For all the miles and miles of wire that were used, and the communication developments that did come to supplement them, the fact remained that communication failed when it was most needed:
“At the moment when troops were committed to battle, the moment when they left their trenches to make their footings in the complex of enemy positions, usually lost to sight behind a curtain of shell-bursts, they almost certainly passed out of the control of their generals. Generals, in fact, became quite impotent at the very moment when they would expect and be expected to display their greatest proficiency.” (1)
Richard Jack. Second Battle of Ypres. (2)
Or again, “No one had any idea of what was happening at the front, where the troops were, or where the enemy was; and there was no chance at all of doing anything about it. So one forlorn attack followed another, because no one could stop them.” (1)
(1) Terraine, John. The Smoke and the Fire. Myths and Anti-Myths of War, 1861-1945. 1980. 118
(2) Jack, Richard. “The Second Battle of Ypres, 22 April to 25 May 1915.” Painting. Beaverbrook Collection of War Art, Canadian War Museum. CWM 19710261-0161
Percy's War 