Ammunition

"From the beginning of the Battle of the Aisne up to the close of the Battle of Loos, at the end of 1915,the scanty supply of munitions of war paralysed all our power of initiative and, at critical times, menaced our defence with irretrievable disaster." These are strong words, written not by myself, but by General Officer Commander in Chief: Field-Marshall Sir J.D.P. French, later to become Field-Marshall Viscount French of Ypres.
During this time, French made many demands to the War Office, to Lord Kitchener, and to Cabinet Ministers he came in contact with. When these efforts got no response, he gave interviews to the press, urging them to stress the vital necessity in their addresses.On March 22nd he gave an interview to the Press, which appeared generally in the English papers, from which  I quote: "It is a rough war, but the problem it sets is a comparatively simple one- munitions, more munitions, always more munitions; this is the essential question, the governing condition of all progress, of every leap forward." On March 27th, he gave an interview to The Times newspaper, in which, he said: "The protraction of the war depends entirely upon the supply of men and munitions. Should these be unsatisfactory, the war will be accordingly prolonged. I dwell emphatically on the need for munitions." Whilst at a conference at Chantilly with Lord Kitchener, when the British Forces were in absolute jeopardy, owing to these deficiencies, trainloads of all kinds of ammunition passed along the rear of the Western Front en-route to Marseilles and the Dardanelles. At this time, the then Prime Minister, Mr.Asquith, made his famous Newcastle speech, in which, he stated "the army had all the ammunition it required."

The consequence of the forgoing resulted in the overthrow of the Government,and the end of a career in France.I personally  believe French was a man of  vision who "told it like it was" to coin a modern phrase.Although he was a soldier of the old school he was quick to learn the fundamentals of modern warfare and to realise that trench stalemate would not do the British Army any favours,only by force of arms would the British dislodge the enemy, who were content to defend their gains if necessary.The British had no alternative but to take the initiative.In the remaining years of the war French was proved to be right and thankfully the War Office and the Politicians had listened.

The Germans had realised early that the war was to be one calling for colossal supplies of  munitions on a stupendous scale,they also realised the vital necessity for heavy artillery; their production of heavy artillery was enormously increased at the expense of smaller field guns and by the spring of 1915 the greater number of shells fired by the Germans were 5.9 and upwards.This was in defence as well as attack and by this means the enemy endeavoured to shatter the morale of the attackers,besides inflicting heavy casualties.The French Army had also realised the need for heavy guns of 6 in. calibre and upwards and were taking guns from old warships and coast defence ships to get into the field. Their aim was to get one heavy gun for every field gun they held. At this time the British Army had just 71 guns above 5 in. calibre against 1,416 below it, far from the requirements of modern warfare. From as early as the middle of September 1914 the British Army had been subjected to bombardment by German 8 in. howitzers to which they had no reply.


Large quantities of high explosive shells for field guns was required owing to the form of warfare which the army was engaged in.It was necessary  for all offensive operations to break the enemy's line.Shrapnel,being the man killing projectile is used against troops in the open, primarily in defence.In offensive operations it is used for searching communication trenches,preventing enemy reinforcements, repelling counter attacks and, as an alternative to high explosives for cutting wire entanglements.It is ineffective against the occupants of trenches and buildings.High explosive shells are necessary to destroy parapets, trenches,buildings etc.Guns require 50% of high explosive shell.Howitzers use high explosive almost exclusively.The bigger the supply of ammunition the greater the attack which can be made and the chance of success increased.


The British were to make significant advances in weapon technology in the months and years to follow.Observation, range finding and ariel reconnaissance improved and the creeping barrage became an art.The artilleryman and heavy guns dictated all movement on the modern battlefield.

My next subject will  be entitled : " The Territorial Army"

Why visit the battlefields?

I have often been asked why I revisit the world war 1 battlefields.When I think about it the answer is more complex and multifaceted than I imagined.I will undertake to answer it and hope you will find some aspects you may identify with.Firstly,what was the spark which triggered this desire to visit the battlefields in the first instance?The answer is simply a medal ribbon bar actually relating to World war 2, leading to a chain of events not relevent to this article,which led to my general interest in W.W.1.

