When the war was declared in late July 1914, I guess you could say most were excited to see how it would roll out. It wasn't called the Great War for nothing. Though it may not be viewed as great or fun, some 65 million men from all four corners of the globe packed their kit and marched off to war, from teenagers to grandfathers in their sixties. (World War One: A Very Peculiar History).
So you get a good first view of what people were dealing with in this war:
In 1879, Germany and Austria-Hungary formed an alliance (the Dual Alliance) that gave them great strength in the centre of Europe.
In 1892, the French and the Russians formed their own strong alliance (the Dual Entente) which meant Germany now had an unfriendly power on each side.
Soon afterwards, Germany's most powerful soldier, General Schlieffen, drew up a plan that would allow Germany to beat France very quickly in any future war. This would then free most German troops to fight Russia in the east.
By the early 1900s, alliances had developed. The Dual Alliance had become the Triple Alliance with Italy (although Italy stayed out of the war in 1914).
In 1907, Britain joined Russia and France to form the Triple Entente. Britain was much less committed to this alliance than Russia or France.
Key: The Triple Alliance and Triple Entente were 2 different things!!
The Home Front during this war was ever-changing, you may even say life-changing. It's noted that women's role during this 4 year period changed for a huge part. And it was brought attention as complete new news to all when the Germans began to bomb parts of Britain targeting civilians for the first time in the war. This wasn't all, there were plenty others, plenty.
What was Britain's war plan? They didn't have one, simple as that, Unlike Russia, France, Germany and Austria-Hungary. Their aim was to defend their empire and this is where DORA becomes crucial for your knowledge. Their tactic: "Rule the Waves!". The Theory: "Don't get drawn into a European War".. which the German's took a brutal hit on for them. The Reality: "OK chaps, we probably should come to the Belgians' rescue. It is the decent thing to do, after all".
So how did they get involved in this war? To backtrack with a wonderful explanation from The National Archives: "In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Britain was often described as being in 'Splendid Isolation' from the rest of Europe. Britain had a huge empire and ruling this empire was its priority. The key to Britain's power was India with its vast resources of manpower. Britain relied heavily on Indian troops to control the empire. The highest priority for Britain was protecting the trade routes between Britain and India.", this was one thing of several other reasons, because Britain, in my words, really tended to worry and shove those off who got too close or scary. A good tactic yes, but it stirred the pot.
To make it clear, Britain really didn't have to go to war. I guess you could say it was a personal choice if they decided to. But the British didn't want to ignore the Treaty of London like the Germans hoped they would. And as soon as Germany invaded France through Belgium the ribbon cut. The British declared war on Germany. The Kaiser said how foolish he thought the British were. He said that Britain had gone to war for the sake of a "scrap of paper". "Within a few more days, Britain, France and Russia (the Allies) were all officially at war with Germany and Austria-Hungary (the Central Powers). What had started as a small, local problem in the Balkans was turning into the biggest and most brutal war the world had ever seen." (The National Archives).
The whole nation was under the jurisdiction of DORA (Defence of the Realm Act). What's DORA you may ask? The Defence of the Realm Act was basically an order passed in the United Kingdom on August 8th of 1914 and was there to control communications, the nation's ports and subject civilians to the rule of military courts covering the territorial extent of the UK and Ireland.
DORA gave the government (United Kingdom) the power to prosecute anybody whose actions were deemed to 'jeopardize the success of the operations of His Majesty's forces or to assist the enemy'. Basically, a way for them to grasp some good control. Were the civilians happy with it? Hmm, well for the first year or so of course, the extra safety concerns and protection were thanked for. However, as the war went on... not so much. The civilians explained it as being extremely inconvenient and unfair to add. The rules got a little much. Which is understandable.
Pubs could only open for 2 hours at lunchtime and 3 hours in the evening. This made sure the workforce was awake and sober for factory work. It went as far as even diluting the beer. But I'm sure you could see just this rule itself being viewed and felt as quite harsh to those men who were constantly at the pubs before the war had even started. May I explain something very unfair, that DORA gave the government the right to control the newspapers and censor all the information that the public received. Newspapers and radio broadcasts were censored. The government could control what people heard about the war. This made sure the public continued to support the war effort by only hearing good things.
Compare the strict rules to the rules like the ones we have all faced during this pandemic of the Coronavirus. Not saying what's happening now in the 21st century is something like back then but put it in comparison. The mandated rules of social distancing and masks is something I am getting sick and tired of just like everyone here. I have been in lockdown for over 2 years now, on and off. On and off. And like the British civilians explained, it's starting to feel extremely inconvenient and unfair. We really all just want it to end already.
