| I do belive that in some cases the Germans did really fill the sandbags with dirt, grass or what ever else was around. |
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You believe correctly, except for grass Grass doesn't provide cover... But not just the Germans... So without sending you to "fortification school", let's talk about sandbagging a pos...
Sandbags are always filled as close to the position as possible for the simple reason that they're HEAVY.. Sometimes engineers are available to dig up some fill-dirt, but usually only when there's a major defensive position being built with plenty of lead-time.. The rest of the time it's the crew/individuals doing it the hard way, by entrenching tool and maybe one sand-shovel after the supply daddy drops a bail off near your position (if you're lucky).. As you dig in, you fill the sandbags with the dirt you're taking out of the hole...
When digging in, it's best to cut the sod (if there is any) in the area of the position's shape and layout with the e-tools/shovels and set it aside in chunks about 6-8 inches thick... Then you fill the bags with the spoil, stack and re-enforce the bags, then cover the top and front of the sandbag wall with the sod chunks in order to camouflage the bags to help blend them into the surrounding area. You want that because that clump of sandbags sittin' out in the open is going to attract th' eye of that guy on hill a couple thousand meters away who's sittin' there with a pair of binos, a map, and a radio...
There's a lot more about building field fortifications, but that's enough for now... You get the idea..