British Army 1914-18

In this episode, I am talking about  communications during a battle, particularly between the infantry and the artillery. They were hard to establish and maintain during a pre-radio era but I will illustrate what steps were taken.
I talk about the cooperation between the arms, starting with the infantry and artillery. I also talk about the development of aerial observation and look at how the tanks worked together with the infantry.

In this episode, I follow on from the 'Preparing for Battle' episode and explain how at attack was carried out. I talk about how the infantry attacked their objectives, cleared the trenches and then consolidated them before they were counter-attacked. I also look at how the artillery gave support during the advance, with a creeping barrage, standing barrages and by being on call, in case of emergency. 

In this episode, I explain how an attack was planned and detail the many things which had to be considered, such as the speed o the advance, the objectives and the communications. I look at how the troops trained and how they deployed for battle, leading up to zero hour. I also discuss what the preliminary bombardment involved; how the gunner cut the wire and targeted the enemy batteries, trenches, billets and headquarters.

In this episode, I look at the different types of home made and experimental mortars that were tried out in the opening months of trench warfare. We see how dangerous and ineffective they were, as were the the catapults which were tried. Then I explain how the arrival of the Stokes mortar and other large calibre designs gave the infantry a medium range support weapon they could rely on. We then look at the Livens projector, which fired burning oil at the enemy trenches. Before closing with the unsuccessful attempts to introduce a flame thrower to the British Army's arsenal.

In this episode, I talk about various aspects of gas warfare. We shall see how the Special Brigade used gas for the first time at the battle of Loos, in September 1915. I talk about the different types of gases used during the war; chlorine, phosgene, mustard and tear, and the different methods of deploying them. Then I discuss the various sorts of masks that were used to protect the troops from gas, as well as other protective measures.

In this episode, I describe the sort of fighting experienced by the British Expeditionary Force during the opening weeks of the war. We see how the infantry, cavalry and artillery performed during the battles of Mons and Le Cateau, and a few other minor engagements. I also explain how they managed to escape the clutches of the larger German Army during the long retreat south to the Marne. Then see how the BEF fared during the advance north to the Aisne, which ended in trench warfare.

In this episode, I talk about life in the trenches when everything was relatively calm, because battles were rarer than you think. I discuss how the trenches and strongpoints were laid out, explaining the names given to different ones. I then look at the typical daily routines and we see how the soldiers were kept busy from day-to-day. Next we see how the trenches came alive at night, as the troops built new entanglements and trenches and repaired existing ones, I also talk about trench raids, in which soldiers tried to capture prisoners and documents, for intelligence purposes. We also see how sniping was a regular feature of trench warfare.

In this episode, I talk about an iconic weapon of the Great War; the machine gun. I look at the main types used by the British Army; the Maxim, Vickers and Lewis guns and explain how the gun crew served the gun. I then talk about the formation and expansion of the Machine Gun Corps and the motorcycle mounted Machine Gun Corps (Motors).

Not every solider was a good solider and in this episode, I explain how men were punished for breaking civil or military law. I look at the range of crimes listed under the Army Act and explain what Field Punishments were. I then look at the four levels of court martial, ranging from that held for minor infringements right up to that used for the most severe of crimes. I then talk about the death sentence, which involved the firing squad. Finally, I look at the Court of Inquiry which investigating any range of incidents, to  both identify the culprits and look at how to avoid future occurrences.

In this episode, I talk about the various weapons a soldier carried with him. I look at the revolvers and swords carried by the officers. I look at the different types of rifle used for training and in the field, and why the Short Magazine Lee Enfield (or SMLE) was adopted as the rifle of choice. I also look at why such a long bayonet was required for close combat. The podcasts includes section on rifle ammunition, sniper rifles and periscopes. It finishes with a discussion of the many types of home-made and experimental hand grenades and rifle grenades tried before the Mills bomb and its rifle variant were adopted in the summer of 1915.