In the Greek Army before WW1, the entrenching tools were normally carried in the supply carts of a military column (being too long and heavy to be transported by individual soldiers). Only pioneer or engineer troops typically carried spades or shovels as part of their individual equipment. This frequently led to situations in which the infantry did not have access to entrenching equipment when it was needed. This lead to a more compact design of a separate wooden handle and a combined shovel/pick in the form of the contemporary French design, carried in a leather case to be attached to the standard pack equipment. Besides being used for digging defensive fighting positions, entrenching tools were used for digging latrines and graves.
During World War I and Asia Minor Campaign, the entrenching tool was entered into Greek Army service even as a weapon. In the close confines of a trench, rifles and fixed bayonets were often too long for effective use, and entrenching tools were used as auxiliary arms for close-quarter fighting.
After World War I till World War II, the Greek Army redesigned the entrenching tools (minor changes in the leather case for easy of production) to be easily carried as part of an infantry soldier's.
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