!A Source BookofWorld War 1 Weapons and Uniforms

A Sou rce Book ofWorld Warl Weapons and Uniforms

Written and compiled byFrederick Wilkinson

WARD LOCK LIMITED. LONDON

@ Ward Lock Limited 1978

Reprinted 1983First published in Great Britain in 1978by Ward Lock Limited, 82 Gower Street,London WC1 E 6EO, a Pentos company

All rights reserved. No part of this publicationmay be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,or transmitted, in any form or by any means,electronic, mechanical. photocopying, recording,or otherwise, without the prior permission of theCopyright owners.Layout by Jacqueline AshdownText Filmset Univers

Printed and bound in Great Britain byNetherwood Dalton & Co Ltd, Huddersfield

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

Wilkinson, FrederickA source book of World War I weaPonsand uniforms.1. Uniforms, military

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History 2. Armsand armour

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HistoryI Title623.4'09'041 uc480lsBN 0 7063 5739 6

Frontispiece. Women working overtime to produce steel helmetsto equip the front line troops in 1916.

Acknowledgments

The author and publisher would like to express theirsincere thanks to the staff of the lmperial WarMuseum for their help in preparing this book. Thanksare also due to Paul Forrester who took a number ofthe photographs, including the jacket picture. Manyof the photographs are reproduced by kind per-mission of the lmperial War Museum.

Introduction

World War l, or the Great War, lasted for more thanfour years and in this time over Bl million soldierswere killed, over 21 million wounded and nearly 8million were taken prisoner. ln addition some 121million civilians were killed or died as a result of thewar. lt was a war with little glamour or colour andmost of the troops suffered terribly from dirt anddisease.

The war was fought between two groups ofcountries-one, known as the Central Powers, wasmade up of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey andBulgaria, and the other was called the Allies which,by the end of the war, lncluded Russia, France, TheBritish Empire, ltaly, Japan, Romania, Serbia, Bel-gium, Greece, Portugal, Montenegro and the UnitedStates of America. The Central Powers mobilized -called to serve in their forces

- nearly 23 million men

and the Allies raised some 42 million.Although the chance of war had been present for a

very long time, it was an event in a small town calledSarajevo, in the Balkans, on 28 June 1914 thatstarted the war. The heir to the throne of theAustro-Hungarian Empire was paying a state visit toSaraievo when a young man, a member of the BlackHand Gang, a group of Serbian Terrorists, steppedout and fired a revolver at the Archduke FrancisFerdinand and his wife. Before he could be stoppedhe had killed them both. Austria blamed the govern-ment of Serbia which denied having anything to dowith the assassination. Austria was afraid of thepower of Serbia and was quite prepared to use thiskilling as an excuse to attack and destroy thecountry. The Austrian leaders were f rightened that ifthey did attack then Russia, Serbia's ally, would loinin any fighting. The Austrians went to the GermanEmperorand asked if they could count on his supportif war broke out. The German Emperor, KalserWilhelm ll promised that they could.

Austria now sent a list of demands to Serbia, f eel-ing sure that the country could not possibly acceptthem, but, in fact, Serbia agreed to nearly all thedemands. Austria claimed that Serbia had refusedsome of her demands and declared war.

The view from an aeroplane of a German gas attack on Russian troops in 1915. The gas, probably chlorine, is being released fromcylinders and. behind, the German troops are preparing to advance as the gas takes effect.

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IThe Emperor of Russia, Tsar Nicholas Il, ordered

some of his troops in the southern part of the countryto be called into readiness. Germany then said that ifRussia did not stop preparing her army then she toowould call up all her troops. On 29 July Russia beganmobilizing, that is, getting her armies ready for war,and on the 30th Germany did the same. Germanythen asked the French government if it would stayout of any war that might break out between Russiaand Germany. France refused to desert her Russianally, but on 1 August 1 914 Germany declared war onRussia. That same afternoon France began to call upher troops.

On 2 August Germany sent a note to the Belgiangovernment claiming that France was preparing toattack Germany by bringing her troops through Bel-gium. Germany demanded the right to move hertroops through Belgium to meet the attack andasked the Belgian army to stay neutral. Since thiswould have meant that the Germans could take overtheir country, the Belgians refused. Britain hadpromised to maintain Belgian neutrality and toldGermany that if there was an attack Britain wouldhave to declare war on Germany.

On 3 August 1914 Germany declared war onFrance and on the next day, the 4th, German troopscrossed the Belgian frontier. Britain demanded their

immediate withdrawal and, when no reply came,declared war on Germany, and so the Great Warbegan.

Many countries now began to keep variouspromises that they had made to help friends andallies. Turkey joined in with Germany and Austria andon 5 November 1914 Great Britain declared war onTurkey. ln May'1 915 ltaly joined theAllies. AtfirsttheUnited States were neutral but on 7 May 1915 theBritish linerLusitania was sunk by a U-boat and over1,000 passengers, 128 of them Americans, weredrowned. Many Americans began to support theAllies although some were angry about the way thatthe Allied navies treated American ships. On 31January 19'1 7 the German government announcedthat their U-boats would, f rom then on, sink any shipfound in areas described as war zones. SeveralAmerican ships were sunk and this, with otherthings, finally persuaded the United States that theymust enter the war and, in April 1917, they declaredwar on Germany.

The main German plan was for a very quick attackon France through Belgium, sweeping round behindthe main French defence positions. This idea wasknown as the 'Schlieffen plan', after the GermanGeneral who had prepared it many years before. Atf irst the Germans achieved great success and swept

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forward and at one time it looked as if they mightbreak righr through to Paris.

ln the meantime Britain had sent an army, theBritish Expeditionary Force, across the Channel toassist her allies Belgium and France. The GermanKaiser thought the British troops hardly worth wor-rying about and called them 'this contemptible littlearmy'. The name'The Old Contemptibles'was usedby the men of that army and became a name ofhonour. The British fought a great battle at Mons on23 August which did much to slow down the Ger-man advance. Then, at the Battle of the Marne at theend of August the German advance was halted andlater history was to prove this to be the turning-pointof the war although fighting was to continue formany years. The first weeks of the war saw quite alot of f ighting and movement by the various armiesbut soon the movement ended and the armies ofFrance, Germany and the British Empire settleddown to the horrible business of trench warfare.Troops dug shelters, called dug-outs, and deeptrenches and faced each other across 'no-man'sland', an expanse of craters and barbed wire.

Belgian troops in 1915 wearing their old style of uniform. lnt915 they changed to khaki and wore modern styles of hatsThe dogs are pulling a small carriage containing a Maximmachine-gun.

The fighting in France and Belgium was known asthe Western Front but Germany was also fightingagainst Russia on what was known as the EasternFront. The Russian army was very large but verypoorly equipped and the Russian government wasunable to supply her troops or to keep the soldiersunder control. As the war went on things becameworse and worse with equipment and supplies run-ning down. There was a demand by both civiliansand the army for changes, even for peace, and then,in March 1917, a rebellion broke out in Petrograd,later renamed Leningrad. The revolution gained sup-port and on 1 5 March the Russian Tsar was forced togive up histhrone; he and his familywere later killed.The Germans, as far as they could, helped therevolutionaries, knowing that this would weaken theRussian army. On 2 December 1917 f ighting on theEastern Front stopped and on 3 March 19'1 B theRussians and Germans signed a peace treaty.

There was fighting in Africa as well as Europe forGermany had colonies there-South West Africa,The Cameroons, Togoland (now part of Ghana) andEast Africa. ln the Middle East there was fighting,mainly between the British and the Turks, which in-A cavalry unit f rom the Indian Army serving with the Brltishforces. They are wearing spurs and breeches and are marchingin a French parade on 14 July 1916.

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cluded the famous landings by the British, Australianand New Zealand forces at Gallipoli in Turkey.

