Modern Developments
The modern entrenching tool evolved from the early folding and short spades of World War I and World War II, and these may have evolved from short spades used in the American Civil War.
The United States Army folding spade, or entrenching tool, has evolved from a single fold spade with a straight handle, to a tri-fold design with a modified “D” handle design with all steel construction, to a similar light weight plastic and steel tri-fold design adopted by NATO as the standard issue entrenching tool. Other folding variants have also been issued. The latest light weight plastic tri-fold design is thirty percent lighter than the all-steel tri-fold was: 1.5 pounds (0.68 kg) instead of 2.25 pounds (1.02 kg).
Entrenching tools, if strongly built, can also be used as weapons. Some entrenching tools can be even sharpened on one or both sides of the blade to be used as cutting tools or weapons; in fact, when used as such, the tool's sharp, thick edges are strong enough to cut through flesh and bone. During the Second World War, entrenchment spades were used in close quarters combat between German and Soviet forces. Soviet Spetsnaz units were well trained in the use of the standards short-handled Russian entrenching shovel ("saperka") as weapons; by the nature of their missions, such tools were only rarely used them digging or entrenching positions. Modern commando forces, too, are trained to fight with entrenchment tools.
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