Foxholes: Dig or Die!

FOXHOLES. DIG! OR DIE! (Newsmap, April 1943)

• Tunisia has taught that your life depends on digging in—soon enough and deep enough—with whatever tools you may have at hand. Foxholes protect you effectively from gunfire and mechanized attack and give you a chance to throw some lead yourself.
• To prevent detection, the foxhole should be blended with the nearby terrain by weaving a lid of sticks and covering it with leaves, grass, or dirt. Where there is no brush, use your shelter half as a cover to break up the dark shadow the hole makes.
• A BULLET WILL PENETRATE 30 INCHES OF LOOSE SOIL. Loose soil from the foxhole will not protect you from enemy gunfire. Soil should be removed, if possible, but may be packed into a low, solid parapet.
• A PRONE SHELTER IS NO PROTECTION AGAINST THE CRUSHING ACTION OF TANKS. It is protection from small-arms fire, bomb and artillery fragments. You can dig it easily and sleep in it, but should deepen it into a foxhole as soon as possible.