Tanks

Even before the war American farmers had been using tractors with tracks (not wheels) to spread the load over muddy ground. When one covered with thick steel plates was suggested to them, the British Ministry of War dismissed it as a silly idea. Most generals were cavalry men and wanted to win the war on horseback. They were having difficulty accepting the fact that this was not going to happen, with mud, barbed wire and machine guns. However, prototypes impressed the army leaders.

Tanks were first used in September 1916 at the Battle of the Somme, but they did not achieve the desired breakthrough. They were not used properly - they got stuck in mud, broke down and the generals had not worked out the best way to use them in battle tactics. In November 1917, at Cambrai, they were much more effective. The generals had learned. The tanks created havoc and terror among the German soldiers. Tanks played a vital part in the final months of the war, as they pushed the Germans back, although they were nice big targets for the big guns and many tanks fell victim to them.

From their humble beginnings as armoured tractors, tanks set the pattern for World War Two, and all conflicts after that, where there was very little trench warfare.

Air

Ever since the Wright brothers' historic flight in 1903, aircraft had been steadily improving. However, they were still a novelty in 1914. The British Army soon saw the potential of the aeroplane for spying on the enemy from the air. The Royal Air Corps became the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1918. By the end of the war, both sides had large aircraft to carry and drop bombs, but these were not used for bombing trenches. Instead they were used for bombing towns and cities. At the end of the war, they were fitted with seats and used as the first passenger airliners!

At first when enemy pilots met in the air, they would wave! Later they had pistols with them to shoot at each other, then machine guns were mounted on the planes. The gun had to be synchronised with the propeller to only fire when the blades were horizontal, or the pilot would shoot his own propeller off. In effect, these were the first fighter planes, which became essential in the Second World War.

Chances

"The Chances" by Wilfred Owen

I mind as 'ow the night afore that show

Us five got talkin', - we was in the know.

"Over the top to-morrer; boys, we're for it.

First wave we are, first ruddy wave; that's tore it!"

"Ah well," says Jimmy, - an' 'e's seen some scrappin -

"There ain't no more nor five things as can 'appen:

Ye get knocked out; else wounded - bad or cushy;

Scuppered; or nowt except yer feelin' mushy"

One of us got the knock-out, blown to chops.

T'other was 'urt, like, losin' both 'is props.

An' one, to use the word of 'ypocrites,

'Ad the misfortoon to be took to Fritz.

Now me, I wasn't scratched, praise God Almighty,

(Though next time please I'll thank 'im for a blighty*).

But poor young Jim, 'e's livin' an' 'e's not;

'E reckoned 'e'd five chances, an' 'e 'ad:

'E's wounded, killed, and pris'ner, all the lot,

The bloody lot all rolled in one. Jim's mad.

  (* : a wound bad enough for a soldier to be sent back to Britain (Blighty) for treatment.)

This poem was written by the famous war poet Wilfred Owen. He was a soldier in the trenches, and was killed one week before the end of the war.

"The chances" of survival were not very good for soldiers in the trenches. Out of the 5 million men who joined the British army between 1914 and 1918, one in five was killed, and two out of every four was wounded. In fact, the life expectancy for a 2nd lieutenant was only three months. So why did they volunteer in the first place? 

The answer is simple - they were volunteers.  They had pride and did not want to fail, or simply appear cowards.  To be branded a coward was most young men's nightmare, so they joined up to prove themselves.

This table shows how the number of soldiers on the Western Front rose.

The number of casualties could reach 7000 a day, except when there was serious fighting. On these days the number was much, much larger.

It is impossible for anyone who was not there to imagine what it was like for those millions of young men, with horrible conditions, mud, constant fighting and bombardment with shells and explosives. Every hour of every day their lives were in danger, and the country, never mind the rest of their unit, was depending on them. For sentries, this was much more prominent. Falling asleep on duty carried the death penalty. It took a tremendous amount of both mental and physical strength to live in the trenches, and a huge amount of courage to go "Over the Top".

For many soldiers, this became part of their daily life, and they learned to cope. Others didn't. For some, this constant threat was just too much. They couldn't stand the oppressive conditions and the horror. Some, like Owen's Jim, went mad, suffering from shell-shock. Some resorted to shooting themselves in the leg or the arm, so they would have a chance of escaping the trenches and going back to Britain. Some simply ran away. If these "deserters" were caught, they were put on trial by Court Martial. If found guilty, they were often executed by firing squad. Soldiers who were fortunate got a long prison sentence, but this was rare. The same fate was met by many shell­shock victims being accused of cowardice by their own side. Later in the war, shell­shock was recognised as a legitimate medical condition, and was treated like one. On average, one British soldier was executed every week of the war, although officers were less likely to be shot than lower ranks.  

Court Martial records will not become available until a hundred years after the war.  It is said officially that this is to protect families, and the identity of soldiers who were branded cowards.  Others suspect it is simply to cover up the many unfair, biased trials and subsequent executions that too place.

Lions and Donkeys  

There are many reasons for the huge casualties of World War One, but many people blame the out-dated tactics and the attitude of the leaders, dismissing new weapons and relying on out-dated tactics and weapons. They also had snobbish ideas that the machine gun was their best weapon and seemed to forget that others would have them too. As I mentioned in the "New Weapons" section, this led to the British army having far too few of these weapons in the early stages of the war. Once they realised the problem more machine guns were rapidly manufactured.

In 1915, General Ludendorff, a German, said to General Hoffmann (also German) that the British soldiers fought like lions. Hoffmann replied, "True, but they are lions led by donkeys!" As I have already mentioned, it is a common belief that Generals who were unimaginative, stupid or incompetent were a main cause of the many casualties of The Great War.

It is easy to see why this war would not be won on horseback, as many generals hoped. The mud caused problems for animals, as well as men.  The big guns often got stuck too.

A Scot, Sir Douglas Haig, a Field Marshall (after whom the Haig fund was named) was in charge for the longest and has received the most criticism from experts.

"He was as stubborn as a donkey, as unthinking as a donkey, as inarticulate as a donkey. So Haig was in fact the worst donkey on the British side of the war. He didn't ever go up to the front line. He didn't go into the trenches and dirty his boots. Haig had no comprehension of what he was sending his men into. A great commander knows exactly what he is sending his men into, as later commanders, like Montgomery, did. "

"Haig's attitude to technology was virtually nil. He didn't understand technology. The horse was always what mattered to him."

  (Dr John Laffin, an Australian historian.)

Others believe he was out-dated, but that he was still a great and valuable commander:

"Haig was far from the idiot of popular myth and the fact that his armies won the greatest series of victories in British Military history means he must be taken seriously as a commander."

(Dr Gary Sheffield, Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst)

"He never doubted himself and he never doubted the British Army. He had the determination to see things through and when other people started to buckle at the knees he held them up."

(John Hussey, Military Historian.)

Haig was present at the disastrous 1916 Battle of the Somme, and his critics blame him for the disaster it was for the British. But he was also present at the battle there two years later, when the British, along with their allies help, were victorious.

Ordinary soldiers resented the Generals. This was because they were safe, comfortable and clean, living in houses borrowed from French landowners miles from the Front. They never came near the front line, never risking their lives. The famous war poet Siegfried Sassoon, who was an officer of the infantry (which suffered the most casualties), wrote the following poem.

The General (by Siegfried Sassoon)

"Good morning; good morning!" the General said

When we met him last week on our way to the line.

Now the soldiers he smiled at are most of 'em dead

And we're cursing his staff for incompetent swine.

"He's a cheery old card," grunted Harry to Jack

As they slogged up to Arras with rifle and pack.

But he did for them both with his plan of attack.