Andy Lock

Not a lot you can do for the terminally incurious.

Congratulations Vanda 😊 (also what the hell)

39. Experience away from the WF was no preparation for action there. Could be a hindrance in fact. Aussies and Royal Naval Division in 1916 all struggled initially on the WF after experience at Gallipoli.

38. There’s more movement than is often said about the FWW, especially away from the WF, but also there. 1915 is sticky, it’s true, but as soon as the artillery reached a destructive level that makes trenches difficult to occupy, there has to be some movement.

I mean ‘Don’t be a cunt’ is basically the answer, but I appreciate it’s a tough sell to cunts.

Treat women with respect, make them laugh, and keep yourself in some sort of shape (negotiable) is a massive ask tbf

37. As far as the management of India itself was concerned, there was a racial element in not getting the Indian army too used to being on a level footing with British troops, and getting them used to killing Europeans, even if they were German.

36. The Indian Army elements that arrived on the WF in late 1914 might just have saved the day. Taking them off the WF later wasn’t an indication that they didn’t like the weather, it was logical with fronts closer to home for them to be involved there.

35. France, Britain and Germany all mobilised so effectively in 1914 that they basically all cancelled each other out.

Certainly the deployability of them

More research needed. My suspicion is that there’s a mix and an awareness that officer requirements and NCO requirements are not the same, but a lot were promoted through. Possibly just leaving the shouty oafs behind. We don’t really know.

Ability to bottle and transport blood is pretty epic?

If you’re in any way enjoying this thread, fuming at it, or are finding it remotely interesting, join @thegreatwargroup.bsky.social and its community of historians and enthusiasts. Tons of knowledge, keenness to share, and a great social bunch too.

34. Toss up between aircraft and medicine for the biggest technological advances.

33. The timing of accepting Germany’s surrender was about ending the war while retaining old-world dominance of the theatre. Carrying on in to 1919 would have offered more long-term security with Germany, but handed an uncomfortable level of control to the US in the eyes of GB & FR.

32. British remembrance of the FWW is often not classy.

31. German remembrance of the FWW in terms of cemeteries and memorials, as long as the NS regime is kept distinct from it (which it often is), is quietly classy.

30. Dry humour à la Bairnsfather or Wipers Times was very, very good at helping with morale.

29. Any debate over which combatant country had the best rifle is worthless without considering which had the best trained riflemen. Yes the Lee Enfield had a nice flush bolt.

28. The Germans’ withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line in 1917 wasn’t the strategic masterstroke it’s sometimes made out to be. Put miles between them and anything of value, and gave Br & Fr armies a practice run at advancing and bridging.

27. Late 1918s actions on the WF weren’t as open as you might think, especially compared to actions over the same ground in early 1917. Troops advancing under barrages, clear objective lines, they’re still set-pieces.

26. John French. Right guy to take the BEF out in 1914, should have been replaced in December 1914, couldn’t really be without a failure. Aubers Ridge should have been enough to get him ‘promoted’ to Home Forces command.

25. We don’t really know if British NCOs were any good. If they were, would they have been commissioned? If they weren’t, would they stay in post?

24. Corps command is a weird level of management. It really ought to be facilitating divisions in line with an Army commander’s vision. (I promise I’m not Hubert Gough reincarnated)

23. And tied to that last point, there were no short cuts. You had to do stuff to learn, and every time you did stuff, people got killed.

22. Tactical development wasn’t a one-size-fits-all between the powers. Simply saying the Americans should have copied the British should have copied the French is a waste of time. Different weapons, cultures, command styles.

21. Germany relaunching unrestricted submarine warfare in early 1917 was a flailing move by a power that had lost the initiative and the ability to think rationally.

20. Winston Churchill was also energetic and talented, and much more overpromoted than Gough. Sticking him in the ministry of munitions was a genius move by DLG.

19. Hubert Gough was an energetic and talented senior officer, who may have been promoted too quickly, but was outperforming his peers in 1916 and made himself the only real choice to command the Flanders offensive in 1917.

18. Speaking of dumb things, writing ‘Nicht ärgern, nur wundern’ (don’t be angry, just be amazed) on Péronne town hall when you’ve flattened the town and the surrounding villages in the process of withdrawal is a bit tone deaf.