table was high. For bombproof dugouts and headquarters re- quired 150,000 cubic yards of timber and 33,500 square yards of corrugated iron. The most essential tool was the spade; digging-in was the key to survival. For Signallers, the biggest improvement was the decision to bury all telephone cable at least six feet deep. This decision was driven by the German’s increased use of the 5.9 inch howitzer, which produced a deep crater. The 1 Div Sigs Coy mandate of 28 July 1915 to bury the cables to a depth of three feet was in-
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