From the very beginnings of military warfare communication often holds the keys to
victory. Communicating with your allies while knowing where your enemies are is one
of the most crucial parts in war. After all, in military ranks the common saying is that,
“knowing is half the battle.” Military communication has evolved throughout the ages
from flaming arrows, drum beats, smoke signals, messenger pigeons, to modern
satellite enabled communication devices.
During the First World War, (WWI) communication technology was changing very quickly.
For the first time, much of the world was using electricity, and this new source of power of telegraphs, telephones, signal lamps, and Radio.
However, this new technology was not always the best way to communicate with the Marines
on the front lines.
Weather, and terrain was the enemy and could break the electric lines that connected the Marines to their commanders.
While instant communication was preferred, Marines often had to use
proven methods of communication, many that were invented well before the
Revolutionary War. Here we will explore the different types of communication used by
the Marines, the United States military, and their allies throughout the WWI.
War Communication during WWI
From the very beginnings of military warfare communication often holds the keys to
victory. Communicating with your allies while knowing where your enemies are is one
of the most crucial parts in war. After all, in military ranks the common saying is that,
“knowing is half the battle.” Military communication has evolved throughout the ages
from flaming arrows, drum beats, smoke signals, messenger pigeons, to modern
satellite enabled communication devices.
During the First World War, (WWI) communication terchnology was changing very quickly. For the first time, much of the world was using electricity, and this new source of power was utilised for communication in the form of telegraphs, telephones, signal lamps and radio
However, this new technology was not always the best way to communicate with the Marines on the front lines.
Here we will explore the different types of communication used by
the Marines, the United States military, and their allies throughout the WWI.
Semaphore
During the French Revolution in 1792, Claude Chappe invented the semaphore line system.
This was a method of communication using a series of visual signals and rotating paddles.
The message was encoded by the position of the paddles. The message can then be read
when the paddles are in a fixed position.
This system proved to be much faster than a horse and rider, and once constructed proved
to be a much more cost efficient way of sending messages. In 1792 Chappe
constructed 556 semaphore towers throughout France, spanning 3,000 miles. This
method of communication would be used by the French military until the 1850s.
Wig Wag
Wig wag was developed by U.S. Army Major Albert Myer during the American Civil
War. Based upon the idea of Morse code (each letter being represented by a series of
dots and dashes), this method uses one flag that is waved back and forth in a series of
“wags” to represent each letter of the message. There are two basic wig wag flags, one with a red center and a white flag.
The white flag was used at dusk or dawn (times of day with low light or low visibility)
and the red was used during days with bright sunshine. Each letter has three basic movements: down to the left, down to the right, or down in front of the signalman.
Since this code was based upon Morse Code, it could take up to five waves of the flag for a single letter. To the untrained eye, it looked as though the signalman was just “wagging” the flag around in no particular order, giving it the name “Wig Wag”
Marines would utilize wig wag through the end of WW1, and would change to the more widely used sysyem of semaphore during WW11.