Sam Hughes

The biggest failings Sam Hughes took decisions to was choosing the Ross Rifle as the standard Canadian rifle. The rifle weighed 9.5 pounds, and carried around 5 rounds per clip. This rifle is notorious for malfunction. Often it backfire on the shooter. In fact, the total number of backfires are about the same as the total number of kills it gave.  It was abandoned for the British Lee-Enfield in 1916, the same time as Sam Hughes Resignation. 

The next failure, was the MacAdam Shield Shovel. It was supposed to stop bullets from enemy fire therefore it was much heavier. But when it was shipped to Europe, soldiers found it couldn't even deflect even .22 caliber bullets. So not only was it heavy, but it was useless on what it was built to do. The shovel was also used for digging trenches, but since the shovel was heavy, it was more difficult. The wood for the shaft was frail and often snapped easily. So it failed in every design idea it was originally made for. In fact, the only thing you could really do with it is use it as a melee weapon in close-quarters combat.  

Though not the worst machine gun, the M1895 Colt-Browning Machine Gun was a failure due to it being a obsolete gun. It weighed 35 lbs and was shoots with a belt of bullets. It was fairly well designed for its time. For one it was gas operated which meant you didn't need to turn a crank to shoot. It was also could carry cartridges instead of a belt, so it wouldn't jam and so you didn't need 3 people to operate. It truly was a pioneer. But was too out-dated for use in WWI. 

The nail that sealed the coffin for Sam Hughes to resign was the clothing. The clothes were terrible. They would tatter, rip, shrink and were uncomfortable to wear. When in the trenches, the jacket and boots would fall apart from getting wet. If you were lucky it would shrink, give it to a smaller person, and get a new one. They were also not very flexible for close-quarters combat. But they were still used even after Sam Hughes was forced to resign.