British Infantry: 1914 In 1914 the small but professional British Army was one of the finest and most experienced armies of Europe. Equipped with some of the most modern equipment available and armed with arguably the best rifle of the war, the Short Magazine Lee-Enfield (SMLE). The lance corporal above is shown in full marching order. He is wearing the khaki 1902 Pattern Service Dress tunic and trousers which were made of thick wool - not ideal for the hot late summer weather the British Expeditionary Force met in Belgium. Regimental badges were worn on the shoulder straps with rank and service strips sewn onto the sleeves. The jacket had four large pockets and one internal pocket in the tunic’s tail. On their feet the BEF wore hard-wearing ammunition boots with a steel reinforced heel and toe and hobnail soles. Above them they wrapped their ankles and shins in puttees which offered support to the lower legs. On their heads they wore the 1905 Pattern peaked cap, made of the same khaki wool, with their regimental badge again on the front above the peak. Between 1914 and 1915 it became common practice for soldiers to remove the cap’s stiffener which later evolved into the 1915 and 1916 Pattern ‘soft caps’. The corporal is wearing the 1908 Pattern woven cotton webbing which supported much of the soldiers 70 lbs of kit including: ammunition pouches which together held 150 rounds, a bayonet frog into which was placed the SMLE’s 17 inch long 1907 Pattern sword bayonet. As well as attachments for the soldiers entrenching tool, water bottle, and mess kit. It also supported a small haversack and large pack which held much of the soldiers rations and personal items as well as a blanket or great coat. This webbing which spread the weight of the soldier’s equipment was one of the most advanced pieces of individual kit used by any of the combatant armies, however as the British Army was forced to expand leather webbing was increasingly used as Britain’s extensive leather industry could support the demand faster than the producers of the cotton webbing could. The British Army of 1914, was arguably one of the best trained in the world. The average British soldier was able to fire 15 or more aimed shots in a minute hitting targets out to almost 1,000 yards. Adept at using and manoeuvring in terrain to his advantage, he was extremely disciplined and was on average the veteran of at least one tour of duty over seas. While the British Army had not fought a major war in Europe for 100 years or a European foe in 50 years they were well versed in colonial warfare and while this couldn’t be compared to a modern European battlefield the British had learnt valuable lessons following the Boer War and of course many of the veteran officers and men had the benefit of being ‘shot over’. The British Expeditionary Force was a fraction of the size of the French Army however, in the first months of the war it held its own although at a heavy price. Of the 110,000 men of the original BEF that arrived in France in mid August 1914, almost 90,000 had become casualties by the end of the year. You can find more about the BEF’s mobilisation in 1914, here. Sources: Author’s scan of a print - Artist’s impression of a Lance Corporal Grenadier Guards, 1914 Image Two Source - Private, Coldstream Guards, 1914 British Infantryman 1914-1915 (source) Military Uniforms in Colour, P. Kannik, (1968) Tommy, R. Holmes, (2004):
Posted on: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 19:27:07 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015