The following are the lessons learned discussed in this book.
| BF Lessons Learned | |
|---|---|
| Number | Lessons Learned |
| 1 | Do not put off taking your measures of defence till the morrow, as these are more important than the comfort of your men or the shipshape arrangement of your camp. Choose the position of your camp mainly with reference to your defence. |
| 2 | Do not in war-time show stray men of the enemy's breed all over your camp, be they never so kind and full of butter, and do not be hypnotised, by numerous "passes," at once to confide in them. |
| 3 | Do not let your sentries advertise their position to the whole world, including the enemy, by standing in the full glare of a fire, and making much noise every half-hour. |
| 4 | Do not, if avoidable, be in tents when bullets are ripping through them; at such times a hole in the ground is worth many tents. |
| 5 | With modern rifles, to guard a drift or locality does not necessitate sitting on top of it (as if it could be picked up and carried away), unless the locality is suitable to hold for other and defensive reasons. It may even be much better to take up your defensive position some way from the spot, and so away from concealed ground, which enables the enemy to crawl up to very close range, concealed and unperceived, and to fire from cover which hides them even when shooting. It would be better, if possible, to have the enemy in the open, or to have what is called a clear "field of fire." A non-bullet-proof parapet or visible serves merely to attract bullets instead of keeping them out—the proof of thickness can be easily and practically tested. When fired at by an enemy at close range from nearly all round, a low parapet and shallow trench are not of much use, as what bullets do not hit the defenders on one side hit those on another. |
| 6 | It is not enough to keep strange men of the enemy's breed away from your actual defences, letting them go free to warn their friends of your existence and whereabouts—even though they should not be under temptation to impart any knowledge they may have obtained. "Another way," as the cookery book says, more economical in lives, would be as follows: Gather and warmly greet a sufficiency of strangers. Stuff well with chestnuts as to the large force about to join you in a few hours; garnish with corroborative detail, and season according to taste with whiskey or tobacco. This will very likely be sufficient for the nearest commando. Probable cost—some heavy and glib lying, but no lives will be expended. |
| 7 | It is not business to allow lazy black men (even though they be brothers and neutrals) to sit and pick their teeth outside their kraals whilst tired white men are breaking their hearts trying to do heavy labour in short time. It is more the duty of a Christian soldier to teach the dusky neutral the dignity of labour, and to keep him under guard, to prevent his going away to talk about it. (This lesson has often been edited in later revisions to be merely "lazy men" rather than "lazy black men" or "dusky neutral", and "soldiers" rather than "white men.") |
| 8 | When collecting the friendly stranger and his sons in order to prevent their taking information to the enemy of your existence and whereabouts, if you are wishful for a "surprise packet," do not forget also to gather his wife and his daughter, his manservant and his maidservant (who also have tongues), and his ox and his ass (which may possibly serve the enemy). Of course, if they are very numerous or very far off, this is impossible; only do not then hope to surprise the enemy. |
| 9 | Do not forget that, if guns are going to be used against you, a shallow trench with a low parapet some way from it is worse than useless, even though the parapet be bulletproof ten times over. The trench gives the gunners an object to lay on, and gives no protection from shrapnel. Against well-aimed long-range artillery fire it would be better to scatter the defenders in the open hidden in grass and bushes, or behind stones or ant hills, than to keep them huddled in such a trench. With your men scattered around, you can safely let the enemy fill your trench to the brim with shrapnel bullets. |
| 10 | Though to stop a shrapnel bullet much less actual thickness of earth is necessary than to stop a rifle bullet, yet this earth must be in the right place. For protection you must be able to get right close under the cover. As narrow a trench as possible, with the sides and inside of the parapet as steep as they will stand, will give you the best chance. To hollow out the bottom of the trench sides to give extra room be even better, because the open top of the trench can be kept the less wide. The more like a mere slit the open top of the trench is, the fewer shrapnel bullets will get in. |
| 11 | For a small isolated post and an active enemy, there are no flanks, no rear, or, to put it otherwise, it is front all round. |
| 12 | Beware of being taken in reverse; take care, when placing and making your defences, that when you are engaged in shooting the enemy to the front of your trench, his pal cannot sneak up and shoot you in the back. |
| 13 | Beware of being enfiladed. It is nasty from one flank - far worse from both flanks. |
| 14 | Do not have your trench near rising ground over which you cannot see, and which you cannot hold. |
| 15 | Do not huddle all your men together in a small trench like sheep in a pen. Give them air. |
| 16 | As once before—cover from sight is of often worth more than cover from bullets. For close shooting from a non-concealed trench, head cover with loopholes is an advantage. This should be bulletproof and not be conspicuously on the top of the parapet, so as to draw fire, or it will be far more dangerous than having none. |
| 17 | To surprise the enemy is a great advantage. |
| 18 | If you wish to obtain this advantage, conceal your position. Though for promotion it may be sound to advertise your position, for defence it is not. |
| 19 | To test the concealment or otherwise of your position, look at it from the enemy's point of view. |
| 20 | Beware of convex hills and dead ground. Especially take care to have some place where the enemy must come under your fire. Choose the exact position of your firing trenches, with your eye at the level of the men who will eventually use them. |
| 21 | A hill may not, after all, though it has "command," necessarily be the best place to hold. |
| 22 | A conspicuous "bluff" trench may cause the enemy to waste much ammunition, and draw fire away from the actual defences. |
Read more about this topic: The Defence Of Duffer's Drift
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