British Army During World War I - Doctrine

Doctrine

British official historian Brigadier James Edward Edmonds recorded in 1925 that "The British Army of 1914 was the best trained, best equipped and best organized British Army ever sent to war". This was in part due to the Haldane reforms, and the Army itself recognising the need for change and training. Training began with individual training in winter, followed by squadron, company or battery training in spring; regimental, battalion and brigade training in summer; and division or inter-divisional exercises and army manoeuvres in late summer and autumn. The common doctrine of headquarters at all levels was outlined in the Field Service Pocket Book, which Haig had introduced while serving as Director of Staff Studies at the War Office in 1906.

The Second Boer War had alerted the army to the dangers posed by fire zones that were covered by long-range, magazine-fed rifles. In the place of volley firing and frontal attacks, there was a greater emphasis on advancing in extended order, the use of available cover, the use of artillery to support the attack, flank and converging attacks and fire and movement. The Army expected units to advance as far as possible in a firing line without opening fire, both to conceal their positions and conserve ammunition, then to attack in successive waves, closing with the enemy decisively.

The cavalry practised reconnaissance and fighting dismounted more regularly, and in January 1910, the decision was made at the General Staff Conference that dismounted cavalry should be taught infantry tactics in attack and defence. They were the only cavalry from a major European power trained for both the mounted cavalry charge and dismounted action, and equipped with the same rifles as the infantry, rather than short-range carbines. The cavalry were also issued with entrenching tools prior to the outbreak of war, as a result of experience gained during the Second Boer War.

The infantry's marksmanship, and fire and movement techniques, had been inspired by Boer tactics and was established as formal doctrine by Colonel Charles Monro when he was in charge of the School of Musketry at Shorncliffe. In 1914, British rifle fire was so effective that there were some reports to the effect that the Germans believed they were facing huge numbers of machine guns. The Army concentrated on rifle practice, with days spent on the ranges dedicated to improving marksmanship and obtaining a rate of fire of 15 effective rounds a minute at 300 yd (270 m); one sergeant set a record of 38 rounds into a 12 in (300 mm) target set at 300 yd (270 m) in 30 seconds. In their 1914 skill-at-arms meeting, the 1st Battalion Black Watch recorded 184 marksmen, 263 first-class shots, 89 second-class shots and four third-class shots, at ranges from 300–600 yd (270–550 m). The infantry also practised squad and section attacks and fire from cover, often without orders from officers or NCOs, so that soldiers would be able to act on their own initiative. In the last exercise before the war, it was noted that the infantry made wonderful use of ground, advances in short rushes and always at the double and almost invariably fires from a prone position.