Colonel Péchot and the animals of war

We know that Prosper Péchot was fond of horses. In his officer training, many hours were devoted to equestrianism; it is not just a romantic supposition, but he rode in the woods above Fontainebleau every day while he was at the school for artillery officers. Photos taken during his career show him habitually on a horse - it gave him gravitas.

He came out of retirement to serve his county during the First World War and saw many animals pressed into service, much to his regret. His Système Péchot was devised to save horses from being used for army transport - a locomotive hauled train of 4 bogie wagons could carry as much as 60 to 80 horse-drawn carts, keeping double that number of horses out of the battle-field. Unfortunately, his superiors didn't absorb the message until the War had started and then had hastily to commisson material, following this up with the field trials they ought to have performed years before.

Gallant horses pull a machine-gun under fire. But are they galloping forward or retreating? This painting by Georges Scott appeared in Illustration magazine on October 31st 1914. Shortly afterwards, it appeared in the German press, with the caption 'Headlong retreat!' Georges Scott/Illustration/Courtesy Malcolm Wright

During the Champagne offensive (summer-autumn 1915) the French Army was still poorly prepared in matters of transport. Colonel Plassiard, chief transport officer for the Champagne network, recalled some of the problems. Temporary track had been laid on chalk subsoil. After months of war and coming into a wet autumn, it needed reballasting; they had left matters until locomotives could no longer use the track.

'We started using horses again, which led to poor operations. There were discrepancies in working new lines, lack of maintenance and repairs, worse still, lines which had been demanded urgently were not being worked at all. Finally the Army put locomotives back to work, but by now, the track was so churned up by the passage of horses' hooves that they had to be completely relaid.
Horses had given us many problems. We needed no less than three billeting officers (maréchaux des logis) to find them quarters. Food supplies, veterinary care and black-smiths to keep them shod were supposed to be the responsibility of their own units but gradually. more and more man power was sucked in. In fact, the way things were going, all available transport would be devoted to fetching fodder from greater and greater distances.
Worst of all the replacement of tired horses (for that read horses at the end of their tether) was not happening... To add to everything, winter had come on quickly and horses had to work in deep mud; it is not surprising that they suffered terribly'

All in all, it is surprising how the myth of the gallant mule, no doubt with brandy cask at his throat, supplying the whole Front has persisted. There was a happy end for the remaining horses on this particular Front. As Colonel Plassiard said, 'By January 1916, the situation had improved' There was proper housing for them  and locomotives back on the job.

The Rumanian retreat. Oxen pull a French 120L gun through a village in the Transylvanian Alps. Picture from Illustration/Courtesy Malcolm Wright

Away from the Western Front, oxen were usual. In the Balkans, they hauled Serbian refugees during the horrific retreat from the invasion. The human and animal army suffered much. In Rumania, which entered the War against the Central Powers on  27th August 1916. A French military mission under General Bethelot helped to arm them. Von Mackensen, with Turkish and Bulgarian troops, successfully attacked Transylvania from the southern border with Bulgaria. As can be seen from the photograph, oxen were common draught animals.

Worst of all was to see soldiers being used as draught animals as on the Italian Front. L'Illustration recorded 600 soldiers hauling a 149 gun at 2000 metres above sea-level, to arm a battery above Rovertero, June 1915.

Yum yum! Percy the pigeon would have made a tasty treat! Picture Illustration/ Courtesy Malcolm Wright

And finally let's not forget the carrier pigeons! Theirs was a dangerous job. As well as dodging stray bullets and shrapnel in the battlefield, the enemy would be happy to 'down' a messenger and thereby disrupt allied communications. There was also the risk of 'friendly fire'.

Gallipoli and Colonel Péchot

No one has ever doubted that the Gallipoli campaign was a defeat for the Allies, though a moral victory for the ANZACs (Australian and New Zealand Armed Corps). The idea was simple enough; land on the north-west 'corner' of the vast rectangle that is Turkey, and go the relatively short distance to the then capital, Constantinople/Istanbul. Whether it was sensible to give the Turkish Army so much advance warning, or to land on the tip of a peninsula which could readily be cut off is moot. Experience since has suggested that a sea-borne invasion needs to be 10:1 in favour of the invaders. Experience then showed that the Turkish Army was hardy and resourceful - no pushover.

