The Woodland courtyard was under seige earlier Friday morning, as "British soldiers" wearing Woodland Hawk helmets (for their own protection) tried to take the hill just outside the gymnasium.  Unfortunately for them, the hill was heavily fortified and defended by dodgeball-wielding opponents.

Woodland History teacher, Tim Phipps, decided to add a physical component to his lecture on World War I battle tactics.

Wearing jackets to brace against the cold and football helmets to protect their heads, six male students from Phipps' class first marched methodically toward the low retaining wall in matched step.  Standing atop the wall were seven other students each armed with a spongy, neon green dodgeball. 

"The purpose of the demonstration this morning was to show the students how the application of modern warfare with old military tactics led to horrific battlefield casualties during World War I," explained Phipps.

Early in World World I, Germans had refined a strong defensive system of trenches.  Attempts at breaching the German trenches involved a line of British or French soldiers marching in a line, plodding toward the trenches with their bayonets fixed, ready for close-quarter combat.  This straight forward attack failed more times than not.

To further explore this concept of trench warfare, Phipps had his class reanact this type of frontal attack in the courtyard.

 

For this first assault, students wearing helmets played the part of a British "over the top" attack, or what the French called attaque à outrance (excessive attack).  This first offensive was met with a volley dodgeballs that left most of the helmeted regiment decimated; few, if any student invaders, made it to the wall without being hit.

As the war progressed, trench breaching techniques changed.  Instead of marching toward a trench line, attacking soldiers charged at different speeds from different angles in an attempt to confuse the enemy.

To prove the effectiveness of this attack, Phipps had his attackers hide from the enemy's sight line.  Then, without warning, a battle cry rang out and the helmeted warriors charged across the courtyard and up the hill.  But instead of rushing straight, they ran in zig-zags toward the wall.  Defenders began throwing the dodgeballs randomly at whatever target they saw, but missed most of them.  This time several attackers made it to the wall, signifying a successful assault.