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"