Some basic questions regarding trenches

[Bow123]

Hello,

could anyone please help answer the following questions:

a)How many men in a Division would acually be in the front line trench (as opposed to the Reserve trenches).Would they be mainly infantry.If so where would the other members of the Division be located i.e Royal engineers.

b)How long a length of front would these troops within the division actually occupy (yards/ miles etc)

c)How far back were the Reserve trenches and how much safer were these?

d)Given that the british occupied on average about 87 miles of front between 1916 and 1918 and that there were approximately 50 Divisons in France and Flanders does this mean that a Division would on average occupy approximately 1.5 miles?

e) What would be atypicl density of men over the length of front occupied by the division (i.e per yard)

Thanks for any help on any of the above

[dycer]

From a War Diary.

1st March 1915-Took over from 13th County of London Regiment section of trenches at Picantin known as F5 & 6.Occupied these trenches with B & D Companies,numbering 330.A & C Coys. occupied Reserve Billets about three quarters of mile in the rear.

2nd March 1915-Engaged in erecting additional wire along front of subsection and generally improving parapet.

3rd March 1915-2 Platoons of B. Coy moved into support Billet in farm opposite Battalion H.Q.

4th March 1915-This night and on the 4th? wiring and other urgent work carried out throughout the subsection.

5th March 1915-Two Companies in trenches relieved tonight by A & C Coys. platoons in support being relieved by 2 of "C" Coy.Large working party supplied at night for working in adjoining subsection under R.E.

6th March 1915-After visit from B.G.C.? redistribution of Battalion was made as follows:250 men in trenches 150 in Support Farm Billets.Various operations in communications and on portion of front line.Canadian Battalion and left of our line not at present held were undertaken on direction of B.G.C. also long traverses in rear of firing line to prevent enfilade fire.

The above is as clear as the mud they lived in but hopefully one of the studious,on the Forum,will give a 21st Century opinion,on a normal stint in or near the front line.

George

[geraint]

I've always been under the impression that the average manning levels were basically a man per yard.

Infantry Pioneer Battalions were placed according to the immediate work involved. If they were attacking or mopping up, they were in front and second line trenches. If they were involved in consolidation work, ie road, tram and light railway work, artillery location work etc - either immediately prior to; or immediately after a 'push' or large attack - they were in Pioneer Camps located between the second line and the reserve.

[centurion]

I think the normal rotation was, one third in the front line fighting trench, one third in the support trench and one third just behind the line where the communication trenches started.

[Ron Clifton]

Hello Bow

As the late Prof C E M Joad used to say, "It all depends what you mean by ..."

When a division was attacking, or resisting a German attack, the normal frontage of a division was about one mile. This equates to a density deployed in depth of about ten men to the mile, but of course this included supply and medical units which were normally stationed well back from the actual front-line trenches, and the artillery which were also behind, but closer to the front line. Engineer field companies and divisional pioneer battalions (trained infantry but usually employed on engineer-type tasks) would also be stationed behind, but fairly close to, the front lines, depending on the type of work they were currently undertaking.

A division would normally have two brigades in front and one in support or reserve; a brigade normally had two battalions in front, one in support and one in reserve. The front-line troops attacked in up to ten successive waves: there is a diagram illustrating this in Martin Middlebrook's book The First Day of the Somme.

When a division was simply holding the line, and no attack by either side was expected, a divisional frontage would be between two and three miles. Fifth Army in spring 1918 had twelve divisions for a 42-mile front.

When in defence, up to the end of 1917, an infantry battalion normally had two companies at a time rotating between the first and second-line trenches, usually swapping every two or three days, a third company in relatively close support and the fourth company in reserve, getting as much rest as they could. Battalion frontages would be about 440 yards or so, giving the density of about one man per yard for the first two lines. Companies would be swapped around between forward and reserve positions about every two weeks or so, depending on various local circumstances.

By early 1918 the principle of defence in depth had been adopted with Forward, Battle and Rear Zones. The bulk of the infantry, about six battalions out of the nine in the reduced establishments, would be held in the Battle Zone, with small detachments holding the Forward Zone on a trip-wire basis. Two battalions would hold the rear zone, with the final battalion in reserve behind that. Middlebrook's other book, The Kaiser's Battle, has a diagram illustrating this.

Try to find a copy of Paddy Griffiths' book Battle Tactics on the Western Front which will give you more detail.

There were also various training pamphlets on the role of the division in attack and defence, some of which have been reprinted in facsimile, which set out the "official doctrines" current at the various times of issue.

Ron

[truthergw]

As a very rough rule of thumb, a battalion would field about 600 bayonets. With four battalions to a brigade and three brigades to a division, twelve battalions so 7200 bayonets. That is the full establishment at the start of the war. That would never happen. Men on leave, sick, wounded, in jail, on courses or lent to other divisions and so on. You are free to make your own notional adjustment for prevailing circumstances. For instance, are we looking at last day of June, 1916 or second day of July? Establishments changed in 1918.

[tootrock]

Ron,

Should that be ten men to the yard in the second line of the second paragraph. Very thinly distributed otherwise!

Martin

[centurion]

Ron,

Should that be ten men to the yard in the second line of the second paragraph.

Standing one behind the other?

[tootrock]

They were deployed in depth. One man per yard is 1,760 per mile. How many men in a division?

Martin

[centurion]

They were deployed in depth. One man per yard is 1,760 per mile. How many men in a division?

Martin

But if as you suggest everyone in the front line had nine more behind him it must have been awfully crowded unless in depth went a very long way back

[tootrock]

From post #5

but of course this included supply and medical units which were normally stationed well back from the actual front-line trenches,

Perhaps clarification from Ron would be useful.

Martin

[truthergw]

They were deployed in depth. One man per yard is 1,760 per mile. How many men in a division?

Martin

See post #6

[Ron Clifton]

Ron,

Should that be ten men to the yard in the second line of the second paragraph. Very thinly distributed otherwise!

Martin

Oops! Yes, ten to the yard, but not all in the trenches. A division at full establishment was about 18,000 men in 1914, rising to nearly 20,000 before the reductions of Feb 1918 which reduced the establishment to about 16,000.

An infantry battalion of around 1000 all ranks would actually have had about 950 rifles and bayonets at full strength in 1914. With the developmenmt of specialist sections within platoons in 1917 this figure would have dropped to nearer the 600 mentioned by truthergw.

It would probably be better to say that it took ten men of a division to hold each yard of line, rather than to man each yard of trench. These ten included field artillery, engineers and all the immediate support services.

Ron