American Made Fitness Equipment

American Made Fitness Equipment

American Made Fitness Equipment

For the British, French, and Americans, the volunteers who formed the trench raiders often became near permanent organizations within their own units. With these men becoming specialized in the task of trench raiding, they quickly developed and prepared equipment used for the express purpose of infiltrating German trenches.

Preparing the Clothing and Equipment

Trench raiders began the equipment preparation for a raid by removing all identifying features from their own uniforms. Safety-pins would often replace regimental buttons, and collar flashes were removed in order to deny the Germans any inadvertent informational gain. Trench raiders also left behind any identifying paperwork, such as letters and pay-books, and they made sure to carry a piece of paper with their military identification number on it. This paper would allow the Germans to report, via the Red Cross, the fate of a trench raider who did not return.

Once these identifying markers were removed, the men added and removed various pieces of equipment. Water bottles and packs were removed, and a skeleton webbing was then available for the attachment of weapons, ammunition, and grenades. In order to ensure silence when walking through a German trench while stealth was still a factor, trench raiders would muffle their boots with sandbags. Some men went so far as to attach rubber bars to the soles of their boots in an attempt to remain silent.