WW1 Military Motors - 1916 set x 50 cards

[Lancashire Fusilier]

The Army's horses often accompanied their riders into action, and were exposed to the same perils as the troops. Here we see a group of horses which had been ' gassed ' receiving medical treatment at the Army Veterinary Corp's Veterinary Hospital at Abbeville, which was located on the east bank of the Somme River in the Picardy Region of Northern France.

LF

IWM This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

[patrick Eggs]

Hello LF. A good selection of horse transport and as you have mentioned they were in the thick of it with the men and we must remember our one horse power friends, not military motors ,but a few of them in action.

Wooden sleighs, used for the transportation of wounded over muddy ground, at Le Sars in October 1916.

Ref IWM:Q1495/attached images,under the terms of the IWM Non Commercial Licence.

Crimson Rambler

[patrick Eggs]

More one horse power at work.

Pack horses struggling through mud and water water near Thiepval to take 18-pounder shells up to forward battery positions during the fighting on the Ancre, november 1916.

Ref.IWM :Q65389 Attached images, under under terms of the IWM. Non Commercial Licence,

Crimson Rambler.

[patrick Eggs]

This is a clearer shot of the pack horses showing the shells, carried in cylindrical baskets slung from the saddle of each horse.

Ref. IWM :Q1468 /Attached images under the terms of the IWM Non Commercial Licence

Crimson Rambler.

[Lancashire Fusilier]

In addition to motor Horse Ambulances, the Army Veterinary Corps also used specially designed horse-drawn Horse Ambulance wagons. The attached photograph is of a horse-drawn Horse Ambulance donated by the R.S.P.C.A., in use at the railway siding at the No.13 Veterinary Hospital in Neufchatel, the photo is dated 4th May, 1916.

LF

IWM This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

[Lancashire Fusilier]

we must remember our one horse power friends

I agree, horses were a critical part of the Army's transport system particularly in the early part of WW1, and tremendous efforts were made especially by the Army Veterinary Corps to ensure the proper care, health and safety of the Army's horses.

As we can see from the attached A.S.C. ( Army Service Corps - Remount Branch ) recruitment poster, men with experience of working with horses were specifically sought out to work with horse-drawn transports.

LF

IWM This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

[Lancashire Fusilier]

A interesting example of the lengths the Army went to in order to ensure the safety of their horses, this photo shows a sergeant reading a notice pinned to a tree near Trones Wood, Somme, December 1916. The sign reads :

'KINDNESS TO ANIMALS. 500 HORSES are LAMED weekly BY NAILS dropped on roads & horse lines by COOKERS carrying firewood with nails left in. PLEASE remove NAILS'

LF

IWM This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

[Lancashire Fusilier]

A graphic depiction of an Army Veterinary Corp's Horse Ambulance Unit collecting wounded horses from a snow covered battlefield area, the vehicle shown in the painting is an R.S.P.C.A. ( Royal Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals ) donated ' Commer Car ' Horse Ambulance.

LF

IWM This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

[Lancashire Fusilier]

Although probably not the most costly cavalry action of WW1 in terms of men and horses, nevertheless a deadly encounter for both, this photograph shows Lancers from The 20th Deccan Horse, part of the 2nd Indian Cavalry Division, in Carnoy Valley shortly before their unsuccessful attack at High Wood on the evening of 14 July.

Together with the 7th Dragoon Guards, they suffered 102 casualties and lost 130 horses.

Also, note the unusual lance design.

IWMQ824 This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

[Lancashire Fusilier]

The South Irish Horse in action during WW1.

LF

This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

[Lancashire Fusilier]

Another graphic illustration of a British cavalry charge against German troops during WW1.

LF

This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

[johnboy]

I hope the train was stationary.

[Lancashire Fusilier]

I hope the train was stationary.

I have been trying to identify this particular cavalry action, which looks to be an attack on the German train or a railway depot.

Perhaps someone knows the details, who, where and when ?

Regards,

LF

[Lancashire Fusilier]

I have been trying to identify this particular cavalry action, which looks to be an attack on the German train or a railway depot.

I now understand that this painting is/was hanging in the Officer's Mess of the 5th Dragoons Guards, and depicts one of the last cavalry charges of WW1, when on 8th August, 1918 the 5th Dragoon Guards successfully charged a German Supply Train near Harbonniers, capturing the railway train, 2 field guns, 1 howitzer, 2 anti-aircraft guns, 20 officers, 740 other ranks, 50 horses, and 5 transport wagons, as well as killing many of the Germans who were on the train.

The 5th Dragoon's casualties were 1 officer killed, 1 wounded, 6 other ranks killed, 42 wounded, and 8 missing.

For bravery during this action, numerous awards were made, including 1 bar to the D.S.O., 1 D.S.O., 5 M.C.s, 5 D.C.M.s, and 17 M.M.s.

