Field Company

[BillyH]

Good morning,

Sorry to be a bit dim, but not being of a military background could someone tell me in very basic terms what were the main functions of a Field Company.

I am particularly interested in the 57th Cheshire Field Company, but just an insight on a Field Companies normal duties in the Great War would be great.

(I have consulted the Long Long Trail but didn't really get the answer I wanted)

Best wishes to all forum members for a nice Christmas.

BillyH

[Ron Clifton]

Hello BillyH

Field Companies (about 250 of all ranks) were the "sharpest end" of the RE's activities. There were originally two in each division, increased to three shortly after the war began. Apart from the divisional signal company, there were no other RE units as an integral part of a division.

Their duties were to arrange for basic field defence works (though the bulk of the work was carried out by the infantry under RE supervision), demolition of bridges, building crossings over the less wide waterways, and the supervision within their division of such RE matters as anti-gas precautions.

They often operated under enemy fire, and at some points in the war such as the German 1918 spring offensives, they could discard the shovel, pick up the rifle and give a good account of themselves. The equivalent American phrase "combat engineers" emphasises their role in intimate connection with the fighting.

Ron

[sw63]

Hi BillH,

have you tried here:

http://www.1914-1918.net/whatfieldcoy.htm http://www.1914-1918.net/re.htm

and here:

http://www.reubique.com/57fc.htm

Simon

[stevem49]

Hello BillyH

. The equivalent American phrase "combat engineers" emphasises their role in intimate connection with the fighting.

Ron

Or even the British phrase 'Combat Engineers' .

[centurion]

A good example of the sort of thing they could do was before the Battle of Amiens when field companies built under water bridges across a number of waterways. These were bridges where the roadway was about a foot or so below the surface, making them difficult for enemy recce aircraft to spot. These concealed bridges allowed tanks to move up to their jumping off points the night before the attack began and achieve surprise.

[Terry_Reeves]

They were known as Irish bridges.

TR

[Ron Clifton]

Or even the British phrase 'Combat Engineers' .

Steve, I've never come across the use of that phrase in relation to the British Army in the Great War, and would welcome any references.

The RE would probably argue that there were, and are, no non-combat engineers!

Ron