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First World War military paintings by Jason Askew. A special report on Jason's latest painting, featuring the battle of the Somme, and a gallery of all eleven paintings in the series thus far. |
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A detail from Jason's latest painting - depicting the battle of the Somme. Assault in the vicinity of Thiepval by the Ulster division-1st July 1916. The 11th Royal Irish Rifles, moving forward from the A line of trenches, and moving forward to attack the B line of trenches, the attacking infantry are preceded by Bombers - seen carryng grenades in green canvas buckets - who are engaged in throwing grenades in anticipation of the rifle company assault on the enemy trenches; an activity barely changed since the days of Marlborough. The rifle companies are armed with the Lee Enfield SMLE - a superb rifle, though expensive to make. The advance is made with bayonets fixed, as trench clearing involved numerous hand to hand confrontations and bayonet fights. The rifle companies are supported by two Lewis gun teams per company. Note that visible in the painting is a man carrying an orange painted steel marker, painted on one side only. The markers are to to indicate to British artillery observers as to the most forward positions taken by the British advance. Naturally, one does not present the orange side to the enemy!
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Below is a more detailed account of the scenes depicted in Jason's new painting. Note that visible in the painting is a man carrying an orange painted steel marker, painted on one side only. The markers are to to indicate to British artillery observers as to the most forward positions taken by the British advance. Naturally, one does not present the orange side to the enemy! Markers such as these indicated which trenches had been captured, and allowed the artillery to create shellbursts and lay down fire ahead of the attacking infantry waves. The high visibility of these markers minimised the casualties due to friendly fire by the artillery, though shorts did inflict unnecessary casualties. Shorts are caused by faulty shells/shell fuses, or by continuous firing of artillery barrels over long periods, causing the ambient heat in the barrel to cause inaccuracies, as well as wearing out the rifling in the artillery barrels, causing inaccurate fire. When Lloyd George became PM, he forced through a reform that increased the proportion of Lewis guns per company to nine - this was done in the face of extreme opposition from high ranking British officers, who, inexplicably, consistently failed to grasp the realities of modern warfare. Also to be noted is the fact that many of the British shells fired at the Somme simply failed to explode, duds - failing to cut the German wire, and obviously failing to cause German casualties and failing to minimise German resistance. It is estimated that up to a third of the British shells fired during this offensive were duds. This failure on the part of the shell manufacturers exacerbated the infantry casualties during the Somme battles, totally letting the side down, and led to the shell crisis that gave Lloyd George his great political opportunity. Also to be noted is the great amount of kit being carried by the soldiers, including picks and shovels and empty sandbags. This was in order that the ramparts of captured German trenches could be reversed to face the enemy. It is estimated that the amount of kit carried, including ammunition, 24hrs rations, extra water, changes of socks and clothing, lice -free underwear, blankets, poncho, etc weighed up to 60 pounds. The sheer physical effort needed to carry this considerable load also slowed down the advance, reducing the speed of infantrymen to that of tortoises as physical and emotional exhaustion set in. German observers were quick to note this aspect of unreasonable weights being carried by the attacking personnel. At Verdun, a battle that was taking place at the same time as the Somme offensive, German assault troops were not weighed down by piles of kit like the unfortunate British tommies, who were laden down like pack-horses. The Somme offensive was a British effort made in response to a French request to take pressure of the French defending Verdun. When German stormtroopers were trained for the great German offensives of 1918, German planners made sure that their stormtroopers were lightly equipped, wearing a light 1918 fighting rig, the equivalent of combat fighting order and were hence able to move quickly from objective to objective, whilst the picks and shovels, water, rations, and all the heavy stuff was carried by the succeeding waves of reinforcing and mopping up infantry. Another extraordinary aspect of the Somme offensive is that many British troops were told they would be able to walk towards the enemy, it being presumed, wrongly, that the artillery would dispose of any Germans waiting in their trenches. Part of the reason for this presumptuous view was a deep rooted British regular army bias and prejudice towards many of the British territorials and part time volunteer battalions, civilians in uniform, Kitcheners army, in the terminology of the time. It was felt by the powers that be, that these volunteers were not real soldiers at all, hence the rather condescending and unrealistic order to them - to simply walk in line towards the German positions whilst the artillery and the real soldiers did the heavy lifting. It was felt by the British regular army hierarchy that as these soldiers were not regulars, but were just civvies in uniform, they were therefore pathologically and temperamentally incapable of being trained up to regular army standards, therefore they could not possibly be trained in fire and movement and complex assault techniques; techniques it must be mentioned being used very successfully by the German army at Verdun, concurrent with the Somme battle! On a positive note, the extremely heavy casualties suffered by the British army during the Somme battles did change perceptions amongst the old and the bold in regard to the capabilities of volunteer soldiers. Many fought stubbornly, even in impossible circumstances during the Somme offensive. By 1918, most of the British army on the western front was composed of conscripted men, in contrast to commonwealth forces, who continued to function and recruit without conscription and compulsion. |