The Germans made great use of their submarineor U-boat fleet and came very close to starving Bri-tain by their massive sinking of supply ships. Therewere only a f ew large-scale naval battles; the largestwas probably the Battle of Jutland in May 1916,which ended with victory claimed by Britain

After long years of war, on 29 September 1918,the first of the armistices, that is, the ending offighting, was signed by the Allies and Bulgaria' On 30October Turkey signed a similar agreement. Therewas serious trouble inside the Austro-HungarianEmpire as the various countries claimed inde-pendence and on 4 November Austria signed anarmistice. ln Germany on 3 November 1918 part ofthe German fleet mutinied and revolution broke outin many of the big towns. On 10 November theKaiser left Germany and sought ref uge in the Nether-lands. On the morning of 11 November 1918 anarmistice between Germany and the Allies wasslgned and at 1 1 am that morning fighting stoppedand the Great War was officially over'

The ArmiesThe largest army, on paper, was that of Russia whichhad some 12 million men; Germany had 11 million,

11

France and the British Empire each had about 8million and the Austro-Hungarian army reachednearly B million. When the war began the Frenchcavalry were still wearing uniforms very like those ofthe time of Napoleon-blue iackets, red trousers,breast and back plates and metal helmets withplumes and feathers. Early on in the war it becameobvious that bright colours made easy targets andthe helmets and breastplates were given a tem-porary cover of drab-coloured material. ln April 1915the French cavalry changed to a horizon-blueuniform with co our patches bearing a regimentalnumber at the collar. lt was soon obvious that thecavalry were not going to do a great deal in this warfor there were too many trenches, machine-gunsand artillery to allow horses to move about in num-bers. Many of the French cavalry regiments weredismounted and served as infantry.

The Belgian army uniforms were as picturesqueas the French with green and blue, bearskins andbusbies. ln 1 91 5 they adopted the colour khaki.

The B ritish cavalry already wore khaki for their fielduniform although for ceremonials they still had theirbright red, blue and green. A simple khaki uniformwith cloth cap was normal wear on the battlefield.

The German cavalry had, since 1910, been issuedwith f ield grey although they, like the British,

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Canadian troops advancing during the battle of Vimy Ridge in 1917

retained their brilliant uniforms for ceremonies. Atthe beginning of the war the German cavalryretalned some of their rather more colourf ul helmetsbut later they adopted a form of pickelhaube.Theirallies, the Austro-Hungarians, also adopted a fieldgrey uniform.

The infantry saw the main part of the fightingduring World War L The French infantryman woreloose, baggy red trousers with boots reaching to just

below the knee, a long, dark blue overcoat with thefront part of the skirts hooked back and a round cap,the kepi, with a red top and a blue base" ln 19'1 5 they,like the cavalry, adopted horizon blue. A touch ofcolour was retained by many of the colonial troopsbrought in by the French. Some of their Africantroops wore a f ez of blue or red. Most of the colonialtroops were given khaki rather than the horizon blueof the other French troops.

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The infantry of the British Expeditionary Forcewore klraki and had black, thick leather boots and arather inconvenient style of leg covering known asputtees. These consisted of a long strip of clothwound round and round the leg from the top of thefoot to just below the knee. The Scottish Highlandtroops wore a tartan kilt which was covered with akhaki apron. The British, like the French, brought inlarge numbers of colonial troops especially from

lndia. Their unif orm was essentially the same as thatof the ordinary British inf antryman, but many of themwore turbans.

Russian inf antry parade uniforms were very elabo-rate and glamorous but they too adopted a serviceuniform which was plain and simple. lt was darkgreen in colour and consisted of a blouse-like gar-ment, baggy breeches, knee-length leather bootsand a small peaked caP.

A German machine-gun team in action. The man at the front has a bayonet by his side and carries his pack

The ltalian army had, in 1908, adopted a grey_ish-green colour for their basic field uniform. theytoo used the puttees. A number of unusual head_dresses were worn including one with a long featherworn by the Alpine troops and a flat, almosicowboystyle with a bunch of cock feathers worn by thebersaglieri (rif le battalions).

When the United States entered the war theirtroops wore a khaki uniform very similarto that of theBritish but with a wide-brimmed, pointed-crownedhat. At first they had gaiters to cover the legs butthese were later replaced by puttees.

The German infantry wore a field grey colourwhich, when the war started, had various colourededges, buttons and flaps with regimental dis-tinctions. Later the tunic was simplif ied and many ofthese extras were left off. Most German infantrywore jack boots but later in the war these were oftenreplaced by puttees. The standard head-dress ofmost Germany infantry was the pickelhaube, aleather helmet f itted with a smallf lap at the back anda small peak at the f ront and surmounted by a hollowspike. On the front was a large metal plate, thepattern of which differed according to the various

Turkish troops on the march wearing an Arab-stvle head dresswith a flap to cover the neck. They carry Mausei rille".

I

states which supplied troops for the German army.ln battle this pickelhaube was fitted with a clothcover, the front of which bore the regimentalnumber. Later it was replaced by the steel helmet.The Austro-Hungarian and Turkish troops favoured adark blue uniform.

After the early part of the war much of the timewas taken up with trench warfare. The men werebelow ground level which led to a large number ofhead wounds. The French were the first to adopt asteel helmet, known as the Adrian after the Generalwho introduced it. The British and Americans wore asimpler pattern whilst the Germans introduced theirfamous 'coal scuttle' pattern with a down-curvingneck guard and a small peak' ln the front line andbattleireas the steel helmet became standard wearalthough cloth caps of various kinds were worn offduty oi in the areas behind the battlefield.

All tf'" troops had a variety of knapsacks, packs,straps, loops and bags to carry bayonets, ammun-ition, rif les, and a host of other items, often includinga spare pair of boots, greatcoat and a blanket.

The WeaponsWhen war broke out all the armies were equippedwith bolt-action magazine rifles These could beloaded with a numberof rounds, f rom five to ten, and

15

provided the bolt was operated it could be fired anumber of times without reloading. On most ofthese rif les the bolt was turned and pulled back andthis action ejected, or threw out, an empty case; thebolt was then pushed forward and this movementtook one of the rounds from the magazine andpushed it home into the breech. The bolt was thenlocked into position, the trigger pressed and theround was fired; these actions could be repeateduntil the magazine was empty when a new clip ofcartridges vvas loaded in. Most of the rifles could befitted with a bayonet which had some sort of lockingdevice to hold it in place on the barrel. The bladelength varied but most were around 1B inches (46cm) long.

Officers on both sides started off carrying swordsas well as a revolver or pistol. lt soon became obvi-ous that the sword was more of a nuisance than aweapon and the off icers stopped carrying them earlyon in the war. British officers used a revolver; theAustro-Hungarians, the Germans and Americanscarried an automatic Pistol.

One weapon which became most important dur-ing the war was the machine-gun. The first wasdesigned by Hiram Maxim, an American living inBritain, and his gun was used by the British and theGerman armies. The French had the Chauchot, the

16

Americans the Browning and many Allied-armies,r"J ih" L"*is gun whlch was a lighter form ofmachlne-gun.

