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[[File:Household Cavalry Regiment on Ex Iron Scout 3 on Salisbury Plain. MOD 45161837.jpg|thumb|A British soldier lying prone in a shell scrape during a training exercise in 2016]]
A '''shell scrape''' is a type of military earthwork dug at a shallow but sufficient depth in the ground where a soldier can take shelter from weapons fire.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Harriman |first=Bill |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eMMWEAAAQBAJ&q=shell+scrape+earthwork |title=The Bayonet |date=2021-04-15 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4728-4534-4 |language=en|page=24}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last = Shaughnessy| first = Doug| authorlink = | title = Some Thoughts about Private Harold L. Green of the Scout Platoon, First Battalion, the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry | journal = Canadian Military History| volume = 10| issue = 1| pages = 72| date = 2001| language = | url = https://scholars.wlu.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1299&context=cmh| jstor = | issn = | doi = | id = | mr = | zbl = | jfm = | accessdate = 2 February 2024 }}</ref> While similar to a [[defensive fighting position]] in that the purpose is to shield a single soldier from [[artillery]], [[Mortar (weapon)|mortar]] and direct [[Firearm|small arms]] fire, it is not intended to be used for fighting from.

Shell scrapes are generally hastily excavated manually, with immediately available means such as the [[entrenching tool]], and are temporary constructions. They are shallow, and large enough to accommodate at least a single soldier lying down or kneeling. In some situations they can be dug to accommodate two soldiers and their equipment. For protection from the elements a poncho is often tied off or staked out at the edges, or [[Bungee cord|bungeed]] to a nearby tree. This way a soldier can sleep in the shell scrape more comfortably with cover overhead.

Shell scrapes offer better concealment than traditional [[Tarpaulin|tarp]] [[bivouac shelter|bivouacs]] because the majority of the soldier's body mass is below ground level. This catches their body heat, making them harder to spot with thermal imagers.

A properly prepared shell scrape should be deep enough that the soldier's entire body is beneath the level of the surrounding ground, thereby offering protection from both direct- and indirect-fire weapons. However, it provides little protection against indirect fire that bursts in the air or among the trees.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{mil-stub}}
[[Category:Fortifications by type]]

Shell scrape - Revision history

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