How to build a Foxhole

Below is the origonal post, but this post I'm placing here 9 Aug 2010 because it's an update I made earlier this year and for some reason, search engines don't ignore it and keep referring to the old one.  You can read the old one too, that's why I'm leaving it up.  It'll start with the "By Daniel Taverne" below.  Here is the newer post:

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I tried rendering a drawing of a foxhole. As you might have already read in my archives, a proper foxhole is 2 meters X 1 meter and armpit deep to the smallest occupant.

I tried writing, “Fields of fire”. These will intersect with fields of fire from adjacent foxholes which along with still other foxholes will make up your defensive perimeter.

I also tried illustrating how the overhead cover is constructed. When no steel cover is provided, you can get the biggest - fattest log, place it over the center, then run narrower logs out to the sides. If the weather is inclement, you can cover this with a poncho or other waterproofing material as available.

Don’t forget your grenade pits. Slope the floor down from the center, toward the sides. In the floor along the side walls, dig holes as deep as you can get them. These will serve as places to kick a grenade into if one should unfortunately enter your pit.

Topside: to keep dirt from caving in (in between your aiming stakes) Stack horizontal branches for dirt retainers.

Camo your foxhole by using vegetation similar to what is located to the front and rear of your position. Note: Taking excessive plant life from near your position could give your position away.

If you are in a foxhole, with a foxhole beside you, the aiming stakes keep you from accidentally firing at your own guy. The aiming stakes are the stakes that hold back the dirt allowing for your fields of fire. Your fields of fire won’t always be at 45 degree angles. They must intersect with fields of fire from holes beside you.

You might also decide to create fall-back positions. These may be more like hasty fighting positions providing more concealment and somewhat less cover.

If your site is overrun, you’ll fall back to those positions and keep engaging the enemy. This is important because the vital important thing is keeping the Tactical Operation Command (TOC) secure for as long as possible.

Any comments will be greatly appreciated. Please share your knowledge, and pardon my poor spelling and grammar.
By Daniel Taverne

A good fox hole will do two things for you: It will provide cover and concealment. These two benefits are important since at first, the enemy will not be able to see you giving you an early advantage. Additionally, once you are spotted your fox hole (fighting position) will help keep you from getting shot since there will be an adequate dirt barrier between you and the bad guys.

In the vast majority of cases, your fighting position will be only one of a system of positions set up so that each of their fields of fire will intersect with the fields of fire that could potentially emanate from the foxholes located on either side.

Your fighting position should be camouflaged against its background as the enemy would see it. To do this, walk out about 10 meters in front of your foxhole, and look at it. Use foliage and other materials similar to what is located to the sides and behind your position. Do not get all your camo materials from one spot which could give your position away since that area would no longer look natural.

Below is a typical defensive perimeter illustrating the intersecting fields of fire.


Defensive Perimeter



The most difficult aspect of foxhole construction is the digging. It’s a good idea to have an axe and a pick, as well as a shovel. The field measurements for a foxhole are 2 M16’s long (about 2 meters), and 1 M16 wide (about 1 meter). The depth should be armpit deep to the shortest man that will be occupying it. Note: This isn’t usually a problem since the variance of heights is usually only a couple of inches at most.

The floor of your foxhole will slope from the center toward the sides in a kind of inverted ‘V’. On each end of the foxhole, a grenade pit will be dug in the floor. A grenade pit is a deep trench in the floor that runs along each side. In the event that a grenade gets tossed in your hole, it needs merely to be kicked into the pit. The grenade pits should be at least 18 inches deep.

Below is an illustration of a foxhole.