Taken from the Western Front Association magazine Stand To! – January 2014 issue
In 1914, the BEF (British Expeditionary Force) consisted of 120,000 men and 53,000 animals – at the Armistice in 1918 it had grown to 3,000,000 men and 500,000 animals
In 1914 the BEF needed 1,600 tonnes of meat, 2,000 tonnes of bread, 2,500 tonnes of forage (for the animals) and 3.8 million litres of petrol per month
At the Armistice in 1918 the BEF needed 30,000 tonnes of meat, 41,000 tonnes of bread, 14,500 tonnes of forage (for the animals) and 59 million litres of petrol per month.
Over the duration of the war, more forage for animals (5,525,874 tonnes) was shipped across the channel than ammunition (5,337,637 tonnes).
The daily ration for British field troops was 4,193 calories, for the Germans 4,038 although towards the end of the war the Germans were going hungry due to the British Naval blockade.