I am an infantryman in the 1914 BEF. What do the next four years look like for me, and what are my odds of making it through the war in one piece?

by Shakenvac
DuxBelisarius

Some pertinent answers I've given.

If you're in the BEF in August 1914, especially in one of the six infantry and one cavalry divisions sent to France, your chances of seeing 1915 unscathed are slim. Of perhaps 100-120 000 men sent to the continent in August 1914, c. 90 000 were casualties by November, of which c. 50 000 were suffered at the 1st Battle of Ypres alone.

Your next four years will probably see the battles of 1915, the Somme, Arras and 3rd Ypres, the German Offensives of 1918, and finally the Hundred Days Offensives from August 1918 onwards. Your chances of making it through the war in one piece are fair; c. 700 000 British soldiers were killed, 1.6 million wounded of the close to 5 million that served. If you make it through 1914 that is!