Tuesday March 5th, 1918
Work ditto. Never gives us rest. Raining again. Wet weather has set in.
Training for War
The Battalion Diary claims that the 13th is resting, cleaning and bathing. But poor Frank is being put to work of some description – the routine of the Army must go on!
Two days from now the whole Battalion is going to be involved in military and physical training. The programme will last from March 7th to 20th. Hopefully this will enthuse Frank and the rest of the Battalion.
At the beginning of the war, the period of training for new recruits in the New Army was six months. This was reduced to four months in 1915, because of manpower shortages at the front. Some of this basic training also proved to be inadequate, or even obsolete, for modern and trench warfare. One consequence of this was that the Army continued to train its troops throughout the war: both to hone skills and introduce new tactics with traditional weapons (e.g. rifles and the little used bayonets) and introduce newer ones (e.g. grenades, trench mortars and Newton bombs).
Physical fitness was also prized by the Army. Many of the drills and marching during training were designed to improve fitness of the recruits.
Unfortunately in Macedonia, illness was a constant drain on the well-being of the troops. Furthermore, any meaningful leave, particularly home leave, was out of the question for all but the Officers. Consequently every opportunity to keep the men fit and engaged, rather than sedentary and bored, when away from the front lines was seized upon. One result of this was the popularity of intra-battalion and intra-brigade sporting and military competitions. They became almost professional affairs as shown by this poster for a Divisional horse show and fair.
Luigi Villari, an Italian liaison officer with the various Allied Commands in the East during the war, wrote in rather glowing terms, ‘The British military authorities took special care of the well-being of the troops, which was particularly important in the case of the armies like the BSF operating at a great distance from home and deprived of all the amenities which made life on other fronts more tolerable. ….. Great importance was rightly attached to every form of sport. Wherever a British detachment was stationed, football and cricket fields and tennis courts were provided, and even the newly invented game of handball was introduced. Gymnastic competitions of all kinds, boxing matches, and horse races were organized. Horse-shows were held on large scale, …… how admirably the British kept their horses and mules, in spite of the enormous difficulties of supply and the terrible scarcity of forage…… At the horseshows there were competitions for troop horses, artillery and transport teams…..’
This praise seems rather gushing and is probably pandering to its English-reading audience. Regardless, respite and fun is around the corner for the Battalion and for Frank.
13th (Service) Battalion War Diary – 5th March 1918 – No 1 Sector, Olasli
Battalion resting, cleaning and bathing. The following OR are transferred to the Labour Corps as under, 1 from 1-1-18, 2 from 13-1-18, 1 from 191-18, 2 from 2-2-18, 1 from 12-2-18, 5 from 13-2-18, 2 from15-2-18, 3 from 20-1-18 and from 25-2-18. 1 OR invalided to England from Malta. Following OR invalided to England: WO Cablegram No 16784: 4 OR 12-2-18, 6 OR 19-2-18, 9 OR 20-2-18. 2 OR are struck off effective strength under GRO 1011 with effect from 5-3-18. Training Programme 14th to 16th (Appendix No II) issued.
References & Further Reading
* Horse Fair & Show Poster, copyright IWM
‘The Macedonian Campaign’ by Luigi Villari, first published in English in 1922 (page 76)