Sandbags. Alternate Uses.

            Recently I have been reading about certain aspects of World War One, in particular the Stosstruppen or “Stormtroops”.

            A common and distinctive element of the Stosstruppen equipment is the grenade bags underneath the arms. These were often sewn from sandbags. Sandbags had other uses too. One illustration I saw had a soldier carrying a sandbag to collect any booty or intelligence material he came across in a raid. Another feature of the Stosstruppen was that they did not bother to carry their backpacks into battle. Backpacks were for the march to a position and were usually placed in storage once there. Instead the Stosstruppen created an “assault pack” by rolling their greatcoat in their shelter cloth and strapping it as a horseshoe shape around their mess tin.

 

            If attempting to capture a position a unit was required to carry four days’ worth of rations. Units in newly captured locations could easily become isolated. The rations of a German soldier a century ago were somewhat more spartan and modest than those of modern soldiers but I suspect he would still be hard pressed to carry four days’ worth in just an assault pack and the “bread bag” on his belt. A feature of trench fighting was that it was often only the lead elements that would be doing any actual fighting. The point would be taken by a couple of rifle, pistol or SMG men and close behind a “bomber” would toss grenades into the next trench section. Most of the unit would be carrying entrenching tools, sandbags and any other items needed to consolidate a captured trench section. These bearers would doubtless have also carried the bulk of the unit’s four day ration. This still raises the question as to how to carry those rations without backpacks. What I suspect is that often the rations were carried in the unfilled sandbags the unit was required to take along.

            Sandbags had many other uses too. A sandbag could be wrapped around a rifle barrel to camouflage it when sniping. Camouflaged face veils for snipers could also be made from sandbags. Sandbags were used to make helmet covers, making your head less of a target when moving behind sandbagged parapets. Frayed bits of sandbag could be sewn to a garment to break up the shape and provide additional camouflage.

 

            When it comes to using a sandbag as a carrying sack it is informative to look at the Russian veshmeshok. The neck is twisted closed and the carrying strap used to form a sort of lark-tail knot. A typical sandbags is 14-15” x 26-32” and can hold about 30-35lbs of dirt so a carrying bag made from one can hold a useful load. Holes punched in the bottom corners, possibly eyeleted can be used to take a cord and made adjustable with a simple bowline knot. Alternately a small object such as a stone can be placed in the lower corners and a constrictor knot or round turn and half hitches can be tied around the material behind the object. The latter technique, incidentally is useful when you need to use a shelter sheet that does not have eyelets. There is not frame in a veshmeshok or sandbag, of course, so you have to give some thought to what you put in and in what order. Make sure there is something soft against your back!

In my book I mention that claymore mine bags often were used as handy ammunition carriers. A sandbag could provide the basic material for a similar but lighter carrier with just some basic sewing. Sew up the mouth and open one side, divide the compartment in two and add a strap, flap etc.

 

            To both the World War One and modern soldier sandbags are readily available and worth utilising. If you are a civilian then sandbags can be purchased from builder suppliers and garden stores and can often be found for less than a dollar each. Modern types are of circular woven polypropylene but more traditional hessian is also still available. A synthetic may be better for a carrying bag while hessian is better for adding camouflage to a hunting outfit. Hessian is quite a useful camouflage colour, particularly if used with contrasting browns, greens or greys. If you are wrapping a rifle stock in hessian remember folds, creases and shadows help break up the shape. You can also apply some paint of dye in dabs of a contrasting colour but don’t go overboard. It is the contrast and irregular intervals that help break up the shape.

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A Possible Con trick?

                A friend of mine went out for a bite to eat and a quiet drink the other night. When he came back he did not look too good.

                As the bar was closing a girl sitting outside collapsed. According to her sister she had been taking drugs. They had brought something that allegedly was “MDMA”. I say allegedly since a friend of mine was once concerned with analysing a large number of MDMA samples taken as evidence. The majority of them contained very little, if any MDMA but contained a lot of other things, many of them quite unpleasant or harmful.

                As my friend and another customer attempted to help the girl she stopped breathing several times. My friend was able to get her breathing again by using artificial respiration. An ambulance arrived and the girl and her sister were taken away.

                My friend felt that he had panicked a little and could have done more. I pointed out to him that he had undoubtedly saved her life and that at least he had done something positive when challenged. Some people would have run around like headless chickens. Some would probably have stood around videoing it on their phones. I did joke with him that in some countries he would now be sued by the girl for malpractice and sexual harassment! A joke sadly too close to the truth.

