the field artillery journal - Fort Sill - U.S. Army

184 THE FIELD ARTILLERY JOURNAL March
in the second village and on Hill No. 190 were
considerably smaller than those in the village with the
church; therefore the approaches to the former were
blocked by a double-staked wire fence so that the village
and the eastern slopes of Hill No. 190 formed an auxiliary
position of the defense.
The buildings on the right flank were located in the open
and easily visible from the opposite bank of the river. Here
the fire power was very low, but what there was gave
flanking fire along the left bank of the river, and cover for
the especially strong obstacles in front of the position, on
which the defense here was based. The wire obstacles
consisted of a 3- to 4-stake fence and a mine field
containing high explosives.
In the system of fire it is characteristically the case that
blindages (rest dugouts) and dzoti (dugouts or firing
points) in forward positions are covered successively by
those in the rear. Therefore, in seizing a dzot in the forward
positions our troops are immediately subjected to fire from
the dzoti located in the rear.
Defensive structures are always carefully camouflaged
(being blended with the surroundings) from both aerial and
ground observation. Camouflage of real gun positions is
aided by the construction of false ones out of snow, from
the general vicinity of which the Germans fire periodically.
The Germans also use small hillocks as firing positions.
On our sector the Germans have organized this complex
system of fire in depth. Especially effective within the
system of fire is the proper use of terrain and small
villages. They attach great importance to the use of small
villages in their defense. This is quite logical, for in a
village are rows of buildings which can be used with
considerable effect and with the minimum loss of time and
means.
When our troops break through the defensive position,
destroy the forward line, and penetrate further, the
Germans make new defensive works in a short time—
principally of dzoti of light construction. Herein lies the
flexibility of the German defense.
Location of trenches and dugouts is determined by the
relief of the terrain. Sometimes they are arranged in
checkerboard fashion. Between blindages are constructed a
large number of dzoti, including false ones. In the dzoti are
relays of automatic riflemen and machine gun men, usually
15 to 30 per cent of the detachment; the remainder are in
the blindage.
Construction details of the dzoti and blindages were
obtained from prisoners captured in this sector of the front
at the end of February. Each section has one or two
blindages where the men rest and one or two dzoti
connected with tunnels or trenches cut into the snow. A
blindage is a hole in the ground 2 meters deep and 6 × 4
meters in cross section, lined with boards; it has a timber
roof which is covered by .5 meter of earth soaked with
water. A dzot (dugout or firing point) is usually simply