Anothei important weapon in trench warfare wasthe small bomb or grenade These were ol varlous;"tt;r;; but most 6ad a short fuse of around 5-7leconds. The f use was started in diff erent ways andin" gt;nuOu was then thrown, usually by hand' lnorJui to in"t"ase the range they could be thrown by avariety of catapults, crossbows and elastlc sltngs''-if-r"

*ut saw the introduction of a number of new*"uponi *ott of them extremely unpleasant' Thedeilans't'tst had f lame-throwers in 1912 and these;;t';"irets ot burnins oil On 22 Ap,rtt'1?J5 theC"ttun.'first used poison gas on the Westerni;"1. ii first it was ihlorine but in 1917 they used*rtitOtsit which continued to poison the air andoiornJ fo"no after it had been released' Gas meantir.rri.nl ii"lps now had to carry a respirator whichp"ttit[J1r'"t to breathe safely during such anattack.-" o;; item which'played a tremendous part in the*u-r on if'" Western Front was barbed wire lt wasused to set up entanglements and defences and;;;;"i vlrv Oitticutt io deal with lt was either5;;i6 b"iJt" ;" attack or small groups of men hadto be sent out to cut it bY hand'

Heavy weapons such as artillery, tanks' armoured [,cars, planes and airships played a.very impor[a,nt parl' '!ln t-t-'t" *ut, but they would need a separate book t

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Russian Troops

Russian soldiers of 1915. They are armed withMosin-Nagant rifles and have their rolled blankets

17over their shoulders. They wear blouses andbreeches. Notice the different styles of cap, verysimilar to |he feldmltze of the Germans.

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Cossacks (USSR)Caucasian cavalry or Cossacks in 1915. These menserved with the Russian cavalry and were famous fortheir skill as riders. Cossacks were usually vol-

unteers who supplied their own weapons. Theywore fur caps and long dark coats. They all have longdaggers, called shashquas, at their belts and manyalso have swords.

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Serbian SailorsThere is little to show which navy these sailorsbelong to. The small country of Serbia had few shipsbut the uniform is very similar to that of Britain,.vhich, at that time, had the most powerful navy inihe world. Serbia was divided up after the war.lmperial War Museum.

Serbian Troops

Serbian troops on the march in 1915 -

note the softboot and leg wrappings that they wear. One man hasa loaf of bread under his arm. All carry the Russianrifle with the spike-like bayonet.

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21

Serbian SoldiersTwo Serbian soldiers, one with a war trophy

- a

captured German sword. He carries a carbine withthe butt decorated with the royal arms of Serbiawithin a f rame of leaves. The Serbian army sufferedvery heavy losses and had to be almost completelyre-equipped.lmperial War Museum.

22

Portuguese Troops

Portuguese troops in their blue-grey uniforms andcarrying Lewis guns. Portugal had fought in Francef rom 19'1 7 but Germany had declared war on her inMarch 1916 and she had sent troops to her colonies

in Africa before this. One soldier has no putteeslmperial War Museum.

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Italian Troops

.\lthough they look very like French troops these are':alians. They wear French steel helmets with the'egimental number63 and a crown. ltalian regiments: so had a special patch on their collars

- red with

23white edges and one star. All regiments used thestar but their colours varied. The uniform was anolive green in colour. The rifle is an ltalian one knownas the 1891 pattern.lmperial War Museum.

24

Italian SoldierThe rearview of an ltalian soldier of 1915 showingthe great bundle carried by most infantrymen. Thisload weighed around 70lb (32 kg) and included 150rounds of ammunition, boots, greatcoat, under-clothes and other personal items.

25

French Colonial TrooPs

France had a large colonial empire at the time of thewar and troops f rom many parts served in herforcesThis man is probably from lndo-China and, iudgingfrom his collar badges, probably a marinelmperial War Museum.

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French SoldierFrench soldier holding the Chauchot M.1gKmachine-gun with two magazines hanging from hiswebbing. The gun was not popular because it did notalways work very well and often stopped firing" Thecrescent-shaped magazine held 20 rounds of B mmcartridges and the rate of fire was quite slow

- only

about 240 rounds per minute. When the Americansentered the war they also used the Chauchotmachine-gun and it was unpopular with them. Someof these machine-guns, made for the Americans,had magazines which held only 16 rounds.lmperial War Museum.

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French Soldier

By 1915 the Western Front had settled down to themisery of trench warfare. This French soldier is readyfor a raid with gas mask, revolver and, most impor-tant, a dagger, for most of these raids were secret,silent affairs.

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French TroopsThis picture shows French troops advancing in '1 914.They are equipped in the old style with soft caps

(kepis) and dark blue coats and red trousers. ln '1 915the French adopted their horizon-blue-coloureduniform.

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French Troops

French troops of 1915-1 I on the march. Nicknamedpoilu, the French infantryman suffered very heavycasualties in the war. The poilu carried a heavy loadon the march. ln addition to his Lebel rifle and bay-onet he had water bottle, mess-tin, spare boots,blankets, ammunition, rations, cooking pots, spareclothing, entrenching tools and leather equipment.The front skirts of the long greatcoat could be but-toned back so that they did not flap against the legsas the soldier marched along.Imperial War Museum.

30

French CavalryFrench lancers passing by some British troops.Napoleon was one of the first generals to enrol lan-cers into his armies. During World War I the cavalrywereableto playonlya very small part indeed. Manyof the French cavalry were dlsmounted in 1916 tobecome ordinary infantry.

When the war started many of the French cavalrywere still wearing helmets and breastplates withbright red and blue uniforms. The armour was foundto be pretty useless and the uniform made the mentoo obvious, so in 1 91 5 the cavalry also changed overto horizon-blue uniforms. Note the bandoliers ofammunition hanging round the necks of the horses.lmperial War Museum.

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Moroccan Troops

Colonial troops played quite a big part in the army ofFrance. This group is made up of tirailleurs (riflemen)

31

f rom Morocco, in 1917. They had just beenpresented with 'L6glon d'Honneur' medals for brav-ery. Their uniform was khaki.

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Indian Lancers

Officer, sergeant and private of lndia's Hodson'sHorse. This unit was raised in 1857 during the lndianMutiny under the command of William Hodson whowas killed soon afterwards. lt saw service in many

lndian campaigns and in World War I the regimentserved in France, Palestine and Syria

They wear khaki and carry the standard Brttishlance. Across the chest are the leather bandolierswhich held the ammunition for their carbines.Imperial War Museum.

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Indian Lancers

Lancers of the lndian Army Deccan Horse. A numberof their lances have discs set a little way behind the

33point. This was to stop the point penetrating toodeeply. One soldier has retained his turban but theothers have the British pattern steel helmet.lmperial War Museum.

34

Ghurkas

From Nepal in lndia came the Ghurkas and these f inesoldiers have served with the British army for manyyears. Here they are in the trenches using a peri-scope to see over the parapet. Like the Australiantroops they wear the wide-brimmed hat with thebrim turned up.lmperial War Museum.

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iAfrican Troops

As soon as France entered the war she began to use

35

troops from her colonies. These came from Senegalin West Africa and wore a fez-type hat. The group inthe bottom picture are all NCOs.

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African Soldiers

Front and back views of members of the King'sAfrican Rifles 3rd (or East Africa) Battalion. British

officers led these men in the f ighting in Af rica againstthe troops of the German colonies. They are armedwith Martini rif les and bayonets but they also carry along, native knife at their belts.

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American SoldierAmerican doughboy of 1917 with his full equipment;the colour was olive green and he has the webbingf irst issued in 1902. On his back was a steel helmetexactly the same as the British model. The bayonetwas carried at the side of the pack-the hilt is justabove his left shoulder. There was a blanket and coatrolled on top of the pack, and a spade. The hat wasknown as the 'overseas cap'.lmperid War Museum.

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New Zealand Soldier

Left; Sergeant of the New Zealand lnfantry. Hisuniform is the standard British khaki but he wearsthe traditional hat with chin strap.lmperial War Museum.

South African Soldier

R/Ethti Although he looks Scottish, this infantrymanis from South Africa

- the badge on his hat is the

head of a springbok. He has his SMLE at the slopeposition and his gas mask is at the ready' The jacketis khaki but the kilt is in a tartan pattern - in action akhaki skirt-like cover was worn over the kilt. Hangingdown below his iacket is a small haversack whichserved as a sporran. On his left is the wooden handleof his entrenching tool.lmperial War Museum.