                This had not been his only adventure that night. Minutes before this a fight had broken out in the bar between the landlord and a customer and my friend had helped keep them apart. What is interesting about this is the fight broke out a closing time with very little apparent cause. After they were separated the customer reached inside his jacket and produced a pair of broken glasses from his pocket. He then began to claim that the Landlord had broken these in the fight and that he wanted compensation for them.

                Certain aspects of how this was described to me suggest this might be a variation of an old con trick. Something to watch out for.

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"The Northwest Passage" Lessons for the modern world.

            Yesterday I treated myself. I finally got around to unwrapping my copy of "The Northwest Passage (1940)". Finding this fine old film on DVD was to prove to be something of a task. After much searching I was able to find a copy in Spanish ("Paso al Noroeste"). Fortunately for me the DVD included the original English soundtrack too.

 

            The reason I am posting about this movie on this blog is that a major theme in the movie is about motivation and leadership. If I had my way "The Northwest Passage" would be shown to all officers and NCOs.

            Early in the movie Major Rogers (Spencer Tracy) realises that the way up river is blocked by French forces. The only way pass involves carrying the heavy whale boats across country and up over a steep wooded hill. Instead of issuing orders Rogers asks his men (paraphrased):-

            "If you needed to get past the French without them knowing and knew you would need your boat later, what would you do?"

            A ranger replies "I guess I would carry the boat overland till I found water again."

            "Then that is what we will do!"

            Note that Rogers leads his men to the logical conclusion so that they understand the necessity, no matter how much toil and discomfort it implies. In some aspects the course of action seems to have been the suggestion of the men rather than an order by their commander.

            Another notable scene is when the rangers must cross a fast flowing stream.

            Rogers: "If you had a chain stretched across this stream you would not think twice of about wading it. We will make a human chain! I do not know if such a thing has ever been done before, but we are going to do it!" Rogers is the first wade into the water and hook one arm around a tree to form the first link of the chain. This is an interesting technique for large parties to use to cross rivers, although I would recommend hooking arms rather than grasping wrists as shown in the movie.

            The real Major Rogers "Rules of Ranging" and "Standing Orders" are worth a read, even today.

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Perception, Alien Autopsy and Yeti Footprints.

                Today’s blog is about perception. I have touched on this subject once or twice before since how you process information is a useful survival and self-defence skill. What you perceive can often be influenced by what you want to see, expect to see or are expected to see.

                Back in the mid 1990s a video claiming to be the autopsy of an alien was broadcast. Last year I came across an article written at that time by a writer who had attended a press screening of the video. Although he was writing for a science fiction publication the writer was sceptical and suggested that a telephone visible in the film was too modern for the date claimed for the film. This latter statement made me find a copy of the film and sit down to watch it.

                One of the claims I had heard made for this film was that the men performing the autopsy seemed very efficient, professional and were evidently doctors, coroners or scientists. Watching the film my impression was quite the opposite!

                Anyone with even a minimal level of medical training would use a Y incision to open the thorax of a humanoid. Instead in the video a clumsy cross is cut in the torso and organs fished out. No attempt is made to film the inside of the torso and the relative positions of the organs before they are removed. One of the “doctors” attempts to open the skull and to access this area he peels the scalp upwards and flops it over the alien’s face. The rather awkward action shows that the “doctor” has never before performed this action, nor has he ever given any thought whatever as to what would be the best way to accomplish this. Not only is it obvious to me the two “doctors” have no knowledge of medicine it seems very unlikely they are hunters or butchers or any other profession used to handling animal carcasses.

                The makers of the alien autopsy video have now admitted that it was faked. While some people choose to believe they have been made to lie about falsifying it the actions of the “doctors” in the video speak pretty clearly. And yet, many people claimed the conduct of the “doctors” in the video was evidence of its authenticity!

                Below is another famous mystery, the footprint of a yeti found by an Everest expedition. Spend a couple of minutes studying this photo and see if you can work out what is “wrong” about it.

 

               If you look carefully you can see the footprint is curved on its left side, suggesting that if this is a primate foot it is from the right foot. The largest toe impression, however, is on the right of the foot print. Either yetis have a very odd way of distributing their weight when walking or they have their big toes or insteps on the outside of their feet!

                Is there an animal in Tibet that has a large toe on the outside of its foot. Yes, bears have this feature. Another interesting thing about bear tracks is at certain walking speeds the front and rear pawprints often overlap, creating what appears to look a bit like an elongated human or primate footprint! If you look across the centre of this footprint there appears to be what might be a second set of toe impressions, supporting the idea that this might be a pawprint placed close to another.

                The perception of these things is something to reflect on. Humans are most interested in humans so they perceive a vaguely human shaped track as being from a hommid, ignoring large discrepancies as the big toe being on the wrong side!

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