FIVE THINGS YOU (PROBABLY) DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT. . .the First World War

Alex Churchill reveals some little-known facts about one of history's deadliest conflicts

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1. The Germans were well organised - but unpractised

The German army is often depicted as an epic, unstoppable machine. There's no doubt that, at the outbreak of the First World War, it was the most formidably organised military force on the planet — but organisation is only one element of success.

Germany's failure to end the war in the west quickly before turning east to deal with Russia wasn’t for want of organisation. But, though the Schlieffen Plan laboriously set out and dictated how all of this would happen, one thing that Germany couldn't do was practise.

Germany did not win the war in 1914 because achieving perfection while transitioning from theory to operations is impossible. The reality of deploying massive armies threw up all kinds of issues: supply lines grew too long as the advance was so rapid, and forces suffered major breaks in communication. In addition, an army of this size inevitably comprised largely inexperienced, terrified men seeing combat for the first time.

2. Belgians fought Germany virtually alone at the start of the conflict

We know so much about the experiences of British troops in the trenches, but all too often we forget about the French and Belgian armies who fought on their home soil.