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Australian Troops

Australian soldiers in France talking to an old soldierwho wears his medal. The soldier on the left has the

39

side of his hat clipped up while the one on the righthas his brim down. The caf6 has the notice 'Pianohere' to attract the English-speaking soldiers.Imperial War Museum.

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Badges

Some badges of the British Empire:Top: HaI badges of the Australian troops

- one in

white metal and one in bronze.Middle: Badge worn on the lapel by men who wereworking for the war but, for some reason, were notin uniform.Bottom /eff; Crossed swords, worn on the arm ofbest swordsman in every twenty men in a cavalryu nit.Bottom rgrht; Crossed machine-guns, badge of theMachine-Gun Corps.

41

Scottish SoldierA soldier of the famous Scottish regiment, The BlackWatch. He has the khaki apron over his kilt as well asshort, almost ankle-length, puttees The hat was aspecial type being tested for general use'

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SailorsSailors of the Allies. On the left is an American, thenan Englishman, another American, a Frenchman, aBritish sailor and another Frenchman. Their uniformsare quite similar

- all have the wide collar-and the

Americans and British both have three lines around

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the edge of the collar. All the uniforms are blue. TheBritish sailor on the left is a seaman gunner

- the

badge on his arm is a gun with a star above it.As the Americans are present it means that the

photograph was probably taken between 1917 and1918.lmperial War Museum.

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Medals

Top ( I eft to ri ght) : Serbia n medal - the f orm of a crosswiih swords was very common; Austrian War medal-

this form of ribbon was commonly used by theAustrians.Bottom (Left to right): Belgian Military Crossawarded for 25 years' service; ltalian Victory Medal'

44

British OfficerOfficer (a major

- three stripes and a crown on his

sleeve) in the Highland Light lnfantry. The Scottishregiments had several marked differences in theiruniforms: special head-dresses and the cut-awayfront to the jacket. The major is wearing a SamBrowne belt with a revolver in his holster and on theright is a pair of binoculars in a leather case. His steelhelmet is slung on his left shoulder. On his chest arethe ribbons of three medals.

British Army BadgesTop (leftto rightl; Guards Off icers Training Battalion; Border Regiment.Motor Machine-Gun Corps; Royal Dublin Fusiliers;8th King's Regiment (1908-221', Tyneside Scottish(1916).

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Bottam (left to nglht); Cheshire Regiment; TheHampshire Regiment; Welsh Horse; Lothian &

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Woman Officer (GB)Officer in the WAF (Women's Auxiliary Force). Shewears a Sam Browne belt. The force was formed inMay 1915 and was for women who were alreadyworking and could only give a short time each week.Members were given training in many forms of ser-vice and some girls could become Military Membersand wear a navy-blue uniform with a brown leatherbelt. Members worked by giving all forms of help tothe forces-driving ambulances, organizing enter-tainment, making comforts and running canteens.lmperid War Museum.

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Officer's Belt (GB)British officer's Sam Browne belt. lt was namedafter a general who had lost an arm and designed this

47piece of equipment to keep his revolver and swordsafely in position. The small leather pouch held thecartridges.

Cyclist (GB)Sergeant with his cycle complete with special fittingto hold his P.'14 rifle. The cycle carried an officialnumber and was fitted with good lamps. Cyclistscould be very useful for they could often make theirway where other vehicles might have difficulty.Imperial War Museum.

3

49British RiflemanPrivate in the Rif le Brigade. He wears the usual khakiuniform but has different equipment

- leather

instead of webbing. His buttons are black with abugle horn badge. He holds a SMLE rifle.lmperial War Museum.

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Webbing Equipment

This is the 'webbing' equipment carried by a Biitishinfantryman during the war. The small pouches heldclips of ammunition for the SMLE rifle. Next to the

bayonet is the handle of a shovel, the entrenchingtool, and the blade is in the case on the right. Thewater bottle was of metal with a khaki cover. Brasspress-studs, slides and lugs held the webbingtogether.

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Belt

Belt and cartridge pouches of a French infantryman.He would also have carried his bayonet on this belt.On the march he would also have had a large pack onhis back and he might have carried an entrenchingtool, folding saw or pickaxe.

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Snow Boots {GB}The British officer is wearing special 'overboots' ofplaited straw which were intended to keep out thecold and snow. He holds a walking stick which wasalmost part of the uniform and was used rather like asignal stick.

\otice the wooden supports for the trench walls,the doors to the dug-outs and, on the floor, a canvasbucket.lmperial War Museum.

Caps

British khaki field-service cap (/eff) as worn duringthe war. The brass badge at the front was differentfor each regiment

- this one belongs to the East

Surrey Regiment. The other caps are German -

officer and ordinary soldier. They were field greywith coloured buttons

- the top one was red, white

and black but the lower one's colours were differentfor the various states of Germany.

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British CavalrymanTwo different views of a British cavalryman with fullgear. He is a lance-corporal- single stripe on the topof the arm

- and has a marksman's badge on the

lower part of the sleeve. Among the many items hecarries are some wooden pegs which were bangedinto the ground and to which the horse rope wastied. Note the gas mask for the horse.lmperial War Museum.

Cap (GB)Khaki cloth cap worn by British troops. lt was madewithout any stiffenlng so that it could be folded up

55

easily if the steel helmet had to be worn. The leatherstrap across the f ront was to go under the chin in badweather.

I56Lancer {GB}Member of the 17th Lancers, a famous Britishcavalry regiment. On this side of his saddle he carrieshis sword and you can just see the tip of the scab-bard. His carbine sticks out down by his foot, on theleft of the horse. The bottom of the lance fits into aleather holder on the stirruP.Imperial War Museum.

Badges (GB)

Some British army cap badges:Top (left to right): 1st King's Dragoon Guards(1915-37); Sth (Royal lrish) Lancers; Tank Corps(1917-24\; Remounts Service; City of LondonCyclist Company.

57

Bottom (left to right): 1Oth Battalion Hackney Regi-ment (19'l 2-37); 28th Battalion Artists Rif les;Middlesex Regiment; Loyal North Lancashire Regi-ment; 2nd Manchester Regiment.

*:

58

Prussian OfficerThe Prussian Foot Guards were one of the best ofthe German regiments. Here is an officer in his 1 g14uniform complete with pickelhaube.

Helmets

German spiked helmets -

known as pickelhaubes.Leff; Helmet of black leather with chin scales, whichmeans that it probably belonged to an officer. Thebadge is of brass and is the Prussian eagle with themotto of the 87th lnfantry Regiment"Centre: The badge shows that this model was wornby a member of a Baden regiment and it is made ofhard, pressed felt because leather became scarceras the war went on.Rgrht: This helmet has a grey cloth cover which wasintroduced early in the war. The numbers are of clothcut out and stitched on

- the 106th Regiment was

named King George's lnfantry (7th Saxon).

tro

German Troops

German infantry officer and other ranks. The officercarries his sword and the private has his Mauser rif Ie'The uniform was field grey and the officer wearsleggings whilstthe private has iack boots. The off icernas tfre ribbon of the lron Cross medal in his but-tonhole. Since they are wearing steel helmets thepicture must have been taken after 1916.lmperial War Museum.

Medals of the WarIop; British group fitted to a bar for wearing on theleft chest of the tunic. Left to right: 1914-1b Star;British War Medal 1914-18; Mercantile Marine WarMedal; Victory Medal. (To Lt. F. Gwynne

- Royal

Naval Reserve)Bottom /eft: German lron Cross 2nd Class, intro-duced by Friedrich-Wilhelm llof Prussia in 1813 andawarded for bravery throughout World War LBottom right: French Croix de Guerre medal given totroops mentioned in dispatches for carrying outbrave deeds. The star on the ribbon shows whichkind of dispatch the soldier was mentioned in.

