Slide 1 Military Doctrines Infantry Doctrines
Slide 2 Infantry Doctrine This term refers to the official military policies for tactics directing how infantry soldiers within a particular army were to conduct themselves in a battle field situation.
Slide 3 1914 French Infantry Doctrine Attaque a Outrance 1914 French Infantry Doctrine and Battlefield Tactics France, like Britain, did not contemplate having to fight a protracted war, and in order to keep it short, the French GQG figured her army would win by taking an overtly offensive stance. The French adopted the doctrine of Attaque a outrance attack with the utmost hostility, from which stemmed a philosophy of e'lan vital and the superiority of the bayonet.
Slide 4 The attack implies, on the part of all combatants, the will to come to grips with the enemy and remove him from combat with the bayonet... When one considers all the dispositions made, and the effectiveness of other arms, the success of the attack always depends, in the final analysis, on the bravery, the energy and the obstinacy of the infantry. Ref: Inventaire sommairie des archives de la geurre N 24 1. 60 This philosophy was adopted to the extent that French tactics in 1914 required the poilu (equivalent to our digger ) to unload his rifle before making a bayonet charge so that he would not be tempted to pull the trigger, and would only be intent on giving point.
Slide 5 British Infantry Doctrine In 1914 Britain it was expected that the War in Europe would somehow be noble, with dashing cavalry charges and the brave fallen soldiers clutching their breasts while making heroic last-minute gestures towards their flags. The battle tactic most frequently employed by British generals on the Western Front during the course of the War was to attack the strongest parts of the German line, in what can best be described as suicidal fashion. This was a policy that began in 1914 and remained the tactical procedure that was employed through each of the subsequent fighting seasons to the end of 1917 (Passchendaele). For most of the War both the French and the British believed the winning element on the battlefield was the rifle with a bayonet attached to it, wielded by a determined soldier.
Slide 6 British Regulations It is the spirit of the bayonet that captures the position... the rifle and the bayonet is (sic) the main infantry weapon
Slide 7 British Attack Procedure The British infantry tactic required its soldiers to advance in lines across no man s land, dressing from the left at a brisk walk, and the men were forbidden, under pain of court martial, to take cover in any trench, hole, crater or dug-out.
Slide 8 Tactically the concept of a British infantry attack was simple. The infantry would climb out of their trenches, and in long continuous rows walk slowly across the open ground to the enemy line.
Slide 9 They advanced in line after line, dressed as if on parade, and not a man shirked going through the extremely heavy barrage, or facing the machine gun and rifle fire...i have never seen, I would never have imagined, such a magnificent display of gallantry, discipline and determination. The reports I have had from the very few survivors of this marvellous advance bear out what I saw with my own eyes, viz., that hardly a man of ours got to the German line. Source: Brigadier General Rees, describing the actions of his 94 th Infantry Brigade on 1 st July 1916 on the Somme.
Slide 10 Ten (British) columns of extended line could clearly be distinguished, each one estimated at more than a thousand men, and offering such a target as had never been seen before, or even thought possible. Never had the machine-gunners such straightforward work to do nor done it so effectively. They traversed to and fro along the enemy s ranks unceasingly... As the entire field of fire was covered with the enemy s infantry the effect was devastating and they could be seen falling literally in hundreds. The Diary of the 15 th Regiment of the German Army recorded the result. Twelve British Battalions made that attack, with just under ten thousand men. In the three and a half hours of the battle they suffered casualties of 385 officers and 7,861 men. The Germans suffered no casualties.
Slide 11 German Infantry Tactics German army policy in the early months of the war (to the end of 1914) saw them employ battlefield tactics reminiscent of those they had used in the Franco Prussian war some forty years earlier. In the battles of late 1914 large groups of German infantry in close order formations confronted their British and French counterparts, illustrated in the photo above. In the late 1914 battles around YPRES where the Germans had attacked with whole divisions of infantry in massed formations they saw their casualties rise astronomically, which caused them to quickly rethink their battlefield tactics. In the aftermath some astute German commanders began to comprehend the impacts that emplaced machine guns and modern artillery could have on massed attacking troop formations. As a consequence in late 1914 the Germans reconfigured their formations, and henceforth a German Division consisted of three Regiments, each with 3 Battalions (that is approximately 9,000 men), BUT with increased artillery and machine gun firepower.
