Trench warfare on the Western Front

By late 1914 both sides had reached stalemate in trenches dug across northern France, but both the British and the German commanders continued to believe that they could achieve ‘breakthrough’ on the Western Front, and crush their enemies.

The British commander, Field Marshall Sir John French, and the French commander, General Joffre, agreed that they would attack the Germans at Neuve Chapelle, close to Lille in France, in March 1915.

The British were well prepared and had a large contingent of experienced Indian troops fighting with them. However, they achieved only limited success for four reasons:

New technologies such as the machine gun and gas killed thousands
Advancing too quickly cut the troops off from vital supplies
Once on the battlefield troops could not communicate with commanders
Reinforcements took too long to arrive

As fierce fighting continued men from St Neots and the surrounding villages wrote home with stories and poems, Private Charles Chapman wrote of his ‘extraordinary experiences’ being wounded in France. Private George Corbett of Eaton Ford was gassed at Hill 60, Private Page of Abbotsley had been injured at Neuve Chapelle and was reported to be in hospital in Boulogne and Major Grey William Duberly of Great Staughton was killed leading his men in the capture of a German trench at Neuve Chapelle.