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Re: Re: Re: One wagon is not enough per battalion

Equipment,up to ww1
Battalion Transport consisted of 13 riding , and 43 draught and pack horses. The provided the power for drawing the six ammunition carts, two water carts, three General Service Wagons (for tools and machine guns), and the MO's Maltese Cart. The Signallers had 9 bicycles. (Note: the Divisional Train also provided four more two-horsed GS Wagons for each Battalion.



All ranks carried a rifle - which for the regular battalions (and after the early days when all sorts of older equipment was supplied to the Territorial and Service Battalions, all of these were eventually similarly equipped) was the Short Magazine Lee-Enfield (SMLE). The only exceptions were officers, Pipers, Drummers, Buglers and the five man in each Battalion who carried range-finding instruments. All those carrying a rifle, except the RSM and other Staff-Sergeants, were also armed with the sword-bayonet.



Other Battalion equipment, over and above that carried by the man, included 120 shovels, 73 pickaxes, 20 felling axes, 8 hand axes, 46 billhooks, 20 reaping hooks, a hand saw, 32 folding saws and 8 crowbars. There was also a plethora of minor stores and spares.



The Battalion also carried a certain amount of ammunition, although this was backed up by the echelons of Transport at Brigade, Divisional and Lines of Communication levels. When added together, the supply per rifle came to 550 rounds per man. The Battalion Transport carried 32 boxes of 1,000 rounds, and each man could carry up to 120 rounds. The machine guns were each supplied with a total of 41,500 rounds of which 3,500 was carried with the gun, and 8,000 in regimental reserve.

Re: Re: Re: Re: One wagon is not enough per battalion

"46 billhooks, 20 reaping hooks" What are they harvesting the fruit trees between battles?

Yes, photos would be great, I would love to see your oxcart converstions. It is a great model. Such an unusual set, the Mission Indians, and yet so versatle. I only have three or four but it is one of those sets I will be buying one here and one there for years. The plow has many possibilities too.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: One wagon is not enough per battalion

Mike ....sounds liek you never laid a conventional mine field. or put up tents for the officers in a nice place.or more relevancy gathered/foraged feed/hay for horses, considering the equinine mass involved.

Mind you at the price of gas ...we may see horse drawn wagons back in military armies launching drones chuckel