Dugouts, Army

timber-and-earth structures designed to house troops and headquarters and provide for their domestic needs under field conditions. Dugouts are made with single- or double-sloped roofs with a light ceiling made of a solid row of poles (counterfloor of logs) set on rafters or sills, above which is a clay layer and earth fill 30–40 cm thick. Entry corridors are made in the ends of the dugout. Within the structure a stove for heating and equipment for relaxation, staff work, and other needs are installed. During the Great Patriotic War of 1941–45, Soviet troops and partisans also used dugouts with log frames and ceilings made of two or three log counterfloors.