WW1 and Communications

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 was utilized for communication in the form of telegraphs, telephones, signal lamps, and radio.

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.
However,technology was not always the best way to communicate with the Marines on the front lines. Weather, terrain, and the enemy 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 used by the Marines, the United States military, and their allies throughout the WW1.
Signal Flags
Before the inventions of the telegraph, telephone and two-way radio, ships would communicate
with a series two-way radio, ships would communicate with a series of signals by using flags.
Signal flags are a uniform set of easily identifiable nautical codes used to convey visual messages and signals between two ships or from ship to shore. They are based on an internationally recognized set of codes referred to as the International Code of Signals published in nine different languages; English, French, Italian, German, Japanese, Spanish, Norwegian, Russian and Greek.
Naval flag signaling can be traced back to medieval times but the first well documented
case of communication by signal flags was that of the British fleet during the
Napoleonic Wars. Signal flags have been used for both communicating between
different ships at sea as well as between ships and shore. Whenever forming and
preparing to use naval tactics, it is imperative that different ships be able to
communicate with one another in order to complete complicated maneuvers. For
example, during the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, British naval forces under the
command of Admiral Lord Nelson effectively used flag signals to form 27 British ships
under his command into complex battle formations before meeting a superior force of
33 French and Spanish ships. Upon meeting enemy forces, Admiral Nelson had a flag
signal raised that read “England expects that every man will do his duty”, providing the
patriotic encouragement needed to win the battle.

Flag signals may also be used to communicate messages between different ships that
are close to one another. Often this occurs because they are performing dangerous
operations, such as when refueling at sea (and thus a sitting target). While it may be
possible nowadays to make a radio message that a ship is refueling, it is incomplete if
it does not provide information as to where that specific ship is located in order for it to
be avoided.

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 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.
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 white with a red center and one red with a white center. 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 WWI, and would change to the more widely used system of semaphore during WWII.

Telegraph and Morse code
The electric telegraph sends an electric current to a receiving station. When the sender
presses on the telegraph key he interrupts the current creating an audible pulse that is
heard at the receiving station. It cannot carry voice or other data, and relies only on
pulses to communicate. The receiver on the other end decodes the pulses to decode
the message. Several electric telegraphs were being developed in Europe, and in
1836 Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail developed their own prototype.
Morse code is a system of sending messages by a series of on-off tones, lights or
clicks. Each letter is represented by a unique series of short dots (dits) and longer
dashes (dahs). The duration of a dash is three times the length of a dot. Each word is
separated by silence in the equivalent of one dash. It is very important that the
transmitter be consistent, or the message might be misread completely! Morse
developed his code after seeing the optical, or semaphore telegraph, in Europe.
The widespread use of telegraph was quickly accepted, as it allowed information to be
transmitted between telegraph stations almost instantly, rather than the weeks it took
for a horse and rider. The technology was also accepted world-wide, with extensive
systems appearing across Europe. By 1866 the first permanent telegraph cable was
laid across the Atlantic Ocean.
During WWI, electric telegraphs were used throughout the war, on both sides. They
were used to communicate from the front line trenches to the officers, and from nation
to nation via telegraph lines throughout Europe and across the Atlantic, telegraph
machines allowed governments and their leaders to instantly receive information on
troop movements, battle outcomes, and other crucial information.
SOS: The internationally accepted distress signal ··· – – – ···
First adopted in Germany in 1905, the ‘SOS’ three letter message quickly became the
internationally recognized message for distress. While it is often thought it means
“save our ship”, it actually does not stand for anything. The three letter message is
easy to remember, which is crucial during emergencies. SOS remained the official
maritime distress signal until 1999 when the Global Maritime Distress Safety System
was created. SOS is still recognized as a visual signal of distress.