Dominating the Enemy

During World War I, the enemy was not only the German army; it was the trenches themselves. The mud and the wet, the wire and mire, and no-man's land. All these had to be attacked and defeated, defended against and dominated if soldiers were to survive a tour of duty in the trenches. In this sequel to "Weapons of the Trench War", the author presents a further selection of British weapons and equipment designed specifically for use in the bitterly contested war in the trenches along the Western Front. These include body armour (which assumed an importance not seen since the 17th century), helmets (with a design reminiscent of the Middle Ages and which became standard issue in 1916), sniperscopes (remotely fired rifles), periscopes, wire-cutters (attached to rifles), muzzle and breach covers, close-fighting weapons (including stilettos, knuckle-dusters, clubs and coshes), automatic rifles and sub-machine guns, and a selection of weird and not-so-wonderful devices that increased the infantryman's chances of survival in the trenches. The text includes a selection of archive photographs and line drawings to complement the narrative.