Slide 12 Storm Troopers First Step on a Learning Curve In what can now be seen as an early example of what would later be called the called the learning curve, by mid 1915 the Germans had quickly adopted a new battlefield tactic whereby they began using small well trained groups of multi skilled soldiers supported by high levels of firepower, who were expected to act with speed, mobility and flexibility. This new German offensive tactic would come to be referred to as Storm Troopers was initially developed by General Karl von Mudra. His tactic was to attack short sections of the French line in the Verdun region, using high levels of howitzer artillery and mortars in support of battalion sized attacking troops that consisted of mixed specialist teams of riflemen, grenadiers (grenade throwers), flamethrowers and machine gunners. Von Mudra s tactic was basically simple. A small section of French frontline was selected, and in turn pulverized by a short sharp artillery bombardment mostly employing high explosive shells. Then, a mixed force of engineers and riflemen, followed by infantrymen and machine gunners would infiltrate and consolidate the enemy trenches. After a brief respite the process was repeated on another section of the French line. As a consequence of employing this strategy German casualty rates were significantly reduced, in contrast to their adversaries, and particularly the British, who continued to use massed formations when launching their offensive attacks well into 1917.
Slide 13 The German army in WW1 saw an attack not as the assault of the infantry with their bayonets, but as the advance of fire, with fire coming from both artillery and riflemen. The attack consists of the carrying forward of fire against the enemy, if necessary up to the closest range. In combination with the artillery it (the infantry) defeats the opponent... The German regulations speak of the attack as being sealed by the bayonet, not accomplished by it.
Slide 14 The First German Infantry Re-organisation The First German Infantry Re-organisation Pre-war and 1914 German divisions consisted of four regiments of four battalions (approximately 12,000 men), organised into 2 Brigades. In late 1914 the Germans reconfigured their formations, and henceforth a German Division consisted of three Regiments, each with 3 Battalions (that is approximately 9,000 men), BUT with increased artillery and machine gun firepower. In 1915 each Battalion consisted of: 4 Rifle Companies (Each Company consisted of 250 men + officers, and each incorporated 5 Bergmann Light Machine Guns and 2 trench mortars) A heavy machine-gun company with 12 Maxims A mortar platoon with 4 minenwerfer From 8>12 specialist snipers. This arrangement eliminated an entire layer of command (ie the Regiment) as the Battalion became the basic tactical unit, and was given more firepower and autonomy for decision making in both defensive and offensive actions.
Slide 15 Snipers By 1914 the German Army was training and equipping snipers as fast as it could, for as far as they were concerned, any British soldier, NCO or officer who fell to the shooting of a sniper was one less enemy to worry about. In preparing for war Germany had made exhaustive attempts for equipping and supplying sniper units with purpose built rifles. On the German front trench line from late 1914, a sniper was positioned approximately to every 800 metres of trench, and each of these sharpshooters had a number of different hutches / firing positions built into the trench line, so that they could frequently vary their shooting locations. Special posts with concealed loop holes and observation platforms were built at regular intervals to house each regiment s contingent of 24>36 snipers. As a consequence, in the early months of trench warfare in 1914 the British lost from twelve to sixteen men per day per battalion, the seriousness of which they did not comprehend, as they initially put it down to the enemy merely possessing a number of good shots. (Source: Sniping in the Great War Martin Pegler)
Slide 16 Revision of British Infantry Tactics By 1917 British infantrymen were no longer required to make offensive attacks walking in long straight lines while being forbidden to take cover. Henceforth they began to attack in Platoons, being led forward by the bomber and rifle sections with the Lewis gun and rifle grenade sections following close behind, taking cover where available and supporting adjacent platoons where possible. The platoon leader no longer led the first section but was interposed between the first two waves. Platoons became flexible, multi armed units in their own right. The new manual gave platoon leaders more responsibility and allowed greater initiative and expected them to co-operate with and provide mutual supporting fire for neighbouring platoons. Under the new arrangements the first wave of platoons performed a skirmishing role, followed by reinforcements and finally a wave of troops to hold the captured territory.