not possible to
dig deep trenches as the land was so low lying that water was met on
reaching a depth of about two feet. Trenches were not feasible, so it was
a case of breast-works. The defences therefore consisted of sand-bag
revetments held in position by wooden frames over which expanded metal had
been spread. These frames were called "A" frames or "Z" frames. The former
were used for preventing narrow ways from staving in, and the latter were
to face sand-bag walls. They were not easy to use and the men had to learn
how to fix them, and their employment entailed many long and tedious
carrying parties. The breast-works were divided into fire bays by
traverses which were situated every few yards. These fire bays, which were
all numbered, had firing platforms made of wood or well-revetted sandbags.
The parapet was sufficiently high to give good command over the ground in
front. During the winter it silted down and in many places it became not
even bullet-proof. The parados was fairly good, though in many places
there was none at all. For shelter the men had small recesses like dog
kennels in the parapet or parados; these were usually roofed by a sheet of
corrugated iron and were very small, uncomfortable, and infested with
rats. There were not sufficient shelters to accommodate all the men, and
the surplus had to sleep as best they could on the firing platform with
only greatcoats as coverings.

The men had endured much and many were war weary. They were tired of
fighting, and their former enthusiasm had cooled, especially as there was
no immediate prospect of a rapid termination of the war. Among those who
stood to arms in the whizz-banged trench in the cold raw hour of dawn were
many who had given up assured positions--skilled mechanics, master
printers, clerks, university men, solicitors, and others of several
professions and callings who had sacrificed their various situations and
appointments, and whose wives struggled on a very meagre separation
allowance. Fully aware were they also that while they were manning the
trench as infantrymen and receiving as remuneration a miserable pittance,
munition workers in England were receiving excessively high wages for
congenial work and enjoying freedom from all discomfort and danger of the
trenches.

The water-logged ground between the British and German lines was pitted
with shell holes and overgrown with rank grass and weeds. Numerous trees
lopped of their branches wer