Battle of the Somme 90th Anniversary July 1st

[davem]

Originally Posted by The Saucepan Man

What puzzles me is how any soldier could have found themselves behind enemy lines on the Western Front, save as a result of becoming lost in the confusion of an assault or (in the later stages of the war) as a pilot shot down. Neither situation would have involved being on horseback.

The whole affair was one big stalemate for most of the war with neither side being able to break through the enemy lines and only occasional and modest territorial gains.

Well, we don't know when the incident (if it actually happened, of course, rather than being a dream of Tolkien's) occurred. I don't see that Tolkien couldn't have found himself in territory which had been occupied by German troops temporarily ('hence behind their lines').

As to my last post:

I know I'm going to get picked up on this, because Squatter was speaking specifically about Infantry units, not Cavalry. The point is though, there was not a specific breed of horse which could be classified as 'pack horses' & a Hunter was possibly available to Tolkien. The fact that Haig intended to use cavalry & that so many of horses were killed means that conditions, though bad, were not so atrocious that horses could not be used.

All I'm saying is, while it was most likely a dream, as Squatter says, it could have happened