Supplying the British Army in the First World War

by Janet MacDonald

During the battle of the Somme, when the main road to Verdun was under German fire and the railway line could only carry a small amount of traffic, men and materiel had to be transported over the 45 miles from Bar le Duc to Verdun on the only main road. The volume of traffic moving daily along this road led the French to conclude that the only solution was to take over the road completely and treat it like a railway. The plan was to close a 45-mile stretch of the road to civilian traffic, dividing it into 7- or 8-mile sections, all connected by telephone. Each section would have a traffic controller, and numerous warning signals and signposts, all lit up at night, were provided. Speed limits for each class of vehicle were laid