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Douglas Haig said:It [the machine gun] is a much overrated weapon that could be taken by pure grit and determination.
And whats unfathomable was the same types of results (troops marching en mass to trenches against rifle fire) were seen in the US Civil War.
Seems like no commander in any army bothered to study the (recent) historical lessons of warfare.
When did they start implementing this?Late in the war, when they developed more accuracy in their artillery, one of the major improvements they did on the straight march across no-man's land was the creeping barrage. Instead of just the bombardment, which also alerted the Germans to the attack, they co-ordinated the advance of the troops with the shelling. They would have a barrage, and systematically creep it forward, toward the enemy, with the soldiers following up closely. If someone miscalculated, it got kind of rough for the soldiers.
That's not true. A decentralized system of command as practised by the German army prior to WWI and most western nations today is the solution to battlefield chaos. Once you implement that the army performs better at all levels of command. However such a sweeping change must be made at the national level. Kitchner would need to introduce it.really wasn't much of an effective counter to the technology of the day
When did they start implementing this?
I know the French further south in the Allied line used the method with some success but I thought the British never got over warning the Germans that
a. here comes a barrage, it should signal to you that we're on the offensive.
b. the barrage has now stopped, it should signal to you that we've got boots on the ground and they're coming towards your machine-gun positions in a nice, long, convenient line-abreast formation and at a speed where you shouldn't have too much trouble reloading.
...it would be interseting to see any troops cover the mile or more of no mans land that consisted of usually a muddy moonscape (some shell holes 15ft deep) carrying their kit at the run then be able to assault trenchs with bullet and bayonet.
That is an other thing I never understood... Why did they have to carry all of their stuff during an assault ? Keep your helmet, your weapons and your ammunitions and dump everything else. It should help you to move faster.
despiute the number of deaths laid at the feet of lord haig he is still regarded as somewhat of a hero figure here in the uk,