"Question on British/Imperial battlefield formations" Topic
6 Posts
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Supercilius Maximus | 23 Oct 2017 3:06 a.m. PST |
When looking at film footage and photographs of British and ANZAC troops advancing over open ground late on in the war, I have noticed small groups advancing in "line ahead/single file" formations. However, I have never seen the Germans doing this. Why? Would not a "single file" group suffer worse losses from gunfire/shells? |
22ndFoot | 23 Oct 2017 5:37 a.m. PST |
Those are probably "worms" which were one of the small unit formations adopted to avoid lines and maintain flexibility in the assault developed as the war went on. The book you want is Battle Tactics of the Western Front: The British Army's Art of Attack, 1916-18 by Paddy Griffith. |
bsrlee | 23 Oct 2017 5:53 a.m. PST |
It all depends on the angle of fire – if the fire is coming from the flanks then they are as safe as anyone (standing in the open), they are only more vulnerable to fire from directly ahead. Standard procedure was to place supporting weapons such as artillery & MG's on the flanks of a formation, so troops in single file present a wide but shallow target – a shot may hit one man or his neighbour but if the range is off it will be a clean miss. Also remember that at the time communication was limited to line of sight, so troops had to be able to see or be seen by their commander. Interestingly, single file during an assault has come back in urban combat for Police SWAT and similar units attacking a building, which is something I would NOT want to do unless I knew the defenders were using spit wads not guns. |
GuyG13 | 23 Oct 2017 9:42 a.m. PST |
Google "SS 143" Its the British Tactical Manual from 1917 – 18. What you see is called "Artillery Formation" The 4 sections of the platoon move in a diamond shaped formation with the Sections in column. When they made contact they would deploy in to 2 lines with the Rifle section and Bombing section in the front rank, and the Lewis Gun Section and Rifle bomb section in the 2nd rank. |
Supercilius Maximus | 27 Oct 2017 3:20 a.m. PST |
Thanks for those answers. |
monk2002uk | 27 Oct 2017 11:25 p.m. PST |
These formations (Artillery Formation and Worms) were dependent on the powerful and deep creeping barrages that featured in 1917 and 18. The goal was to use the accompanying barrage as the primary protection, with the heavy counter-battery fire to keep down enemy artillery fire. The Germans used similar formations – it is just that there are fewer photos compared to the (mostly) training photos from Sturmbataillon Röhr and the likes. Robert |
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