Peaceful Penetration - Requirements

Requirements

Peaceful Penetration relied on the patrols infiltrating the German outposts, and approaching them from behind. As a result, one of the main requirements for successful Peaceful Penetration is that the terrain provide good cover (e.g. covered approaches such as ditches), or have enough ground cover (trees, grasses, etc.). As a result, it was only after the German Spring Offensive forced the Allies out of the previously fought over terrain into terrain that had not been damaged by artillery that Peaceful Penetration became viable.

As Peaceful Penetration worked best when the patrols approached the outposts from behind, a lack of continuous fortifications (trenches and wire emplacements) was also required for successful Peaceful Penetration. As a result, this tactic was limited to areas where there was a lack of well established defenses.

The last requirement for successful Peaceful Penetration, is that the patrolling troops need to have an aggressive "spirit", or elan, to display large amounts of initiative (as the patrols would often have fewer than a dozen members) and possess great daring (as it was not uncommon for single Allied soldiers to attack, successfully, outposts containing half a dozen German soldiers). Similarly, the tactic works best when the German soldiers were more likely to surrender than fight when attacked.