Chapter 29 Summary

During a troop training session, H and his classmates watch soldiers jumping in and out of octopus pots, better known as foxholes. H cannot understand the purpose of soldiers repeatedly jumping in and crawling out of the "pots." At lunch, some of the soldiers are eating their rations in the holes, while others are standing nearby. Straw sandals hanging from the soldiers' belts make it obvious to H that the army's equipment is getting steadily poorer. The training session ends, and the soldiers march off to clear away houses in the immediate vicinity of munitions factories and other important facilities.

Octopus pots are also being used in Instructor Tamori's anti-tank mine tactic training. This training is done so that Tamori can capture the attention of the unit officer who is watching the exercises. At the end of the training, Tamori announces that another...