Fake Trees Were an Innovation of WWI

These Fake Trees Were Used as Spy Posts on the Front Lines of World War I

Jennifer Billock/Smithsonian.com

A a result of World War I, we now count among our military innovations the likes of tanks, flamethrowers, tracer bullets…and fake trees. Amid the war, they were called observation trees and were tucked into the woods along the front lines—faux wooden housing for soldiers to ascend and gain an otherwise unseen advantage.

The French, the British, and the Germans used these trees throughout Great War. The French were the first to use one, in 1915, and they then tutored the British on the approach—which was adopted by the Germans soon thereafter. Creating the trees was a lengthy and detailed process since, with such close proximity to the front lines, everything needed to be carried out in secret.

First, engineers would find a dead tree near the front that had (ideally) been blasted by a bomb. They would then take extensive photos, measurements, and sketches of the dead tree. From there, work commenced behind the scenes. All of the detailed information would be brought back to a workshop, where artists would create an exact replica of the tree: life-size, with the same dead and broken limbs, and with expertly crafted “bark” made from wrinkled, painted iron.

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Carol Duff, MSN, BA, RN

Carol graduated from Riverside White Cross School of Nursing in Columbus, Ohio and received her diploma as a registered nurse. She attended Bowling Green State University where she received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and Literature. She attended the University of Toledo, College of Nursing, and received a Master’s of Nursing Science Degree as an Educator.

She has traveled extensively, is a photographer, and writes on medical issues. Carol has three children RJ, Katherine, and Stephen – one daughter-in-law; Katie – two granddaughters; Isabella Marianna and Zoe Olivia – and one grandson, Alexander Paul. She also shares her life with her husband Gordon Duff, many cats, and two rescues.

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