Spider holes were also used by fighters of the Viet Cong and soldiers of the People's Army of Vietnam during the Vietnam War as both defensive and offensive fortifications, where VC/PAVN fighters could either seek shelter from combat with ARVN, US or other allied forces, or could conceal themselves in preparation for a surprise attack. They called them " octopus pots" ( 蛸壺, takotsubo) for a fancied resemblance to the pots used to catch octopuses in Japan. Spider holes were used during World War II by Japanese forces on many Pacific battlefields, including Leyte in the Philippines and Iwo Jima. A spider hole differs from a typical foxhole in that a foxhole is usually deeper and designed to emphasize cover rather than concealment. According to Safire, one of the characteristics of these holes was that they held a "clay pot large enough to hold a crouching man." If the pot broke, the soldier was exposed to attack from snakes or spiders, hence the name "spider hole".Ī spider hole is typically a shoulder-deep, protective, round hole, often covered by a camouflaged lid, in which a soldier can stand and fire a weapon. įollowing the capture of Saddam Hussein, the American columnist William Safire claimed in the December 15, 2003, issue of the New York Times that the term originated in the Vietnam War. The term is usually understood to be an allusion to the camouflaged hole constructed by the trapdoor spider.Īccording to United States Marine Corps historian Major Chuck Melson, the term originated in the American Civil War, when it meant a hastily dug foxhole. In military slang, a spider hole is a type of camouflaged one-man foxhole, similar to a surveillance/hidesite used for observation. Please see the talk page for more information. This article or section appears to contradict itself.
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