The Enemy round hole!

[sapper]

I may have mentioned the round hole that the enemy used now and again. The way they made this hole was often the subject of speculation. The hole was pefectly round. The Diameter wide enough for a man to stand up in, and deep enough to stand.

Impossible to be dug by hand. Yet we never found a machine that was capable of creating this hole. The other thing for me was that anyone using it would totally isolated with no hope of getting away if observed, for it was difficult clambering out.
Sapper.

[Bodston]

Originally Posted by sapper

I may have mentioned the round hole that the enemy used now and again. The way they made this hole was often the subject of speculation. The hole was pefectly round. The Diameter wide enough for a man to stand up in, and deep enough to stand.

Impossible to be dug by hand. Yet we never found a machine that was capable of creating this hole. The other thing for me was that anyone using it would totally isolated with no hope of getting away if observed, for it was difficult clambering out.
Sapper.

Fascinating, where? presumably in NW Europe where the soil would permit it. Were they in open fields? I suppose they must have used some kind of post-hole borer, but it seems to be a lot of trouble to go to. Was there any loose soil around these holes? or did it look as though a giant plug of earth had been removed?
Like you say, what about the chap left there alone with his Kar 98 and told to defend until his ammo ran out.

[sapper]

These deep holes could be found anywhere. Never surrounded by spoil, so they must have taken the earth away. Near perfectly round.
Isolated!

The most bizarre scene that I have ever experienced, but that was not the end of this unreal feeling, half way down this sloping road a German had dug a small hole in the vertical bank and had got in there, unfortunately there was no way for him to retreat or fall back, he was utterly isolated, the hole he had dug was not even deep enough to put his rifle in, it stuck out for all to see. In front of him mines had been laid, but on top of the road and level with the enemies hole he had dug in the bank. Everybody, who came down the road seeing this German rifle sticking out of the bank, gently lobbed a hand grenade into the top of dugout. I think he was blown up or shot several times because his rifle was still sticking out of the bank when he had been killed, time and time again, all we had to do was to just lift the mines off of the road and the way was clear
Sapper