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In the First World War British tank context, a log, a fascine and a plank served different jobs. A log on an unditching beam helped a tank pull itself through soft ground; a fascine was a bundled trench-filler that tanks dropped to make a crossing; and planks or duckboards provided a walking surface inside muddy trenches.
How the three wooden aids differed
| Item | Purpose | Where and how it was used | Who or what benefited |
|---|---|---|---|
| Log on an unditching beam | Help a tank escape marshy or crumbly ground | The tank placed a log in its path and pulled itself over it | The tank carrying the device |
| Fascine | Fill or bridge a trench | A tank released a large bound bundle of brushwood into a trench | The tank and potentially following tanks or infantry |
| Plank or duckboard | Make a walking surface above wet, muddy trench floors | Laid along the interior floor of a trench | Soldiers moving or living in the trench |
What was the log on an unditching beam for?
The log was a self-extraction aid, not a bridge intended to fill a trench. Tank Corps officer W. H. L. Watson described Major Johnson’s unditching beam as enabling a tank in marshy ground or crumbly soil to lay a log in its path and pull itself through the slush or soil. Watson’s account appears in A Company of Tanks (1918). Watson’s account
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What was a fascine on a First World War tank?
A fascine was a bound bundle of brushwood carried on a tank and released into a trench to make it passable. At Cambrai in November 1917, British tanks used these bundles to help themselves cross trenches and to provide a crossing for vehicles or infantry following behind. The Tank Museum describes the Cambrai bundles as made from 75 ordinary fascines bundled in a frame, about 1.5 tons in weight and roughly 4 feet 6 inches in diameter by 10 feet wide. Those measurements refer to the Cambrai fascines described by the museum, not to fascines universally. The Tank Museum’s account of the Cambrai fascines
A tank carried one fascine. After it was dropped, that tank could not retrieve it; other tanks could cross the bundle, although it was soon forced out of shape. The Tank Museum quotes an unnamed commander of a male Mark IV of the 5th (E) Battalion describing the tense moment of releasing one at the Hindenburg Line: “First, poised over the deep and wide excavation; then, releasing the fascine – would it drop alright? – we saw it lumber beautifully to the bottom.” The Tank Museum’s quoted account
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What were planks or duckboards used for?
Plank duckboards were laid along trench floors to give soldiers a surface to walk on above water and mud. They served the daily movement and living needs of trench occupants; they were not the tank-carried bundle dropped into a trench to create a crossing. The National WWI Museum discusses plank duckboards as part of trench life. National WWI Museum: trench duckboards
Why did tanks need fascines?
The Mark IV’s trench-crossing ability had limits. The Tank Museum gives its maximum trench width as 10 feet (3 m) and notes that German defenses widened trenches to hinder tanks. A fascine offered an early way to address that obstacle by filling the trench enough for a tank to cross. This figure and explanation apply specifically to the Mark IV in the museum’s account. The Tank Museum on the Mark IV’s trench-crossing limit
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The essential distinction
Although all three involved wood, they were not interchangeable: the log helped a tank recover traction in poor ground, the fascine created a crossing over a trench, and duckboards made trench interiors easier for people to walk through.
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