My first visit to the battlefields was in 1996 to the Somme.Prior to this visit I read Martin Middlebrook's The First day on the Somme,which had a profound effect on me.I remember the first occasion I saw the Thiepval memorial to the Missing.The coach rounded a bend and this monolith confronted me.This monument never ceases to impress,rising majestically over the battlefield and visible from many miles around.Whilst there my wife,who accompanies me on all battlefield tours,sat patiently on the steps of the memorial awaiting a glimsp of  one of the 26 volumns of the register for a full half hour.I took many photographs at this time.Imagine my surprise when she told me:"We have 2 family names on here."There is no doubt that a family connection made this much more interesting for me and the diversionary action at Gommecourt became more relevant to me.This I intend to deal with in a later article.Here for me lies the first answer to the question"Why visit?" : direct connection to the events of 1914/18.

A family connection also leads to a sense of loss even though these people were unknown to you they are family, your direct predecessors who died in dramatic unnatural circumstances fighting for whatever was relevant to them,whether King and Country,family or freedom, mostly all three I suspect.I have been on many tours since and the moment when the tour guide takes time to visit the grave of a family relative is always very special for those concerned.

Upon returning from this first visit to the Somme  battlefields I was prompted to write the following poem, which is something I have not done since secondary school.

                                                       Thiepval
                      
                              
                    Confronted  by the monolith to the missing,
                    I stood in awe,eyes reaching to the sky,
                    A condemnation of War,
                    A stepping stone to heaven for the legion of the lost.


                    Standing as a giant, growing as the years stand up on end,
                    The vigilant sentinal of the sleeping Somme,
                    Carrrying the army of Armeggedon,safe in golden slumbers.



                     A profanity of peace,
                    A warning to the abandonment of hope.
                    A statement of INSANITY.



 
In retrospect this was a purging of the soul  I guess,  and now  seems a little angry to me,however it was how I felt at that time.Any reference to  Beatle Lyrics or anti war Lennon"esk values are purely intentional you understand.I am a product of the Sixties after all!



I will now attempt to cover another aspect of desire to visit battlefields. In a nutshell" a sense of belonging."The vast majority of tourist I meet have either been before or intend to go again.only once can I remember a lady telling me that she had always promised herself a visit to the battlefields,had enjoyed it,if that is the right word,but would not come again. She was very elderly and had found it rather exhausting.The Western front in particular does draw you in.The more you learn the more knowledge you wish to accquire.It is very addictive and can become a passion.We are looking at history in the raw,the very ground we walk on is spewing its bitter harvest upwards,vast concentration cemeteries cover the fields,monuments to the lost rise from the ground.The sense of loss can be overwhelming.The best young men of a generation gave thier lives in the greatest confilgration the world had seen , many by the big guns of an enemy they never saw,witness the memorials to the missing and the endless inscription"known unto God."There is a vast army still out there in the fields.The Artillery ruled this world of death and destruction,this was an artillery man's war above all else.The poem by  the then Major John McCrae sums up my feeling on this subject.I became aquainted with this poem many years ago but saw it in a different light after visiting the battlefields.This is a forthright insruction from an officer to a future generation , a command ,no less, full of anger and resentment.It states the facts in three verses.The final verse is an order from Mccrae written in 1915.

                                                 Take up our quarrel with the foe,
                                                  to you from failing hands we throw,
                                                  the torch,be yours to hold it high,
                                                  if ye break faith with us who die,
                                                  we shall not sleep,though poppies grow,
                                                  in Flanders fields.
                                                                              

The message  is clear: remember us and keep the faith.

Welcome!

Hello & welcome!

This blog has been created in order to publish articles and views concerning events around the major war of 1914–1918. We will also publish any other information of relevance and interest. Please feel free to add your comments and thoughts.

All the best,

Mark