Map of the Gallipoli peninsula, dated 1920. To the west is the Aegean Sea, to the north  the Dardanelles open up into the Sea of Marmara and then north again to Constantinople/Istanbul. The ANZACs are commemorated in Anzac Cove. Courtesy Times Illustrations

 On October 29th 1914, Turkey effectively declared itself for the Central Powers and on November 3rd, the Allies formally declared war. From that point, the Allied fleets blocaded the Mediterranean end of the Black Sea by patrolling off the Dardanelle straits. It was  hard to hide all the preparations which were going on in the Allied-held Mediterranean and so when they finally made land on April 25th 1915, the opposition was well prepared.

If the operation had gone to plan, the Allies would have used 2'6" portable railways to supply the advance. The British had such material; indeed, if it had not been for a combination of Kitchener's dislike - he actually said 'that is not our way of working' - and the successful French 60cm railways first designed by Prosper Péchot,  they would have used 2'6" gauge for 'siege' ie trench warfare on the Western Front. They opted to use 60cm gauge there and elsewhere. Redundant 2'6" gauge material was therefore plentiful and had been stockpiled in readiness.

In the event, Allied plans unravelled. The British were mainly on the western shores of the peninsula. They disembarked at Cape Helles, to the south of the peninsula, and Suvla Bay at the north, the ANZACs being allotted Gaba Tepé in between. They had to do some rock-climbing just to get off the beach but distinguished themselves throughout the campaign. The French and Senegalese tirailleurs took up position on each side of the straits, at Koum Kaleh and Seddul Bahr (Sedd-el Bahr). The Dublin regiment also saw action at Seddul-Bahr. The 'Leith' half-Battalion of the Royal Scots Regiment were supposed to join the Allies, but they did not arrive. At 6.49 on the morning of May 22nd 1915 at Quintinshill just north of Gretna, their troop train collided with a local passenger train which had been 'parked' on their line. Only 62 survived unscathed.  It was a foretaste of the toll that the campaign would exact.

Two vultures captured by French marines at Seddul-Bahr. With French humour, they were named Franz Joseph and Wilhelm, in honour of the Austrian and Prussian Emperors. The joke is made even more interesting because the vultures are hopping over a length of Péchot track. From 'Illustration'

Pinned down at their beach-heads, none of the Allies were able to move far inland. By May 6th, the British alone had lost 13,000 (not counting the 216 at Quintinshill). Over the months, plan after plan unravelled. One of these involved the 2'6" railway material waiting at Alexandria on the far side of the Mediterranean. So far from being threatened by Gallipoli, the Turkish Empire was threatening Egypt, certainly the Suez Canal. Defences had to be built, and 2'6" lines were laid  in the Port Said area (autumn 1915- spring 1916). Thirty Manning Wardle 160-80 hp locotractors and 350 standard Royal Engineer wagons used a 12 mile (20 km) line.

Back at Gallipoli, some 60cm gauge railways served the various beach-heads. The British had two. At Suvla Bay in the north, there was a surprisingly extensive network transporting supplies from the shore. As well as A-class four-wheel wagons, also tippers, it used bogie wagons. As far as we know, this was horse-worked. Further south at Cape Helles, there was a smaller system whisking stores from the piers to a camp sheltered directly below the cliffs. This too was horse-worked and used four-wheel wagons.

Which one is the Surrender Monkey? Lord Kitchener (front left) and General Brulard (centre) discuss the campaign amid ruins at Seddul-Bahr. Below the feet of the dignitaries runs a well-used narrow gauge railway. 'Illustration'

The French also had 60cm track as photographs taken at Seddul Bahr attest. Some was Péchot portable track but by December, the track was taking on a permanent appearance. We suppose that this railway too was horse-drawn. Colonel Péchot, the originator of military 60cm gauge, did not visit the Dardanelles. He was in Europe supervising the manufacture of the vast quantities of 60cm railways required. Late in 1914, he was in Britain, inspecting track ordered for the French Army. In 1915, he was training recruits to run railways at hastily developed schools in northern France.

On December 20th 1915, the Allies decided to withdraw. The French were careful to attribute this decision to Kitchener. General Brulard, on behalf of the French, reminded him of the losses that had been inflicted on the Turkish Army and that the British would suffer a great loss of prestige. Kitchener, however, decided that further effort would be fruitless. The evacuation began and on 8th January 1916, the last ship, the Cornwallis, left Suvla Bay. 22,000 Allied troops had died, many more suffered wounds and disease.