LF

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[Lancashire Fusilier]

From the Imperial War Museum's Model Collection, this is a nice scale model of an Army lorry which had been converted in the field into a Horse Ambulance. What is of particular interest is the ' Disruptive ' camouflage paint scheme used, the colours of which are obviously not seen in the usual WW1 period black and white photos.

LF

IWM1145 This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

[Lancashire Fusilier]

Whilst the camouflage painting of British ships and aircraft during WW1 was not uncommon and numerous photographic examples of both exist, the camouflage painting of British vehicles was uncommon, and as a result, very few photographic examples exist.

Of the British camouflage painted vehicle photographs, tanks are the most often seen, followed by some Armoured Cars, mainly the Rolls Royce, with the least often seen being camouflage painted British trucks and lorries.

Attached is a rare photograph of a convoy of camouflage painted 13 pounder Anti-Aircraft guns mounted on Thornycroft lorries. The camouflage colours on the guns and the Thornycroft lorries, are probably the same or similar to those shown in post # 1814.

LF

IWM This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

[BSM]

Thread trundling along very nicely I see. Attached is an image that you asked about some time back LF. A group of ASC, Mors box cars with their quite distinctive bonnet shape.

Regards.... Rod

[Lancashire Fusilier]

A group of ASC, Mors box cars with their quite distinctive bonnet shape.

Regards.... Rod

Rod,

Many thanks for that excellent ' Mors ' photo, which I had not seen before, and it also answers Johnboy's question from back on March 22, regarding the vehicles shown in a convoy, see attached.

Regards,

LF

[Lancashire Fusilier]

An excellent example of the ' Disruptive ' camouflage paint scheme used on a Rolls Royce Armoured Car, which had been abandoned after becoming stuck in a shell-hole on the Arras - Tilloy Road.

Tilloy-les-Mofflaines was a small village S.E. of Arras, on the south side of the main road to Cambrai in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of Northern France.

LF

IWM This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

[Lancashire Fusilier]

Australian troops from the 4th Field Coy. Engineers manhandling a camouflage painted dummy Mk.1 tank ( E.3 ' Never Dyer ' ) into position near the village of Le Catelet close to Bellicourt, which was the scene of heavy fighting around the Aisne / Saint-Quentin battlefields in the Picardy region of Northern France.

The cemetery at Le Catelet is also the location of the graves of 5 British soldiers captured and then shot by the Germans as spies -

R. Digby - Hampshire Regiment - shot 30th May, 1916. P Russell - Royal Munster Fusiliers - shot 4th October, 1918. W. Thorpe - King's Own ( Royal Lancaster Regiment ) shot 27th May, 1916. T. Donohoe - Royal Irish Fusiliers - shot 27th May, 1916. D. Martin - Royal Irish Fusiliers - shot 27th May, 1916.

None of the 5 captured and shot British soldiers were in fact spies.

LF

IWM These images are reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

[Lancashire Fusilier]

The graves in the cemetery at Le Catelet of the 5 British soldiers shot as spies by the Germans.

R. Digby - Hampshire Regiment - shot 30th May, 1916. P Russell - Royal Munster Fusiliers - shot 4th October, 1918. T. Donohoe - Royal Irish Fusiliers - shot 27th May, 1916. W. Thorpe - King's Own ( Royal Lancaster Regiment ) shot 27th May, 1916. D. Martin - Royal Irish Fusiliers - shot 27th May, 1916.

LF

These images are reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

[Lancashire Fusilier]

In this photograph of an A.S.C. Breakdown Lorry, the lorry is fitted with a seldom seen camouflaged tarpaulin, the patterns on which are different to the typical ' Disruptive ' camouflage patterns usually seen.

Also note, the unusual way 3 sets of pick-axes and spades have been fitted to the side of the lorry.

LF

IWM These images are reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

[Lancashire Fusilier]

Another version of a camouflage paint scheme, rather than the ' Disruptive ' camouflage pattern, was the use of solid colours.

In the attached photograph of Lieutenant-Colonel E. J. Carter, Commanding Officer of the 17th ( Armoured Car ) Battalion, Tank Corps, Lt-Col. Carter is see standing with one of his Battalion's Austin Armoured Cars, Model 1918, which has been camouflage painted with the upper sections of the armoured car being painted sky blue, and the lower sections of the armoured car being painted khaki, this being done to make the armoured car less obvious when seen on the horizon, with the sky blue matching the sky and the khaki matching the ground.

Although the attached photograph is in black and white, the differing colours of the upper and lower sections of the armoured car are discernible.

Also attached, are a coloured postcard and a some artwork illustrating the solid colour camouflage paint scheme used in this photograph of the Austin Armoured Car.

LF

War Cars D. Fletcher. This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

[Lancashire Fusilier]

Attached is a coloured postcard and some artwork showing the use of solid colour camouflage, as seen on the Austin Armoured Car in post # 1822.

LF

These images are reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

[Gardenerbill]

Is there a thread on the forum that talks about battles where armoured cars were used and if so how successful they were?