Throughout history, there were many different methods that armies used to maintain discipline
within their armed forces.
During the Second World War, there were a number of executions of criminals who had
committed crimes whilst being a member of the Allied forces.
Some were shot by a firing squad for murder and committing horrific acts against the civilian
populations, but during the First World War there was a big issue within the British Army
with what to do with prisoners who were deserters, or fleeing from their posts.
Notoriously, the British army sentenced over 300 British and Commonwealth soldiers to death
for desertion, cowardice or other military offences.
These were shot at dawn, being tied to posts and then killed by a firing squad and their
rifles.
Many of these people were simply very young, and a number were scared and fearful for their
lives, as they rightfully should have been as going over the top would result in their
probable death.
Many of these soldiers were suffering from shell-shock also, but there was less sympathy
during the conflict, and with this the executions went ahead.
There was one 17 year old boy named Herbert Burden who lied about his age to enlist in
the armed forces, and he was shot for desertion.
However the British Army used another form of discipline and punishment to install obedience
in the soldier’s ranks.
But this also was rather brutal.
Join us today as we look at the HORRIFIC Torture of First World War Field Punishment.
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Field Punishment was introduced in 1881 as the British military abolished their former
method of punishing their own prisoners of flogging.
Previously they would have been whipped in public for a military offence, but this was
abolished.
The usual sentence for offences of desertion or sleeping on guard duty was four months
imprisonment with hard labour, and ten years imprisonment.
A new way of dealing with soldiers found guilty of minor offences was introduced and this
was referred to as Field Punishment Number One.
It involved the soldier being attached to a fixed object for up to two hours a day,
and for a period of up to three months.
However this was incredibly dangerous, as during the First World War, many of these
men were stood tied to objects such as fences and stakes, which were within the range of
the enemy’s artillery.
This meant that they could be tied to something for hours, and left like a lamb to the slaughter
with artillery shells dropping everywhere.
Bridgadier General Frank Percy Crozier stated that, ‘"My duty was to teach them the Regulations
and the Army Act where they could see the penalties, and to help them to overcome the
difficulties which impel to desertion, cowardice and such - like offences which, in their case,
if indulged in, lead to trouble and even death by shooting at the hands of comrades...
Fear is no more a crime in war than in peace.
Inability to control or smother fear is an unpardonable and dangerous crime in war and,
as it is contagious, must be treated like any other disease in peace time - abolished
I would remind the advocates of the abolition of the death sentence in war that to catch
ann infectious disease in peace time is no crime; but to foster its spread, by non-notification
is an offence against society which is rightly punished."
Field Punishment number one was issued by the British Army on 60,210 occasions, and
during the early part of the First World War, the punishment was applied to soldiers with
their arms stretched out and their legs tied together.
Because of this it was known as crucifixion, and it was usually applied in field punishment
centres which had been set up a few miles behind the front line, but when a unit was
on the move, it would be carried out even on the frontline.
It was incredibly humiliating, and if exposed to open sunshine it could cause further problems
with sunstroke, or heatstroke, and the soldier could also be affected by other issues such
as trench lice, and if they did start to become ill then the military police would check up
on them.
There were also accounts of commanding officers who abused the regulations regarding field
punishment, and they tied the prisoners hands behind their backs, and then suspended them
by a rope tied around their wrists with their feet barely touching the ground which would
add even more pain.
The regulations said, ‘a soldier may be attached to a fixed object, the following
instructions will, in future, be strictly adhered to:-With reference to paragraph 2
(b), the soldier must be attached so as to be standing firmly on his feet, which if tied,
must not be more than twelve inches apart, and it must be possible for him to move each
foot at least three inches.
If he is tied round the body there must be no restriction of his breathing.
If his arms or wrists are tied, there must be six inches of play between them and the
fixed object.
His arms must hang either by the side of his body or behind his back.
With reference to paragraph 2 (c), irons should be used when available, but straps or ropes
may be used in lieu of them when necessary.
Any straps or ropes used for this purpose must be of sufficient width that they inflict
no bodily harm, and leave no permanent mark on the offender.’
But for many soldiers fighting on the Wester Front, it haunted their experiences on the
trenches.
Private Frank Bastable experienced it, and he said, ‘"When on parade for rifle inspection,
after opening the bolts and closing them again the second time as it did not suit the officer
the first time, I accidentally let off a round.
