0:00:08 > 0:00:10SHELL WHISTLES
0:00:10 > 0:00:12EXPLOSION
0:00:15 > 0:00:19Towin a war, you need the right stuff - clothes, food and weapons.
0:00:19 > 0:00:21Those are the essentials.
0:00:21 > 0:00:25So how well-equipped was the British soldier in 1914?
0:00:25 > 0:00:28British forces had lots of different uniforms and equipment
0:00:28 > 0:00:32but the most iconic uniform of all was worn by the British infantryman
0:00:32 > 0:00:35on the trenchesof the Western Front.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38MUSIC: "Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh!)" by Lumidee
0:00:40 > 0:00:43# Uh-oh
0:00:43 > 0:00:45# Uh-oh
0:00:45 > 0:00:48# Uh-oh
0:00:48 > 0:00:50# Uh-oh
0:00:50 > 0:00:52# Honestly
0:00:53 > 0:00:55# If I tell
0:00:55 > 0:00:58# Tell you what
0:00:58 > 0:01:00# What you want to know, love
0:01:00 > 0:01:02# There ain't another
0:01:02 > 0:01:05# I don't want no other lover
0:01:05 > 0:01:07# I put nothing above you
0:01:07 > 0:01:09# I kick them to the gutter
0:01:10 > 0:01:12# They trying to shake me
0:01:12 > 0:01:14# You know you loving me crazy
0:01:14 > 0:01:16# Look at us lately
0:01:17 > 0:01:19# And tell them who's your lady
0:01:19 > 0:01:22# I never thought you'd be the one
0:01:22 > 0:01:24# Make me shine brighter than the sun
0:01:24 > 0:01:26# There ain't no ups and downs
0:01:26 > 0:01:28# No in and outs
0:01:28 > 0:01:30# We're here right now
0:01:30 > 0:01:32# If you want me to stay
0:01:32 > 0:01:35# I'll never leave
0:01:35 > 0:01:37# If you want me to stay
0:01:37 > 0:01:40# We'll always be
0:01:40 > 0:01:42# If you want me to stay
0:01:42 > 0:01:44# Love endlessly
0:01:44 > 0:01:46# If you want me to stay
0:01:46 > 0:01:49# If you want me to stay then I'll never leave you
0:01:49 > 0:01:52# Uh-oh, uh-oh
0:01:52 > 0:01:55# Uh-oh
0:01:55 > 0:01:58# Uh-oh... #
0:01:58 > 0:02:02Sothere it is - the British infantryman ready for action.
0:02:02 > 0:02:03But just how ready?
0:02:08 > 0:02:10The British infantryman went into World War I
0:02:10 > 0:02:13as the best prepared soldier on the planet.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15Let's take this, for example.
0:02:15 > 0:02:17The Lee-Enfield rifle.
0:02:18 > 0:02:24The Brits were famously fast and accurate using this rifle.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26It could take ten rounds in a magazine.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29The British built four million of these during thewar.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32They were in service for years after.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35This was the best rifle on the Western Front.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39Instead ofgators, the British had the ingenious idea
0:02:39 > 0:02:42of putties that they brought over from their experience in India.
0:02:42 > 0:02:44They'd wrap these right around the lower leg
0:02:44 > 0:02:46and that would keep your legs dry
0:02:46 > 0:02:48and also provide a lot of support as well.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54One of the biggest challenges for any soldierin the past or the present
0:02:54 > 0:02:57is carrying the sheer amountof kit they need
0:02:57 > 0:03:00to keep themselves alive and take the fight to the enemy.
0:03:00 > 0:03:04The British soldiers had the 1908 pattern webbing.
0:03:04 > 0:03:06Just slipped over the body like this.
0:03:07 > 0:03:12And it allowed themto carry much of what they needed into battle.
0:03:14 > 0:03:19A water bottle here, ammunition here and here,
0:03:19 > 0:03:24and my bayonet, 17 inches of sharpened steel, right here.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27Hidden around the back, the entrenching tool,
0:03:27 > 0:03:31or spade to you and me. Simply drop that in there.
0:03:31 > 0:03:33This allowed British soldiersto get themselves out of trouble
0:03:33 > 0:03:36if they were being shot at by immediately digging
0:03:36 > 0:03:40a mini hole in the ground and getting themselves out of harm's way.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44British kit was good but it wasn't perfect.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47This is a cloth cap, it's a good bit of camouflage
0:03:47 > 0:03:49but, obviously, it provided no protection
0:03:49 > 0:03:51against high-velocity shrapnel.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54And that's why, about halfway through the war,
0:03:54 > 0:03:56steel helmets were issued to all the British troops.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59But, believe it or not, this was still a lot better
0:03:59 > 0:04:01than what the French and Germans had.