German Troops

These are German troops on the road to Brussels inBelgium in 1914. Most are wearing pickelhaubes

61

with the cloth cover on but one wears a feldmitze.The one on the far left has a belt with a cartridge boxand a pair of binoculars. Later the jacket was sim-plif ied.

62

German PickelhaubeGerman leather pickelhaube, or spiked helmet. Thebadge on the front shows that it was worn by asoldier in a Bavarian regiment.

German Helmet

Although khaki, grey and blue were the uniformcolours on the battlefield, many regiments still woretheir gorgeous uniforms on special occasions. Thishelmet with an eagle was worn by the GermanEmperor's (the Kaiser's) bodyguard for ceremonialduties.EIIiott & Snowdon.

64

Ski TrooPs

The Germans formed special service unlts such as

ir,rir iri eti;:tielor service on the Eastern Front Thel"ro"i:r^ tVr.r*e would blend in with the background'

On the right is a two-mule team f or carrying a Maxim

il;in;:g;;or a mortar' Horses and mules,were,t"i . gtEt, Oeal during the war - mostly as 'carry-ing' animals.

llL:::::a:,:.:t:.:::'

Leather EquipmentThis is the leather equipment of a German infan_tryman with pouches for his ammunition, his bay_onet and entrenching tool. The silver_coloured

65buckle hasthe mottoGoff mitUns (God with us). Notall the German troops had the same buckle andsome states had their own design. The bayonet hasa safety loop which was really -only decoiative andwould not have been carried in the front line.

66

German SoldiersOff-duty German soldiers playing cards. They wear

the small caps known as feldmItze. Those with thepeaked caps are NCOs.Imperial War Museum.

Dress Helmets

Ceremonial head-dress of the pre-war period:Left to right: White metal helmet with brass fittingsand a white horse-hair plume

-

5th Dragoon Guards;Tschapka

- the name comes from the Polish lan-

67

guage -

of an officer of the 9th Royal Lancers;Pickelhaube of Prussian Guard lnfantry; Officer's giltand copper helmet of the 4th Royal lrish DragoonGuards.Eiliott & Snowdon.

-1

68

Bulgarian SoldierBulgaria was one of the Central Powers and this isone of her infantrymen. He has the footwear oftenworn by men from the Balkans, an Austrian styletunic and a Russian-type cap.

British Gavalry Equipment

Dummy to show the equipment of the Britishcavalry. One stirrup has the support for the lance.

69

The hilt of the sword can be seen just above thesaddle and on this side is the scabbard for the car-bine.Imperial War Museum.

70

Lee Enfield Rifle (GB)Two British Short Magazine, Lee Enfield rifles of thetype used throughout World War I and much ofWorld War ll. The first model (fop) has thick cordbound round the barrel. This was done when the riflewas used to fire grenades from a special fittingattached at the muzzle. A blank cartridge

- one with-

out a bullet- was used and the pressure which built

up as the grenade was fired was so great that thebarrel and stock had to be reinforced.

The second model (bottom) has a grenade caplauncherfitted, and binding at the barrel and breech.This strengthening was necessary to make sure thatthe rifle would not break under the pressure pro-duced when being used to discharge grenades.lmperial War Museum.

Rifles (GB, USA)Iop; British P.14 .303 rifle. This was made for Britainin the USA as the British factories could not keep upwith demand. The magazine held five rounds. 46inches (117 cm) long.Middle: US Enfield M.1917. When America entered

71

the war there was a shortage of Springfield rifles. ltwas decided that a version of the British P.14 wouldbe used and this was called the P.17; it looks verylike the British rif le but fired a different-sized bullet -.300.Bottom: Springfield Rif le Model 1903. This held f iverounds of .300 ammunition.43 inches (109 cm) long.

72

Mosin-Nagant Rifles (USSR)Mosin-Nagant rifles were used by Russian troopsf rom 1891 right through until about 1946. They hadfixed magazines which held 5 rounds of .300 car-

tridges. The Russian rifles had their sights markednot in yards but in paces of 28 inches (7 1 cm). Thesling was attached through slots cut in the stock.lmperid War Museum.

Rifles

Iop; Canadian Ross rifle which fired the same car-tridge as the British Enfield SMLE rifle but themagazine took onlY five rounds.tVtiddte: Japanese Arisaka M.38 rifle, first made in

73

1905. lt held five rounds of 6.5 mm cartridges.Bottom: Russian Mosin-Nagant M.91 rif le - made inthe USA by the firm of Westinghouse in 1915-1 7and sent to Russia. Five-/ .62 mm rounds fitted intothe magazine. The sling went through the two slotsin the stock.

74

Lewis Machine-Gun (USA)Iop: Lewis gun in the firing position with the sup_porting legs down and the drum magazine in posi_tion. The tall spike at the back is a sight which wasadjusted for different ranges.lmperial War Museum.

Lewis Machine-gun (USA)Bottom: One of the most popular light machine_guns of the Allies was the Lewis, designed in 191 1by Lt. Col. lsaac Lewis. The gun weighe-d about 26 lb(12 kg) and fired at a rate of abo-ut 500 shots aminute; the magazine held only 47 rounds. Themechanism was worked by feeding back some ofthe gas produced when the cartridge was fired. Thecover around the barrel was to help in keeping thegun cool, for if a large number of bullets wereJiredthen the barrel would get very hot indeed. The Lewisgun was used by infantry as well as being carried inaircraft and was used by both British and Americanforces.

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75

Browning Automatic Rifle (USA)An American soldier

- a doughboy- demonstrates a

Browning Automatic Rifle hung from a sling. Theuniform was a khaki colour quite similar to the Britishone. The Browning Automatic Rifle, BAR for short,was a light machine-gun firing a .300 cartridge fed infrom a box magazine holding 20 rounds; it was firstadopted in 1918. lt was intended to be fired f rom thehip, as shown here, but proved very difficult to aimand was later fitted with two light support legs nearthe front.lmperial War Museum.

76

Vickers Heavy Machine-gun (GB)Vickers heavy machine-gun used by Britain,America, Portugal, lndia and many other countries.Almost the same as the German Maxim althoughwith a very slightly lower rate of fire

- 500 rounds a

minute. lt was lighter -

only 52 lb (23.5 kq). Car-

tridges were fed in on a belt made of canvas or, later,on a series of small links. lt was usually mou nted on atripod but it was also used on vehicles and aircraftand was to remain in service with the army right upto World War ll. This gun was also designed byHiram Maxim who was then connected with theBritish firm of Vickers.

Maxim Machine-gun (USSR)The Russians often mounted their machine-guns onsleds or carriages such as this Sokolov mount Thegun is a Maxim.lmperial War Museum.

78

Maxim Machine-gun (GB)British Maxim machine-gun on its tripod. The wheelwas for raising or loweriig the gun *h,en uiming unOthe bars on the legs of the tripod were for lockirig thelegs in position. The twin hand grips can be s6en.lmperial War Museum.

Trench Weapons (GB)When the troops were in their trenches on theWestern Front, it was common for them to send outnight raiding parties" The idea was to capture a pris-oner, gain information and generally harass theenemy. Surprise was important so guns were neverused unless absolutely necessary-. The weaponschosen were those which were silent and secret.The horrible clubs shown here were used on thesetrench raids and were often home-made with anypieces that the soldier could find

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Stokes Mortar (GB)The Stokes mortar was a very useful weapon intrench warfare; it fired a simple form of shell over aiung; U"t*""n 250 and 1 500 yards (229 and 1372t).jt *ut usually managed by a team of three - No'

79

1 carried the barrel and spare parts, No 2 carried-theOase plate and sight and No. 3 carried the bipod Theiourth man is demonstrating how the weapon couldbe oacked for one-man carriage but it was veryheavy and could not be carried too far'lmperial War Museum'

80

Grenade Thrower (GB)

Private of the Royal Engineers demonstrates the useoitf'r" SMif us u'gr"nud" discharger' The butt had to;"';; ;;";t;troris surface because the 'kick' of the;fl;;;. u"tv itto"ng. A special cup fitting was fixed

to the muzzle of the rifle and into this went a handgi";u0". A special blank cartridge was Ioaded intoif," nr"e"f,, ti-re trigger was pressed and the explo-sion blew the grenade out of the cup'Imperial War Museum.

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Left: French 'Adrian' steel helmet _ on the front aPj9S", :t a b,ursting grenade with the lettlrs-R.F\nepu Dt tque fra nqai se).

'Adrian'Steel Helmet 81Steel HelmetPortugal joined Britain in her fight against Germanyand her allies in 1916 and raised iOO,OOO trooprs.Portuguese troops served in France and Rf rica. fneirsteel helmet (rightl was similar in shape to the Britjshmodel but was corrugated for greater strenqth. Thelacing round the base held in ihe lining.

82

Armour (GB)British tanks first went into action on 15 September191 6 and later they were to change the way in whichwar was fought. They were very slow and noisy but

their armour plates would stop bullets. The crewswore these metal masks with mail face-pieces toprotect them from pieces of metal chipped f rom theplates. Some special helmets were worn by thecrews

- this one is made of lightweight material.

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Body Armour (GB)The Germans and ltalians probably made most useof body armour in the war but many other countriesexperimented with many forms of armour. This is aBritish model with small metal plates fastenedtogetherwith small links. The head had a small metalcap and the face was half covered with a metal maskwith tiny slits so that the wearer could see.Imperial War Museum.

W$W

84

Gas Mask (GB)The British officer is wearing one of the first officialgas masks introduced in 1915. lt has a special kind ofvalve at the front.

IGas Mask (GB)Display of all the parts which went to make up aBritish respirator

- rubber face-piece, special glass

85

for eye-pieces, connecting tube, chemical containerand haversack.lmperial War Museum.

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86Equipmem (GBlBritish infantryman,s fighting equipment with web-

bing, gas mask, steel. helmet, entrenchlng tool,water.bottle, SMLE rifle anO Oayonei.vr v v t'

lmperial War Museum.Gas

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Gas Fan (GB)r January 1 9 1 5 the Germans used a tear gas against

:re Russians and then in April during the Battle of theSomme. Troops had to be issued with gas masks or-espirators. This strange-looking device was a 'fan'ro be used to clear gas from trenches and dug-outs.

Periscope

This French soldier is using a special periscope f ittedto a rifle. A periscope is a gadget made from twomirrors which allows you to see over high wallswithout letting yourself be seen. The rif le had a peri-scope fitted tb the sights so that the soldier couldaim it and fire without having to raise himself abovethe safety of the sandbags whlch lined the trenchwall.Imperid War Museum.

89

SearchlightThis is a French searchlight with power supplied by amobile generator. Searchlights were used to locateenemy planes and Zeppelins at night but they weresometimes used to pick out night raiding parties onthe Western Front. This light was used at Verdun in1916.

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Wire Gutters

One feature of trench warfare was the great use ofbarbed wire. Long lines of wire were draped onposts in front of the trenches and set up at any pointwhere there might be an attack. Before an attackcould be launched the wire had to be cut. Some-times this was done by shelling the wire with highexplosives. Alternatively, men crawled up to thewiie and cut it with special tools - rather like the pairof wire clippers shown top left' The curved tipshelped guide the wire into the iaws of the cutter'

Below left: A special wire-cutting device has beenfitted to the barrel of a SM LE rif le and this too has thecurving arms to guide the wire.

92

Gas Alarm (GB)British soldier wearing one of the early gas maskswhich completely covered the head. Notlce thecover on his helmet. He is standing by a tripod ofpoles f rom which hangs a bell and his job was to ring

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the bell as a warning of a gas attack. Gas could bedelivered by special shells or, more silently, by beingreleased from cylinders, and thus a constant look-out was important.lmperial War Museum.

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Gas Alarm (GB)Another gas alarm

-

this time made f rom a piece ol

93

bent metal hung on a tripod and beaten with the rodwhich the soldier is holding.

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94

Daimler Lorry (GB)Daimler lorry and crew

- sergeant and two privates.

The lorry has solid tyres and 6anging on the back aresome chains which were wrapped iround the tyres

t9 lelp get a. good grip when the ground was par-ticularly bad. Motortransport played; very imporiantpart in the war.lmperial War Museum.

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Signal Pistols

These fired a big cartridge -

about one inch in diame-ter-which senta brilliantflare up intothe airthatfellslowly to earth. These flares could be in differentcolours and were used to signal to the artillery,troops or aircraft. They are still used today especiallyfor aircraft.Iop; British, made of brass by Webley & Scott.Uiaate: French, made at St Etienne, 1918.Bottom: German, Hebel. The lever under the triggeris to lower the barrel.

These were all loaded by dropping the barrel andinserting a cartridge into the breech.

Revolver and Pistols

Iooi ltalian M'1889 Glisenti revolver which fired ai oiCs tt orilet. This model has no trigger guard butrorn" *"t" fitted with them' Each cartridge wasloaded in at the side',iliJJr", nrt.iian Stevr M 12 automatic pistol which'fl"n

"ishi-iounds of 9 mm ammunition in its

r"uiutini *f-tich was loaded from a clip of cartridgesoushed in from the top'E"iio., c"ri -45 Automatic pistol 1911' carried by"U"S ;;;;;t i; World War I and ll - a hard hittins' toushJirr"r.hi" ..ragazine holds seven rounds and slipsinto the butt.

l-

Revolvers and PistolVost infantry were armed with rifles whilst officerscarried a hand gun. These hand guns were difficult toshoot accurately but were easy to carry.Iop: British MkVl Webley revolver which held sixrounds of .455 cartridges. When the catch at the top'was pressed the barrel could be pushed do."arn and aspring-operated arm ejected the empty cases.Middle: French Lebel revolver Model 1892 whichtook six 8 mm cartridges. To empty this weapon thecylinder was swung out to the right and then theempty cases were pushed out.Bottom: This is the famous Luger Parabellum Model08 pistol. Unlike the French and British weapons thispistol loads in each cartridge automatically. This pis-tol fired a 9 mm bullet and was very popular. Thecartridges were loaded into a metal magazine whichwas then pushed in the butt.

98

Garbines

These were shortened forms of the rifle used byartillery men and cavalry"Iop; French Berthier Carbine 1892,8 mm bullets

with three shot magazine. 37 inches (94 cm) long.Bottom: German Mauser model 1B9B

- 37] inches

(95 cm) long. Otherwise it is more or less the sameas the Mauser rifle.

Rifles

Iop: British Short Magazine Lee Enfield rifle whichfretO ten rounds of .303 ammunition. An outstandingrifle which was still being made during World War ll'441inches (113 cm) long.tAiaarc: German Gewehr Rifle 98 with five-roundmagazine for 7 .92 mm cartridges. 49 inches

99

(124 cm\ long. This weapon was also used in WorldWar ll.Bottom: French Lebel Model 1886 Rifle which wasthe first military rifle to be designed for the newsmokeless powder. This was a big improvement forthe old gunpowder gave off a great deal of smokewhich could cover a battlefield and hide the enemy'The magazine held eight rounds.

100

Rifles

Top: ltalian Model 1891 made at Terni. Themagazine held six rounds of 6.5 mm cartridges. 50inches (127 cm) long.Middle: Austrian Mannlicher Model 189b which heldfive rounds of 8 mm ammunition. 50 inches

(127 cm) long. Also used by Bulgaria and othercountries.Bottom: Austrian Mannlicher Carbine which meansthat it is a shorter model of the rif le. These short rif leswere used by cavalry and other units where a longrifle would have been a nuisance.