I had to go before the CO and got No. 1 Field Punishment.
I was tied up against a wagon by ankles and wrists for two hours a day, 1 hour in the
morning and 1 in the afternoon in the middle of winter and under shellfire.”
So his experience had him shackled to a wagon in the freezing cold but also with the threat
of enemy artillery being fired overhead.
Of course there were some casualties with the shells exploding near the punishment.
There were some that did oppose this, as it was said to have been degrading.
One witness said, ‘"One fine evening two military policemen appeared with a handcuffed
prisoner, and, in full view of the crowd and villagers, tied him to the wheel of a limber,
cruciform fashion.
The poor devil, a British Tommy, was undergoing Field Punishment Number One, and this public
exposure was part of the punishment.
There was a dramatic silence as every eye watched the man being fastened to the wheel,
and some jeering started.
Lashing men to a wheel in public was one of the most disgraceful things in the war.”
Some officers also believed it was wrong, and one would write how his servant suffered
Field Punishment number one.
Robert Graves wrote, ‘ "The next morning I was surprised and annoyed to find my buttons
unpolished and only cold water for shaving; it made me late for breakfast.
I could get no news of Tottie, but on my way to rifle inspection at nine o'clock at the
company billet, noticed Field Punishment No. 1 being carried out in a comer of the farmyard.
Tottie had just been awarded twenty-eight days of it for 'drunkenness in the field',
and stood spread-eagled to the wheel of a company limber, tied by the ankles and wrists
in the form of an X.
He was obliged to stay in this position - Crucifixion they called it - for several hours every day
so long as the battalion remained in billets, and then again after the next spell of trenches.
I shall never forget the look that my quiet, respectful, devoted Tottie gave me.
He wanted to tell me that he regretted having let me down, and his immediate reaction was
an attempt to salute.
I could see him vainly trying to lift his hand to his forehead, and bring his heels
together."
An article in the Sunday Herald documented Field Punishment published on the 29th October
1916, and it told of the horrors of the punishment method.
The article began with an account describing the punishment of 6 soldiers from Liverpool
who lost their gas helmets on a march.
It said, ‘They were tied by the neck, waist, hands and feet to wheels for one hour, and
that one of the men during the punishment.
It was described as ‘hun like torture,’ and was described as something that the British
army believed their enemy would do.
Other cases of Field Punishment include George Newham from the 2nd Sherwood Foresters who
received 8 days of it for absence and drunkenness, and also Lance Corporal Albert Vickerstaff
who received 14 days for insolence to an NCO.
Another soldier was sentenced for 56 days detention for desertion, and was then subject
to field punishment for injuring a mule.
The range of crimes someone could receive the punishment for was huge, and it even included
failing to pay compliment to an officer.
Soldiers would also lose their pay throughout the punishment.
One group who were targeted heavily with this punishment were conscientious objectors, those
who had been conscripted and forced into the army, but on religious grounds of moral grounds
refuse to bear arms or participate in the war effort.
These people were treated the same as any other soldier, and when they refused to obey
orders they were given Field Punishment to begin with, and a number were later sentenced
to death for continuing to break rules and guidance and refusing to fight.
Some conscientious objectors saw Field Punishment number 1 as a badge of honour to get it, and
felt proud with it.
There was also a field punishment number 2 in which the prisoner was placed in fetters
and handcuffs but was not attached to a fixed object or post, and was able to march with
his unit, and this was considered less serious.
It was also implemented occasionally by Australian forces, but the big danger with the punishment
was enemy fire and as frontlines could move with advances, a soldier being subject to
punishment being caught in the middle of the fighting.
As mentioned some officers would purposely put a soldier in danger during the punishment
placing them within danger.
But it was in 1923 that Field Punishment was abolished, years after the end of the First
World War.
Physical restraint remained a possibility to punish, but in total over 60,000 soldiers
had been subjected to it.
In some cases it was effective with only one ordeal needed to put a soldier off re-offending.
However many people were placed in positions of danger as their commanding officers viciously
sought to teach them a lesson, and as some soldiers would say it was akin to crucifixion
and torture.
It was a practice which was dangerous especially if carried out on the frontline, and was a
punishment which could last a matter of weeks.
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