But to continue, many men had thought they would be home by the Christmas of 1914. Just like how many men believed if they didn't want to be enlisted in the war over personal choice they wouldn't have to. In January 1916 conscription was introduced all single men aged 18-40 had to sign up for the army. This meant that one in three men were conscripted into the army. It was later extended to include married men in April 1916. Those who didn’t want to join thought very wrong because sadly, they had no choice. Those who didn't want to join would be hunted and named cowards. They would be handed what was called "White Feathers" and refused service by shops and pubs etc. Some were even imprisoned or executed!
The propaganda posters were everywhere. The British army was always looking for help. With the government only asking for 100,000 volunteers, they received 750,000 in just one month. Magnificent wouldn't you say? It was great. "Why did the men join?", you may ask. They were promised adventure in France, paid job, it felt like an honour and duty to the men. And the propaganda posters surely gave guilt to those who were second guessing themselves.
"This enthusiasm did not last. After the Battle of the Marne, it became obvious that there would be no quick victory and as trench warfare took its hold, the true reality of a modern war became obvious to all. War-weariness set in. The government could not hide the fact that many thousands of men had been killed or severely wounded. The return of wounded soldiers to London rail stations late at night did nothing to detract from the knowledge that casualties were horrendous." (History Learning Site).
The impact of the German U-boat campaign led to food shortages, but so did inflation on food prices when families began to get poor and couldn't afford much. To top it all of the Germans decided to attack Britain itself. Being the first time civilians themselves were targeted with bombing raids by Zeppelins and coastal raids by the German Navy.
The Germans felt that the British were not flexible in the early battles and would stick to tactics even after they were found to be ineffective. The Germans said this allowed them to exploit the British for longer than they should have been able to.
So you may be seeing a pattern. The Germans hated the British and the other way around too. To add some short little facts to this blog:
Children were taught hateful poems such as: "Little girl and little boys, never suck German toys, German soldiers licked will make Darling Baby's tummy ache"
In London's East End, German shops were looted and even German pianos thrown into the road
All bars, shops and hotels with English or French names were renamed
German soldiers chnated the slogan: 'Gott strafe England' (God punish England), a charming catchphrase made up by the poet Ernst Lissauer
After the war broke out, 69 Australian towns with German names were renamed. So in 1917, Ptersburg (named after German settler Peter Doecke) became Peterborough
Libraries across America destroyed German-language books in public burnings
And to end off on one interesting one for you to research when you get the time.. In Illinois, an angry mob lynched Robert Prager, a German coal miner, for hoarding explosives (which were never found)
"The first Zeppelin raid on London was at midnight on May 31st, 1915, when Hauptmann Linnarz bombed the capital killing seven people and making £18,000 worth of damage. In the months that followed, fifty further Zeppelin raids took place and a blackout was imposed on the city. By October 1915, these raids effectively ended when pilots from the Royal Naval Air Service flew night patrols to protect the city. On December 16th, 1914, the east coast towns of Scarborough, Whitby and Hartlepool were attacked by the German Navy killing 119 people including children." (History Learning Site). Pretty intense right?
The demand for fighting those off, meant more need for ammunition. So factories were working round the clock to ensure there was enough supply. "This invariably led to accidents as safety was sometimes seen as secondary to producing munitions. The worst factory accident was at Silverton in the East End of London. On January 19th, 1917, the munitions factory exploded and 69 people were killed and over 400 injured. Extensive damage was done to the area around the factory. In all, a total of 1,500 civilians were killed during the war." (History Learning Site).
To end off this blog on the role of women during the war. In 1914, it was said 5 million women were at work- this rose to 6 million at the end of the war. Women worked in industry, munitions factories, banking and commerce, in armed forces as secretaries, telephonists etc. 16,000 women joined the Land Army. Women also worked as nurses, black smiths, mechanics, transport system of trams and trains and even in engineering- anywhere they were needed. And by 1918, 800,000 women worked in munitions factories (nicknamed canaries because the chemicals used turned their skin yellow) and 260,000 found jobs in the armed services such as in the WAAC (Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps). (Painsley Co)
The women were even given the ability of vote from all their hard work and effort. Lloyd George supported the women votes, from the Representation of the People’s Act (RPA) being passed in 1918. This was huge! And I'm sure it felt really good on their side of the half.
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