During World War I, both sides of the conflict used fake trees as observation posts. These trees were made from a variety of materials, including wood, metal, and canvas.

One of the most famous examples of a fake tree used in WW1 was the British Observation Tree in Delville Wood, France. This tree was made from a hollow steel cylinder and was camouflaged with bark and leaves. It was equipped with a periscope and a telephone line, and it was used to observe German movements in the lead-up to the Battle of the Somme in 1916.