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Jason's WW1 Military Painting Series... |
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| Text for the above items : |
The Great Folly of 1916 by Jason Askew. Assault in the vicinity of Thiepval by the Ulster division-1st July 1916. The 11th Royal Irish Rifles, moving forward from the A line of trenches, and moving forward to attack the B line of trenches, the attacking infantry are preceded by Bombers - seen carryng grenades in green canvas buckets - who are engaged in throwing grenades in anticipation of the rifle company assault on the enemy trenches; an activity barely changed since the days of Marlborough. The rifle companies are armed with the Lee Enfield SMLE - a superb rifle, though expensive to make. The advance is made with bayonets fixed, as trench clearing involved numerous hand to hand confrontations and bayonet fights. The rifle companies are supported by two Lewis gun teams per company. Note that visible in the painting is a man carrying an orange painted steel marker, painted on one side only. The markers are to to indicate to British artillery observers as to the most forward positions taken by the British advance. Naturally, one does not present the orange side to the enemy! |
2nd Australian Brigade fighting in Gully Ravine by Jason Askew. The 2nd Australian Brigade were brought up to reinforce the British attempt to force the Turkish positions at Achi-baba. This action developed into the second Battle of Krithia. |
Gallipoli - Courtneys Trench by Jason Askew. Australian VC winner-Private Albert Jacka, 14th battalion. He killed nine Turks who had bombed and infiltrated an Australian trench at Courtneys post during the great Turkish assault on 19th May. |
Passchendaele by Jason Askew. The German attack on the British trenches at Passchendaele in the rain. |
Advance into Hell by Jason Askew. The Middlesex Regiment advance across No Mans Land during the Battle of the Somme. |
German Assault on the Nimy Bridge, Mons, 23rd August 1914 by Jason Askew. German forces begin their assault on the Nimy Bridge, 23rd August 1914. The bridge was defended by the 4th Battalion The Royal Fusiliers. |
The Battle of the Somme - At the German Trenches by Jason Askew. Very few of the British soldiers made it through the barbed wire defences, and even fewer to the German trenches. By the end of the first day the British losses were 60,000 men. |
Cameron Highlanders Capture a German Force on the Yser by Jason Askew. This incident took place on October 23rd,1914. A party of German soldiers had been driven to take shelter in the small house. British artillery then targeted the house, making the situation of the Germans uncomfortable. Under cover of the bombardment, a company of Cameron Highlanders rushed the position, intercepting the Germans as they tried to extricate themselves. After a brief struggle, and being somewhat unnerved by the prompt appearance of the Highlanders; the German group surrendered. |
Faster Boys - Give Them Hell! Loos, September 25th 1915 by Jason Askew. Dawn. British artillery thundered, and the territorial soldiers 15th Scottish division stormed towards the German trenches defending the coal mining village of Loos. The gas cloud that preceded the Highland advance was pendulous and largely stationary due to a distinct lack of wind, and ,upon emerging from the smudgy gas, the highlanders were pelted with machine gun fire and shrapnel from the defending German batteries. Not to be denied, the Scots gritted their teeth, and with an officer shouting faster boys! give them hell! the highlanders charged straight at the defenses. The Germans, unnerved by the stubborn courage of their kilted opponents, began to fall back through the village of Loos. The Camerons and the Black Watch, shouting their battle cry and charging down the main road of the village, then engaged the defending Germans in a series of savage battles for each and every house - hob-nailed boots, rifle butts, and bayonets being wielded with great enthusiasm by the vengeful Scots. By 8.00am the village was in Scottish hands. |
Remember that you are Scottish! Aubers Ridge, 9th May 1915 by Jason Askew. Aubers / Neuve Chapelle -1500- The 1st battalion, Black Watch, brought in to relieve the shattered 2nd Brigade, go over the top and advanced at the double across no -mans land. Suffering heavy casualties from the incessant German machine gun fire, elements of the regiment plunged into the German trenches just as the bombardment lifted. A desperate battle then took place for the German position, the outnumbered Highlanders fighting tenaciously; elements of the regiment even reached the German second line. In spite of their superhuman bravery, and being reinforced by two companies of the Camerons, sheer German numbers proved to be overwhelming for the Black Watch; every single highlander being killed or wounded in defending this hard won position. |
Over the Top by Jason Askew. The 29th Division go over the top to the sound of the officers whistle to attack Beaumont Hamel during the battle of the Somme. The regiments of the 29th Division are the Middlesex Regiment, Lancashire Fusiliers, Dublin Fusiliers, Royal Fusiliers and the Newfoundland Regiment. |
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