0:04:01 > 0:04:02The German Pickelhaube.
0:04:02 > 0:04:07It's made of leather and it provided an obvious target for marksmen.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11If Britain had the best-prepared soldiers,
0:04:11 > 0:04:13noprizes for guessing who wasn't too far behind.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16But if the German kit wasn't as up to date as the British,
0:04:16 > 0:04:18they did have one major advantage.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21There were over four million of them.
0:04:22 > 0:04:27At least German battledress was fit for fighting a 20th-century war.
0:04:27 > 0:04:28In 1914,one army's soldiers
0:04:28 > 0:04:33were colour-coordinated more for the Parisian runways than the trenches.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36MAN: Ooh-la-la!
0:04:36 > 0:04:39DAN: It's not that the French military hadn't heard of khaki
0:04:39 > 0:04:42but lots of countries were unprepared in 1914
0:04:42 > 0:04:45and couldn't prepare tons of new kit overnight.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48Sometimes you've got to make do with what you've got.
0:04:48 > 0:04:50The British Army's bang-up-to-date uniform
0:04:50 > 0:04:52and weaponrywas down to its battle-hardened experience.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57Just as well, because they would need every advantage they could get.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59SHELL WHISTLES
0:04:59 > 0:05:00EXPLOSION
0:05:07 > 0:05:11And what about that other essential of military life,food?
0:05:11 > 0:05:15The High Command knew that, without good food,
0:05:15 > 0:05:17no battles would be won at all.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19And that's why the Brits were actually provided
0:05:19 > 0:05:22with a pretty generous diet.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25Bacon here, some corned beef, quarter of a loaf of bread,
0:05:25 > 0:05:28cheese, load of vegetables, some mustard and, last but not least,
0:05:28 > 0:05:34each day the men were issued with two big tablespoons full ofrum.
0:05:34 > 0:05:35This is the wash kit roll here
0:05:35 > 0:05:37and they wouldn't have tended to use the knife and fork
0:05:37 > 0:05:39when they were up in the front line.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41They'd just use the spoon to shovel everything in.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43But they would have used the razor.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46They had to shave every single day, no matter what,
0:05:46 > 0:05:48except their top lips.
0:05:48 > 0:05:53Soldiers in World War I had to wear a moustache, if they could grow one.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57But back to food. Atthe start of the war, how did enemy rations compare?
0:05:57 > 0:06:00Bring on the heavy artillery, meat and potatoes.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04In 1914, Brits enjoyed more meat than the Germans.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06We're not talking juicy steaks, exactly,
0:06:06 > 0:06:08but you could make a nice, hearty stew,
0:06:08 > 0:06:11better than some of the soldiers had been used to back home.
0:06:11 > 0:06:12But over the course of the war,
0:06:12 > 0:06:14more and more meat was of the tinned variety.
0:06:14 > 0:06:19Too much could lead to indigestion, diarrhoea and vomiting. Nice(!)
0:06:19 > 0:06:23In the battle of the carbs, the Germans were the clear winners,
0:06:23 > 0:06:27although at least the British soldier had something to put on his bread.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30But as the war continued, resources became scarce,
0:06:30 > 0:06:34and in Germany, especially, there was a crippling shortage of food.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37For the soldiers, the daily ration dwindleduntil, by 1918,
0:06:37 > 0:06:43allthe German soldier might eat was turnip stew served with turnip bread.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46Each side had an arsenal of condiments.
0:06:46 > 0:06:50But probably of more interest to the soldier in his trench was exactly
0:06:50 > 0:06:52how much alcohol he could look forward to each day.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55The Germans were given generous rations of alcohol
0:06:55 > 0:06:58and tobacco to enjoy, easily more than the British soldier,
0:06:58 > 0:07:01but at least he had some cheese.
0:07:01 > 0:07:02Party on(!)
0:07:02 > 0:07:04So who wins?
0:07:04 > 0:07:06At the start of the war, in terms of calories,the British soldier is
0:07:06 > 0:07:09the clear victor, with almost 1,000 more than his enemy.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12But given that generousbooze allowance,
0:07:12 > 0:07:14perhaps the German soldier wasn't too bothered.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21The British generals knew that food,
0:07:21 > 0:07:24just like proper boots, uniforms and rifles,
0:07:24 > 0:07:27was absolutely vital if they wanted to win World War I.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30And the reason they knew that was because Britain had been involved
0:07:30 > 0:07:33in a lot of fighting over the previous generation,
0:07:33 > 0:07:35particularly during the Boer War in South Africa.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39They'd learned from their mistakes so that, by 1914,
0:07:39 > 0:07:42their food and their equipment was fit for purpose.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45I get another one, right, Sarge?