![]() In September 1916, as the Battle of the Somme continued nearby, the Guards Division attacked at Ginchy. It was becoming clear that the war was going to be a long and costly one, with weapons such as the machine gun, artillery and gas changing the way battles needed to be fought. Marching uphill into heavy fire the Guards discipline and courage saw them take Hill 70 but such tactics against modern weapons took a heavy toll. Later in the year the Guards formed their own Guards Division, which went into battle at Loos. In 1915, with the nation fully involved in the war but with Wales lacking a Guards Regiment, the King requested that a Welsh Guards Regiment be formed. The allies stopped the German advance into France but the war settled into trench warfare with the two sides facing each other across fortified defence lines. ![]() Early battles devastated the small British army and large numbers of recruits were sought to man expanding Guards Regiments. At the First Battle of Ypres in late 1914 three Guards Brigades helped stop the German advance but took heavy casualties. Britain entered the First World War with experience from the Boer War and was better prepared than many other nations.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |