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Defensive fighting position
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==History== [[Image:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-263-1580-06, Atlantikwall, Soldat der Legion "Freies Indien".jpg|right|thumb|An [[Indische Legion|Indian Wehrmacht volunteer]] in a [[Tobrouk (WWII)|Tobruk]] DFP along the [[Atlantic Wall]], 1944]] <!--'Early in [[World War II]],' - Op Torch began 8 Nov 1942, 77 days after the mid point of the war, so we are talking about something that happened in the second half of WW2; this is not early war.-->During the fighting in [[North African Campaign|North Africa]] (1942–43), [[U.S. forces]] employed the [[shell scrape]]. This was a very shallow excavation allowing one soldier to lie horizontally while shielding his body from nearby [[Shell (projectile)|shell]] bursts and [[small arms]] fire.<ref>{{cite web |first=Albert S |last=Brown |title=Anzio: Jan-May 1944 |work=World War II Memories of Staff Sergeant Albert S. Brown |publisher=Dogface Soldiers Memoirs |url= http://www.dogfacesoldiers.org/info/memoirs/brown/anzio.htm}}</ref><ref name="46-47">{{cite book |first=Edwin V. |last=Westrate |title=Forward Observer |location=New York City |publisher=Stratford Press |year=1944 |pages=46–47}}</ref> The shell scrape soon proved inadequate in this role, as the few inches of dirt above the soldier's body could often be penetrated by bullets or shell fragments. It also exposed the user to assault by enemy [[tank]]s, which could crush a soldier inside a shallow shell scrape by driving into it, then making a simple half-turn.<ref>{{cite book |first=Edwin V. |last=Westrate |title=Forward Observer |location=New York City |publisher=Stratford Press |year=1944 |page=115}}</ref> After the [[Battle of Kasserine Pass]] (early 1943), U.S. troops increasingly adopted the modern ''[[wikt:foxhole|foxhole]]'', a vertical, bottle-shaped hole that allowed a soldier to stand and fight with head and shoulders exposed.<ref name="46-47"/><ref>{{cite book |first=Edwin V. |last=Westrate |title=Forward Observer |location=New York City |publisher=Stratford Press |year=1944 |page=77}}</ref> The foxhole widened near the bottom to allow a soldier to crouch down while under intense [[artillery]] fire or tank attack.<ref name="46-47" /> Foxholes could be enlarged to two-soldier fighting positions, as well as excavated with firing steps for crew-served weapons or [[sump]]s for water drainage or live enemy [[grenade]] [[Bomb disposal|disposal]]. ===Tobruks=== The Germans used hardened fortifications in North Africa and later in other fortifications, such as the [[Atlantic Wall]], that were in essence foxholes made from concrete. The Germans knew them officially as ''Ringstände''; the Allies called them "Tobruks" because they had first encountered the structures during the fighting in Africa.<ref>{{cite book|last=Zaloga|first= Steven J|title=D-Day Fortifications in Normandy|date= 10 November 2005|publisher=Osprey Publishing Ltd|isbn=1-84176-876-6|page=21}}</ref> Frequently, the Germans put a turret from an obsolete French or German tank on the foxhole. This gave the Tobruk enhanced firepower and the gunner protection from shrapnel and small arms. <gallery mode=packed heights=180> Image:German turret at Omaha Beach.jpg|German VK 3001H prototype turret mounted on "Tobruk" at [[Omaha Beach]], June 1944 File:Tobruk at the CI Military Museum.JPG|Tobruk protecting the entrance to the bunker that now houses the Channel Islands Military Museum. This turret from a [[Renault R35]] was originally employed on a Tobruk at Saint Aubin's Fort, [[Jersey]]. </gallery>
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