The Great War in Greyscale - 'The Old Contemptibles' 1914 British Infantry

The popular perception of the British army during the Great War is that of the conscripted, citizen-soldier; the resigned amateur-warrior who doggedly did his duty for King and Country. While this is largely true of the British war experience from 1915 to 1918 it is definitely not the case during the first year of the war.

Of all the armies that began hostilities in August 1914 the British Expeditionary Force was the most professional, the most battle hardened and the best equipped in the field. Whereas a significant portion of the men who made up the forces of Germany and France were unblooded reservists, the vast majority of the British regular army were 'Old Sweats' - veteran soldiers who had seen hard service in various colonial wars and were men who knew what it meant to be under fire. 

Nevertheless, the remorseless, high intensity combat experienced at Mons, Le Cateau, the Marne and First Ypres essentially destroyed the regular army. Battalions that began with nearly 1000 effectives were reduced to 300, 200 and some less than a hundred men by November 1914. 

The two pictures, above and below, provide grim testimony to the casualty rate amongst the BEF in the first few months of the war. The image above is the 1st Battalion of The Queen's Royal Regiment upon mobilization in August 1914, whereas the picture below shows the remnants of the battalion as they were reviewed on November 9th, only three months later. In fact of the 1000 men of the battalion who landed in France in 1914 only 17 were listed as alive by the Armistice.

Here are a few test models of 1914 British infantry that I've done in my greyscale effect to match up with the French, Belgian and Germans I've posted previously. These are 28mm figures from Great War Miniatures. These figures do require a bit of trimming and filing but are superb castings with great animation, character and crisp detail. Again, I've mounted the officers (and upcoming NCO's) on hexagonal bases to better differentiate them from the rankers on their round ones.  

Next up will be another famous vehicle from the Great War - but this one is celebrated because it was unarmed and unarmoured...