The Bicycle in Warfare
This information is provided with permission from the Australian War Memorial, detailing the exploits of the Australian Cycling Corps in WW1. More information on this can be found in the link at the end of the article.
This photograph was taken in c1915 at Broadmeadows, Victoria of six members of the Australian Cycling Corps with their bicycles prior to deployment overseas.
It is not well known that the AIF had cycling units that were used in many of the major battles during the First World War such as Messines in June 1917, and Passchendale July 1917. These units were deployed to the front line as well as undertaking cable burying, traffic control and reconnaissance work.
The bikes were not the Malvern Star of the day. They were issued from England and manufactured from Birmingham Small Arms Company – or better known as BSA. This company was also a major British arms and ammunition manufacturer since the Crimean War (1854-1856). It is interesting to note that the bikes did not come with bottle holders as today’s do. The men would carry water supplies like the regular army corps. Also the soldiers were issued with the Short Magazine Lee Enfield (SMLE) .303 calibre rifles, having the option of either attaching it to the down tube of their bike or swung across their back.
Before the official formation of cycling units, bikes were used for transport and other military needs as can be seen by this photograph taken in Serapeum, Egypt c1915. This photograph is of the Signal Section of the 13th Battalion, AIF ready to march off to a ceremonial parade with their bicycles and signal equipment.
The terrain these soldiers had to endure seems impossible to contemplate; riding through mud and rubble while under constant threat of shellfire. These bikes did not have the luxury of knobblie tyres either (tyres that have protruding pieces of rubber for extra grip); but would have been a standard military issue of little or no grip, more like standard tyres, as can be seen in the bicycle below.
The AIF cycling units have often been forgotten in military history but the humble bicycle played a very important role in the logistics of warfare. The simplicity of the bike made transportation quick and reliable. Even in 2008 the Australian Military were using the bicycle in East Timor to improve flexibility of field patrols with a unit called Bicycle Infantry Mounted Patrol (BIMP). Here we are, nearly 100 years on, and it still plays an import role in military life as it does in civilian.
Read More on the Australian War Memorial Website
Relevant book:
Austin, Ronald J.
For those wanting further information the book ‘History of the First AIF/NZ Cyclist Corps 1916-19 CYCLING TO WAR’ by Ronald J Austin goes into detail of the Corps and is an excellent overview.
“The AIF Cyclist Corps was formed in Egypt in 1916, and fought in France and Belgium. The book covers the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th Division Cyclist Companies, and then the 1st and Anzac Corps Cyclist Battalions, including the 22nd Corps Cyclist Battalion and the New Zealand Cyclist Battalion.”
