# What Happened to The British Army in 1914? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 14, 2011, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-british-army-in-1914/592694 "2011-08-14T16:51:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-british-army-in-1914/592694/21 "2011-08-16T21:17:06Z")
And the land campaign was such a brilliant success that it was preferable? ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-british-army-in-1914/592694/22 "2011-08-16T23:52:24Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > If you read the history, the British army was one of the best in the world in 1914. The NCOs and officers had learned a tremendous amount from the Boer War-they had learned how to fight against guerillas, and had the best snipers/sharpshooters in Europe. > Consequently, when the German Army encountered the British in 1914, the Germans were shocked-the British snipers shot up their advance so badly, that the Germans thought every man was firing a machine gun. Nitpick: it wasn’t snipers. The reason the British made such an impression on the Germans was the high standard of marksmanship training for _ordinary riflemen_. In other words, almost _everybody_ was a crack shot. That’s why it felt like machine guns to the Germans. > [@lisiate](#): > > The German Navy was designed from the start for such an aggressive showdown at sea in German homewaters. Tirpitz calculated that the outcome of such a showdown was so uncertain, and the Royal Navy’s other commitments were so extensive that the British Admiralty could not risk such an encounter. While _you_ are right, _Tirpitz_ was exactly wrong. It turned out that the _German_ navy was the one that shrank from risk of serious losses. The British may indeed not have been able to _afford_ a defeat, but they were willing to _risk_ one to keep the Germans bottled up and avoid loss of British naval reputation. > [@lisiate](#): > > Unlike Jutland you’ll also face dozens of German torpedo boats and a number of submarines so victory is far from assured (and defeat could be catastrophic) Well, The Brits were _supposed_ to encounter submarines and small auxiliary craft at Jutland too, it just didn’t work very well. > [@lisiate](#): > > While the German coast lacks such forbidding terrain it’s much easier for the Germans to transport forces to combat any landings than it was for the Turks. Okay, I’ll buy that German-run railroads would have worked MUCH better to deliver troop concentrations than an amphibious landing force. Remember this was before airpower could interdict effectively, too. > [@lisiate](#): > > The landings were sort of a success (although the Germans had the port back into operation within a few days) but the British suffered a _30% casualty rate_. On the other hand, 30% casualties seems tame by WWI standards. [This link](http://dnausers.d-n-a.net/dnetDkjs/figures.htm) says: > [@](#): > > On the Western Front there were five casualties to every nine men sent out That’s a 55.5% loss rate overall. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-british-army-in-1914/592694/23 "2011-08-17T02:17:30Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > And the land campaign was such a brilliant success that it was preferable? More to the point it was not only was the land campaign possible, whereas a landing on the German coast was impossible, but as soon as the BEF had landed the Empire was committed to fighting on the Western Front for the duration. [QUOTE=Sailboat] While you are right, Tirpitz was exactly wrong. It turned out that the German navy was the one that shrank from risk of serious losses. The British may indeed not have been able to afford a defeat, but they were willing to risk one to keep the Germans bottled up and avoid loss of British naval reputation. [/QUOTE] Indeed, although I think Tirpitz’s “Risk Theory” was intended to deter Britain from entering into a war with Germany in the first place, thus allowing Germany to prosecute a war in Europe free from British intervention on land, and perhaps more importantly, blockade at sea. But once Britain declared war the commanders of the High Seas Fleet realised that the numbers just wouldn’t work in their favour. Hence the various operations intended to lure a part of the British fleet into battle against the whole German fleet to whittle down their numbers. As for the torpedo boats - I don’t think they had the range to be a part of the Jutland plan, fair point about the submarines though. Finally in relation to relative casualty rates - the Zeebrugge raid was a proto-Commando raid - sweep in by surprise, blow stuff up and get out rather than a sustained assault on the German lines. I suspect that any attempt to land and hold ground would have casualty rates as high, if not higher than the figure you cite. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-british-army-in-1914/592694/24 "2011-08-17T03:58:58Z")
> [@Cicero](#): > > Plus, of course, it wasn’t the British alone fighting the Boers- amongst others there were South African and Australian contingents . Canadians as well. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-british-army-in-1914/592694.md?page=1)