Cartridges

Leftto right: Lee Enfield .303 for British rifle; Webley.455 for British revolver; Webley .455 for Britishautomatic pistol; Springfield .30-06 for American

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101rifle; Colt .45 for American automatic pistol; Lebel8 mm for French rifle; Lebel 8 mm for Frenchrevolver; Mauser 7 mm for German rifle; Luger9 mm for German automatic pistol.

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102

Trench Knives

This murderous set of knives was used on trenchraids

Top (l9ft to right): British push dagger; British knife;two German knives,Bottom (left to right): American knife with built-inknuckle duster; Belgian trench knife.

Bayonets

Although it was not used a great deal most troopscarried a bayonet. This was a kind of short swordwhich clipped on to the muzzle of the rifle. Thebayonet was so designed that even when it was inposition the rif le could still be fired. lt was carried in ascabbard which was usually fitted on the left side ofa waistbelt. Most scabbards were of leather with ametal top and tip.Iopr French Lebel bayonet Model 1886, unusual forit had a metal hilt and scabbard. The blade was 201

103

inches (52 cm) long, thin and shaped rather like across instead of just being flat (Model 1886/93/16)and it could be fitted on to a number of rifles.Middle: German Mauser bayonet '1 B9B/05 also witha metal scabbard. Some of this type had saw teethon the back edge so that they could be used as sawsas well as weapons. The blade is 141 inches (37 cm)long.Bottom: British Mk1 bayonet Pattern 1907. Thisfitted on to the SMLE rifle (see page 70). The bladewas 17 inches (43 cm) long and the scabbard was ofleather.

104

Bayonets

Iop: German Mauser M. 1 898 bayonet -

with long,slim blade with strengthening rib. 201 inch (52 cm)blade.Middle: US Bayonet M.1917

- very similar to the

British 1907 pattern. lt was for an Enfield rifle madein the United States and known as the P.'l 7.Bottom: US Bayonet M.1905 to fit on the 1903Springfield rifle. lt has a scabbard of canvas andleather. 16 inch (41 cm) blade.

L , - il

SwordsAlthough swords were no longer used as weaponsthey were still carried by officers on parade.Left; French.Centre: German.i?rght; British

-

with leather sword-knot which wentround the wrist so that if the sword was dropped itwas not lost.

106

Steel HelmetsTrench warfare made it necessary to give the troopssome protection for the head. ln '1 915 the Frenchwere the first to issue a helmet

- called the Adrian

(/eff). The British helmet (top) was simpler but verystrong. The German model (ngrht) was the largestand could be fitted with an extra plate at the frontwhich hooked over the two lugs at the side.

Grenades

These small bombs were thrown by hand or firedfrom rifles or catapults. The long one with a stick(/eft) is a German model. On some stick grenadesthe fuse was fired by hand but others were startedautomatically as the grenade was thrown. The egg-

101

shaped one on the right was used to give a blastrather than scatter splinters of metal. lt also pro-duced a great deal of smoke. The centre one is aMills grenade with a thick iron case which shatteredwhen the grenade exploded and sent pieces in alldirections.

108

Grenade CrossbowsGrenades played an important part in trench warfareand there were many ideas for throwing them,

including great catapults. These crossbows werereported to have been found in a German trench in1916. The crossbow was very popular during theMiddle Ages and was very powerful indeed.

Trench-digging Machine

Trench-digging machine being operated by Frenchsoldiers in their fatigue or working uniform. Some of

109

the troops watching are wearing their steel helmets,others have cloth kepis. The poilu in front has a softcloth, fatigue caP.Imperial War Museum.

*a

110

Gas Masks

Leff: German Model 1917 with an oiled leatherface-piece together with its carrying tin.

RtErhr: British Model 1917 Small Box Respirator.There was a special valve fitted so that air breathedout could escape. The respirator was carried in akhaki case which was fastened on the chest.

ldentity DiscsEach soldierwas issued with some form of papers orpaybook as well as an identity disc, which he wassupposed to wear at all times. These discs were

111

stamped with his name, number and unit.On the left is the British and on the right the

German. lf the soldier was killed one disc, or part inthe case of the German one, was removed and theother left on the bodv so that it could be identified.

112

Steel Helmet

This very strange-looklng helmet was designed bythe Germans fo-r use by snipers. lt has two very tinystits and the side is cut away so that the sniper couldtuck the rifle butt against his cheek whilst aimtng'The helmet would protect the sniper whilst he wastaking his shot.lmperial War Museum.

German HelmetA news photograph showing the reinforcing platefitted to the German steel helmet. It was nJrmallyworn with the trench armour shown on page 112.

114

Armour

German body armour worn by machine-gunners orsnipers who were unable to find cover. The armourwas worn together with a steel helmet with a strongplate fixed to the front. The armour was heavy butstrong enough to stop a bullet. The ltalians alsoissued some of their troops with bullet-proofarmour.

German ArmourA German in body armour but without the heavyplate to reinforce the helmet. The lower plates wereriveted to leather straps so that the wearer couldmove easily. The soldier is wearing the 1910 patternjacket with the buttons on the sleeve. ln 1915 thesewere left off the simpler style of tunic in order to savetime and materials in manufacture.Imperial War Museum.

116

Maxim Machine-gunThe breech of a German Maxim machine-gun madein 1910 but used throughout the war. The trigger isthe bar just in front of the wooden grip. On top of tfrebreech is the rear sight and on the left is the scale foradjusting one of the springs.

Maxim Ogl 15 Machine-gunLooking down on the top of the breech of a Maxim08/15 machine-gun. ltwas made in 1917 bythefirmof Siemens and Halske of Berlin.

118

Maxim 08 Machine-gunThe commonest German machine-gun was theMaxim 08 which was almost the same as the BritishVickers. The cartridges were fed in from a long can-vas belt which held 250 rounds and which could bejoined on to other belts to keep up a steady fire at a

rate of around 600 rounds a minute. lt was a heavyweapon

- weighing about 75-80 pounds (33-aO kg)

and was water-cooled -

the jacket held about 7quarts (8 litres) of water. Russia also used the samegun and it could be mounted on a tripod, sledge orwheeled carriage. lt was designed by an American,Hiram Maxim, working in Britain.

Maxim MG08/15 Machine-gun

Another form of the Maxim machine-gun, theMG08i 15, which means that it is the 1908 modelattered in 1915. lt first came into action in 1916. ltwas lighter than the 08 and was fitted with a butt

119

and, although it is not shown here, a pistol butt gripunderneath the breech. lt could be fitted with adrum-shaped magazine to hold a 100-round belt sothat it could be moved about very easily. ln '1 918another model of this machine-gun was producedand it used air instead of water to cool the barrel

120Maxim Model 1908 Machine-gunGerman Maxim Model 1908 machine-gun on the1908 sled. The stand was so called because it wasdesigned so that it could be dragged over the

ground. The canvas belt which held the cartridoescan be seen and the tubing which carried the wJterto cool the barrel. The gun is fitted with an opticalsight.lmperial War Museum.

Bergmann MP 18, 1 Submachine-gun

Bergmann MP 18, 1 -

a German submachine-gunfirst issued to machine-gun squads in 1918. lt fired a9 mm bullet at a rate of about 350-450 rounds aminute. The cartridges were held in a round

121

magazine which slotted into the channel at the sideof the barrel. The barrel is covered with a metal tubecut with a large number of holes to make sure thatthe air could flow round to keep the barrel as cool aspossible.

122

Schwarzlose Machine-gunAustrian Schwarzlose machine-gun on its tripod. lthad a rather unusualtwo-handed grip. lt fired a bulletof .315 diameter in belts of 250 rounds and had auseful range of more than 1500 yards (1350 m).lmperial War Museum.

