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Question: ww1- how did the troops get transported to the trenches !?
how did the british troops get to the trenches in ww1 and were they transported with machinery and vehicles!. also did the nurses and priests etc travel with the troops
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Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
Troop trains were a major means of transporting troops to near to the front!. Soldiers were often transported in cattle, or horse trucks once they crossed the chanel!. A crash between a loaded troop train and 3 other trains near Gretna Green remains the U!.K!. rail accident with the largest loss of life!. http://en!.wikipedia!.org/wiki/Quintinshil!.!.!. While Lorries, and even London buses were used to transport troops, the majority of troops, as in all previous conflict had to march!. Mechanised transport was still in its infancy, lorries were not that reliable and did not have very good performance on poor roads, so while they were used, huge amounts of horse!. Each Infantry division had about 6!.000 horses for transport, 25,000 horses were on the strength of the British Army in 1914 and in 1917 the British Army had almost a million animals on strength, with 436!.000 in France!.
In 1914 the British army had 507 motor vehicles of all types!. By 1918 it had 22,000 trucks!. (Figures from "Tommy - The British Soldier on the Western Front 1914-1918) Richard Holmes2005)Www@QuestionHome@Com

Many troops and support personnel boarded trains in the Uk and crossed the channel on ferries before catching trains again to the western front!. Likewise most machinery was transported on the railways!.
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They humped it as do all mass movment of troops in them days did !. They were transported over the channel in troop shipsWww@QuestionHome@Com

They moved to the trenches on foot!. Www@QuestionHome@Com