Soviet Military Sapper Shovel in case. Small infantry shovel (MPL-50), Small shovel – small infantry shovel, length 50 centimeters, wearable (carried in cavalry) entrenching tool of the lower ranks of the Armed Forces, privates and sergeants of the Red Army and the USSR Armed Forces. It is intended for self-digging (separation) of a single trench (cell) under enemy fire; At one time, with the appearance and adoption of the armed forces of almost all the leading states of the world, it influenced the art of war.