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Trench Defences

These two Canadian soldiers are standing by twoboards captured from Germans during a battle inFlanders in 1917. The boards are covered with cal-trops which were three-spiked devices used duringthe Middle Ages. They were scattered on the groundin front of an army to keep off cavalry. Here theGermans had fastened them to boards which couldbe put into position at any point in or near thetrenches where there might be an attack

124

MortarThe rifle and machine-gun fired small bullets andartillery fired large shells but there was often a needfor a missile somewhere between the two. Theanswer was a mortar which was a very simple gun,light and easy to move, but one which could throwsmall shells over a short range. This is the Germanminenwerfer which could be mounted on a platformor on a wheeled carriage. lt fired a shell 75.85 mmwide and this model had a maximum range of about1400 yards (1280 m). When mounted on its wheelsits range was shorter, only about 950 yards (869 m),but it could be pulled along by a team of four men. ltwas fired by pulling the cord at the base.

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Gerrnan Fort

The effect of heavy shell fire was to destroy theground and all growth. This German fort on the

125Menin Road tn 1911 stands surrounded by thestumps of dead trees and churned-up ground

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126German Defences

Concrete German blockhouse of 1917 . Despitebeing bombarded by the Allies, these well-built'pill

boxes' suffered very little damage. Often the onlyway to capture them was to use hand grenades orf lame-throwers.

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Af rica 10, 12, 22. 35. 36. ajAlpine troops j4Arisaka rifle 73armo.ur 30, 82,93, 1i3, 114,Artists Rifles Reqiment 57Australia 11. 34-. 39. 40Austrja-Hungary 6, g. 9. 1 1

12, 15,4{, ga, rc0, niBaden Reoiment b8badges 34, 40, 42. 4s. s7

58bandoliers 30, 32barbed wire 16. 90.91Bavaria 62bayonets 15, 20,36, 31. EO.51,65,86, 103. 104Belgium 6, 8, 9, jO. 11. 43.

btbelts

French 5'1uerman 6t)Sam Browne 40, 44. 46.47

Bergmann submachine-oun121

bersaglieri 14Berthier carbine 98binoculars 44. 61

Black Hand Gano 6Black Watch Rediment arbreastplates 3d'. 1 15British^_cavalry j1, 40, b4,

57, 69Britjsh ExpeditionaTV Force

13,44Brilish.troops 6, B, g, 41, 44,45,48,49,53, 57. 67 80tsrowning Automatic Rifie 75Brownlngmachine-qun 15tsulgaria 6, 1 i. 68 -

Caltrop 123Canada 12,73, 123caps 28, 53, 55carbines 21, 32, 56. 69. 98

100cartridges 47.101cavalry 11,12, 18, 30, 32. 54Central Powers 6Chauchot machine-qun 1 5

zoCheshire Reqiment 45chlorine oas - 6City of L6ndon Cvcjists E7Colt pistol 96Cossacks 1 8cyclists 48. 57

daggers 18,27Daimler lorry 94Deccan Horse 33doughboy 37,75Dragoon Guards

sth 67King's 57

, Royal lrish

_67-oug-ouls 9, 4 /, 6/Eastern Front 64East Surrev Reqiment 53Enfietd riftei (USA) 71entrenching tools 38feldmutze 17, 61, 66fez 12,35flame-throwers 16forts 125,126France 6, 8,9, 10, 11, 12,

13, 15, 25, 26, 27,28,29.30, 32, 39, 42,51, 60,81.98,99, 105, 106, 109

Francis Ferdinand, Archduke6

Gallipoli 11gas alarms 92, 93gas fan 87gas masks see respirators

gas, porson 6, 7, 92Ue_rlnaly 6, 8, 9. t0 t . 2,\?, 1^5! 22! 53, 59, 6/. 6b,66, 87, 98, 99, 'Oc, '06,197., 119, 111, lt2, ii3,114,115,116,117.121124, 125, 126

Ghurkas 34Glisenti revolver 96grenades 16,70, BO, 107grenade crossbow 1 OBGuards Training Battalion 4bHackney Regiment 57Hampshire Reqiment 45helmets 63. 67Highland Lisht Infantrv aaHodson's Horse 32Hungary 6

identirydiscs 111lndia 10, 13. 32. 33lndo-China 25lron Cross b9. 60lraly 6, 8, 14, 23. 24. 96

100,114

Japan 6. 73Jutland, Battle of 1 1

128kepi 28King's African Rifles 36lancers 30, 32, 33, 56, 57,

67, 69Lebel revolver 97Lebel rifle 29, 99, 103Lee Enfield rifle see SMLELeningrad 10Lewis gun 16,22,74Lews, lsaac 74Lothian & Border Regiment

45Loyal North Lancashire Regi-

ment 57Luger pistol 97Lusitania 8

machin+.guns 9, 11, 13, 15,16,27,26, 40, 64,74, 116,117. 118, 119, 120, 121,122

Machine.Gun Corps 40Manchester Regiment 57Mannlicher carbine 100Mannlicher rifle 100Mame, Battle of 9Martini rifles 36Mauser carbine 98Mauser rifles 14, 59, 98, 103Maxim gun 9, 15, 64, 76,

Tt.7a.116, 117, 118, 119,':20

medals 31, 39, 42, 43, 44,59. 60

\,lioCle East 10\rroclesex Regiment 57-.etwerter 124

Mons, Battle of 9lvlontenegro 6Morocco 31morlar 64, 124Mosin-Nagant ritle 17, 20,Motor Machine-Gun Corps

45mustard gas '16navies 8, 19, 42Nepal 34Netherlands 1 1New Zealand 38Nicholas ll. Tsar 8, 10'Old Contemptibles, The' 9Palestine 32Paris 9periscope 34, 88Petrograd 10P.14 rifle 71pickelhaube 12, 14, 15, 58,

61, 62, 67pistols 15,96,97poilu 29, 109Portugal 6. 22, 81Prussian Foot Guards 58, 67P.17 rille 71pufiees 14,22, 41Remounts Service 57respirators 16, 27, 38, 54,

84,85, A7,92, 110revolvers 15, 27, 44, 47, 96,

97Rifle Brigade 49

rifles 14, 15, 17,20,23,29,36, 38, 48, 49, 50, 59, t0,11,72,73,80, 86, 88, 91,98, 99, 103

Ross rifle 73Royal Dublin Fusiliers 45Royal Engineers 80Royal lrish Lancers 57Russia 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 17,

72,73, t7, B7

sailors 19, 42Sam Browne belt see beltsSarajevo 6Schlieffen Plan ISchwarzlose machine-gun

122Scottish troops 13, 41searchlight 89Serbia 6,19,20,21,43shashqua 1 8signal pistols 95ski troops 64SN/LE (Short Magazine Lee

Enfield rif le) 38, 49, 50,70, 13. 80, 86, 91, 99, 103

snipers 1 12snow boots 52Sokolov mount ifor machine-gunl 77Somme, Battle of 87South Africa 38Springfield rifle 71steel helmets 2, 15, 23, 33,

31, 44, 59, 81, 86, 106,112,113

Steyr pistol 96Stokes mortar 79

submachine-gun, Bergmann121

swords 15, 18, 21, 40, 47,56,59,69, 105

Syria 32tank 16.82Tank Corps 57tank masks 82tirailleurs 31trenches 9, 11, 15, 27, 33,

52, 87, 88, 91, 102, 109,123

trench knives 1 02trench weapons 78Tschapka 67turban 33Turkey 6, 8,10,11,14, 15Tyneside Scottlsh Reg j ment

45

U-Boats 8, 1 1uniforms 1 1-1 5UnitedStatesof America 6, 8,

14, 15,26,3f , 42, t 1 ,73, t5,96, 104

Verdun, Battle of 89Vickers machine-gun 76Vimy Ridge, Battle of 12webbing 50, 86Webley revolver 97Welsh Horse Regiment 45Western Front 10, 78, 89Wilhelm ll of Germany 6, 9,

63Women's Auxiliary Force 46