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British Soldier, 1918

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Description

Mud! Yes, it's another First World War wallah, a Fusilier of the First Battalion, the Lancashire Fusiliers.

Of interest: Notes on how the bayonet was used by British Forces in the First World War: vasskholzovf.deviantart.com/ar…


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This soldier is representative of a typical tommy in the latter parts of 1918. By 1918, the British soldier on the Western Front had come a long way. The small, well trained proffessional army had been devastated in 1914; the home service and territorial battalions which were mobilised as quickly as possible were similarly hammered brutally in 1915. By 1916, Kitchener's famous army was ready for battle, and was therefore committed to the bloodiest battle of the war for Britain - the Somme.

For a myriad of reasons and no, not because of the stereotyped (and unfair if not outright wrong for many of them) view of British generals being incompetant useless nincompoops, the British Army experienced its bloodiest day in its history - 57,470 men became casualties on the first day, to speak nothing of the casualties incurred in a feint attack the night before to draw away German reinforcements, or the hundreds of thousands who would fall in the following months. Months later, the battle would peter out, final gains for Britain being something equivilent to 1 man for every half a yard of ground gained across the front. The battle had a devastating effect on British society, much like Verdun did for the French; but from the battle lessons were learnt and, through bitter experience, the British Army re-learnt its trade.

By 1918, troops went into battle in a vastly forward-thinking display of tactics. Troops advanced as quickly as they could under creeping barrages; tanks were utilised effectively in direct support of the troops. Troops deployed in skirmish formation and acted as self-contained units with gunners, bombers and riflemen supporting one another to outflank and destory German strong points. These troops did not walk slowly in line toward machine guns. The acted in a flexible manner working with cooperation aircraft of the RFC (later RAF) and Royal Armoured Corps. The displayed considerable understanding of combined arms warfare, which the British army would forget in the inter-war period, but which regretably, Germany wouldn't. Self-propelled guns, armoured supply vehicles and armoured personnel carriers, as well as workable 'armoured fist' tactics with the tanks available saw a modern and well trained army punch through the German lines at Amiens and begin the final '100 days campaign' where they would advance near continuously until the armistice. Many of the ideas, especially relating to armoured vehicles would end up being effectively 're-invented' as the army forgot what it had learnt, moving it from being arguably the most advanced army in the world at 1918 to a state of woeful unpreparedness in 1939 doctrinally (as well, of course, as financially).

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This Fusilier carries standard equipment of an infanteer and would have most likely been fighting to fend off a counter attack. He wears only 'Fighting Order' - weapon, webbing, water, gasmask. If he were advancing, he would likely have several grenades (often referred to as bombs), possibly a spade as well as the E-Tool carried on webbing, a large pack on his back, and possibly more equipment to help shore up captured positions ready to repel counter attacks. He wears a Small Box Respirator (SBR) gas mask, and wears the bag in the 'alert' position, rather than slung to one side. He carries a Short Magazine Lee Enfield with 1907 Pattern bayonet fixed. His mk.I steel helmet has the strap pulled over the rim - rather cheeky, standing orders would hold that he should have it under his chin, or around the back of his head. Or maybe he had to don the mask in a hurry.


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It's very difficult to draw him holding his weapon like that, getting the angles of it, especially the bayonet was very tricky. I think he looks ok really, he was draw out reasonably quickly. He's only LF because i referenced a model I made a while back which happened to be LF too. And because a lot of my work (and gen'ral interest) has been aimed at the distinctly southern Royal West Kent regiment, so I figured I should give some Northerners a bit of love too..

Drawn as ever on crappy paper with a crappy 6B.

Image size
1700x2340px 272.35 KB
Date Taken
Oct 8, 2012, 10:03:26 PM
© 2012 - 2024 VassKholzovf
Comments4
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Super6-4's avatar
Pretty good drawing, and excellent history lesson.