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Pioneer battalions, created as an expedient in 1914, were a new concept in the British Army. Intended to provide the Royal Engineers, with skilled labour and to relieve the infantry from some of its non-combatant duties, Pioneers became the work horses of
The Pioneer Infantry Regiments are usually mentioned in passing, or in the footnotes of history. The Pioneer Infantry were similar to regular army troops in that they were trained in infantry tactics, but they were also trained in combat engineering. This book contains material common to all the Pioneer Infantry Regiments. For each Pioneer Infantry Regiment, there are origins, important dates, and training locations. Sailing dates and ship names are given for those regiments that served overseas. Battle participation is included for those regiments that saw combat. When available, other material about each regiment has been included. Additional sources are listed for each regiment, as is material relevant to all of the regiments. "They did everything the Infantry was too proud to do, and the Engineers too lazy to do."
Unit history of the 2nd Pioneer Battalion AIF in World War 1. The history covers the formation of the battalion in Egypt in 1916 and its service on the Western Front. Anzac Pioneers chronicles the relatively unknown work of the pioneers on the Western Front, who worked in support of the infantry battalions. Eye-witness reports from contemporary diaries, letters, reports and journals of 2nd Pioneer Battalion men bring the history to life. Many of the photographs, journals and diaries are from private sources across Australia and therefore never published. The volume includes daily descriptions of life and death on the Western Front amidst battles such as Pozieres, Bullecourt, Menin Road, Amiens and Mont St Quentin. Detailed appendices include Nominal Roll, Honour Roll, Awards and Nominal Index.
This book addresses the potentially deadly challenge of getting across No Man's Land in good shape to fight at the other side. It explores the development of the British Army's infantry battle tactics during the Great War using the largest infantry regiment, the Northumberland Fusiliers, as a case study. Principles and, in particular, practice are covered. The study demonstrates the transformation of the British Army from an essentially Victorian army to a recognizably modern army; adapting tactics to the circumstances and saving lives in teh process. A novel research approach is used; comparing Army doctrine with the reality at battalion level which yields a unique insight into experience and learning on the Western Front. Two hundred and eleven attacks and 75 raids are identified through a census of all 28 of the Regiment's battalion war diaries covering 25,876 diary days. The analysis is set in the overall context of the War taking in the full sweep, from beginning to end, and also gives some small insight into the so called sideshows. A byproduct of the research approach has been a detailed activity analysis, the 'doings', summarizing what each Northumberland Fusiliers' battalion was engaged in every day and for the Regiment in aggregate. This is a secondary but no less valuable theme of the study, which also yields good material on infantry training. Furthermore, when activities are known on a daily basis, it is possible to correlate attacks with fatalities and to attempt to discover relationships between the two.
Surviving the Great War is the first detailed analysis of Australians in German captivity in WW1. By placing the hardships of prisoners of war in a broader social and military content, this book adds a new dimension to the national wartime experience and challenges popular representations of Australia's involvement in the First World War.
Arguably the finest regimental history even written. A magnificent publication it is with its profusion of maps, illustrations and photos - each page of photos contains several. The Worcesters was one of the five regiments that had four regular battalions before the war, with two special reserve and two territorial battalions. By the end of the war another fourteen battalions had been raised for a total of twenty-two of which twelve went on active service. 9,460 officers and men gave their lives, 71 Battle Honours were awarded and eight VCs one of whom, attached to the RFC, was the airman Leefe Robinson, famous for shooting down a zeppelin. Battalions served on the Western Front, in Gallipoli, Macedonia, Mesopotamia, Italy; one battalion ended the war in North Persia. Appendices provide the Roll of Honour; Honours and Awards including Mention in Despatches, with date of Gazette (for 'Companion' of the British Empire read 'Commander'); details of Badges, Colours and Distinctions of the regiment; and the music for regimental marches. Illustrations are by well-known artists depicting battle scenes including each VC-winning action - apart from Leefe's zeppelin. After considering various factors, explained in his very informative preface, the author decided to present this history as one general story in which the number of the battalion concerned is printed in the margin of the pages dealing with its deeds. Attention is paid to minor actions such as trench raids, which usually find no place in compressed official histories; they are recorded in this history. The plans illustrate the engagements recorded in the book, and are designed to depict the part played by the several battalions in their battles and to enable the visitor to the battlefields to recognise the ground on which each fight took place, as much as to make clear the general course of those actions. The book opens with a very interesting account of the regiment in the years before the war, beginning at the turn of the century, and there is a very comprehensive index of 25 pages. This is a great piece of work and must rank as one of the finest of the Great War regimental histories, many would say the finest, and I wouldn't argue.
The true nature and functions of a pioneer battalion were never fully understood during the war either by military or laymen. Pioneers pioneers, mused a red-hatted Staff Captain to me the other day. Sort of labor battalion, arent you? We sure are! I agreed. These words, written by Captain R. Ede England, who served with 12th King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry during the whole of the Great War, are as true today as they were when he wrote the original history of the battalion in the early 1920s. Little is known, or understood, of the contribution made by the many thousands of men who served with the original Pioneer battalions. Building and repairing roads, bridges, railway lines, gun emplacements, and laying barbed wire to protect the Front Line, were just some of the tasks that they performed on a regular basis. Fortunately, the subject of the British Armys logistical support in the war zone during the new industrialized warfare that developed between 1914 and 1918 is now being examined in greater detail. Miners Battalion, A History of the 12th (Pioneers) Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry 1914-1918 follows the battalion throughout the war and shows how the men, mainly Yorkshire miners, applied their civilian skills to the purposes of war. It also reveals that in 1918, when forced to fight as infantrymen, the battalion performed with distinction, gaining the nickname, 'the Yorkshire Guards'.
Twice in the 20th century, a British Expeditionary Force has taken the field in Northern France to fight beside the French Army. Twice, the Expeditionary Force has survived threat of complete destruction. But the differences between the Retreat to Dunkirk in 1940 and the first encounter with the enemy at Mons in 1914 are significant.