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The Shell Crisis of 1915 was a shortage of artillery shells on the front lines of World War I that led to a political crisis in Britain. Military historian Hew Strachan argues that strategic plans caused an over-reliance on shrapnel to attack infantry in the open, which caused a shortage of high-explosive shells in most major armies.〔Hew Strachan, ''The First World War: Volume I: To Arms'' (2001) pp 992-1105〕 At the start of the war there was a revolution in doctrine. Instead of the idea that artillery was a useful support for infantry attacks, the new doctrine held that heavy guns alone would control the battlefield. Because of the stable lines on the Western Front, it was easy to build rail lines that delivered all the shells the factories could produce. The "shell scandal" emerged in 1915 because the high rate of fire lasting over a long period of time was not anticipated and the stock of shells became depleted.〔David French, "The Military Background to the 'Shell Crisis' of May 1915," ''Journal of Strategic Studies'' (1979) 2#2 pp 192-205.〕 The shortage was widely publicized in the press. The ''Times'', in cooperation with David Lloyd George and Lord Northcliffe, sought to force Parliament to adopt a national munitions policy with a strong leader at the head. The upshot was a coalition government with Lloyd George as Minister of Munitions. In 1916 the long-term effects included the fall of the Asquith government and his replacement by Lloyd George in December 1916.〔Peter Fraser, "The British 'Shells Scandal' of 1915," ''Canadian Journal of History'' (1983) 18#1 pp 77-94〕 ==''The Times'' attacks Kitchener== Lack of shells had been a serious problem since autumn 1914, and the British Commander-in-Chief Field Marshal Sir John French gave an interview to ''The Times'' (27 March) calling for more ammunition. Lord Northcliffe, the owner of ''The Times'' and the ''Daily Mail'', blamed Kitchener (Secretary of State for War) for the recent death in action of his nephew.〔Holmes 2004, p289-90〕 On the basis of an assurance from Kitchener, the Prime Minister, H. H. Asquith, stated in a speech at Newcastle (20 April) that the army had sufficient ammunition.〔Holmes 2004, p287〕 After the failure of the Battle of Aubers Ridge (9 May 1915) ''The Times'' war correspondent, Colonel Charles à Court Repington sent a telegram to his newspaper blaming lack of high-explosive shells. French had, despite Repington’s denial of his prior knowledge at the time, supplied him with information, and sent trusted officers (Brinsley Fitzgerald and Freddy Guest) to London to show the same documents to Lloyd George and senior Conservatives Bonar Law and Balfour.〔 ''The Times'' headline (14 May 1915) was: "Need for shells: British attacks checked: Limited supply the cause: A Lesson From France".〔Holmes 2004, pp287-9〕 It commented "We had not sufficient high explosives to lower the enemy's parapets to the ground ... The want of an unlimited supply of high explosives was a fatal bar to our success". This clearly pointed the finger of blame at the government.〔(Shell Scandal ), at firstworld war.com.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Shell Crisis of 1915」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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