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CIVILIANS IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR 1914 - 18 Military conduct of the war: initially Britain believed it would fight a predominately naval war that would involve the destruction of the German navy and the implementation of a tight blockade of Germany. Britain would provide a British Expeditionary Force (BEF) initially of 100,000 men to aid the French (& Belgians). It was envisaged that the French would do most of the land fighting. The army would also be deployed where necessary across the world (like the navy) to destroy Germany’s limited forces in its imperial possessions. By mid-September 1914 the Germans had occupied nearly all of Belgium together with substantial areas of NE France. The German advance into France had been stopped; in fact the Germans had withdrawn, regrouped and consolidated; digging in with trenches. Once dug in they were impossible to dislodge and soon both sides were stalemated in almost continuous trenches from the North Sea to Switzerland. Most attacking was done by the French & British to dislodge the Germans from occupied territory. It was soon realised that Britain would have to contribute more manpower and by 1917 was taking the brunt of the fighting that hitherto had been done by the French. Only in spring 1918 did the trench lines move when the Germans nearly achieved a breakthrough. However the Germans exhausted themselves and in August the allies started to advance; the German high command realised that they could not win especially as their allies were collapsing. They asked for an armistice in November; they were however still standing on French & Belgian territory. Naval conduct of the war: there was no great fleet action as originally envisaged until the summer of 1916 when the battle of Jutland was fought. The Germans inflicted heavier casualties than the British did and claimed a victory. However their fleet never really ventured from port again and the British continued to dominate the North Sea, enforcing an even stricter blockade than previously. By the autumn of 1918 Germany was near to starvation and many civilians were suffering from malnutrition. The Germans implemented their own U Boat blockade of Britain. This was called off after the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915 for fear of USA entering the war. However unrestricted submarine warfare was resumed in 1917; the Germans gambling that they could starve Britain out before USA could effectively involve itself in the war. Germany provoked USA into war but failed to starve Britain out. Political leadership in the war: Asquith, the Liberal PM, and his party were temperamentally unsuited to fighting a major war. Only Lloyd George & Churchill had the drive and commitment to fight a sustained and total war. Initially it was envisaged that civilian life and government would continue much as in peacetime and the war could be left to the War Office (controlling the army) & the Admiralty (controlling the navy). Regular servicemen, the reserves and new volunteers were all that were needed apart from industry supplying them with the necessary arms and equipment. However the government did introduce: The Defence of the Realm Act (DORA) which was the key to the control of nearly all aspects of life during the war. Additionally Lloyd George (Chancellor of the Exchequer) took steps to preserve Sterling as a strong internationally acceptable currency. Later (1915) he secured the Treasury Agreements whereby the Trades Unions allowed non-skilled labour including women into the engineering and other war-related industries. At the War Office Kitchener launched a spectacularly successful recruitment campaign. Conscription was not necessary until 1916. Following the Shells Scandal Asquith was obliged to form a coalition government involving the Conservatives and Labour. Lloyd George was made Minister of Munitions and using powers under DORA he expanded munitions production (even if shell quality was sometimes poor). Gradually Asquith was forced by the other parties, public opinion and circumstances to move the country on to a war footing and introduce measures that forced people to do what they did not want to do (eg conscription). In December 1916 Lloyd George replaced Asquith as PM and immediately started a more energetic and effective type of leadership. He worked with a small dynamic War Cabinet: brought business and technical experts into government; introduced convoys & rationing in response to the U Boat campaign, Moreover he was sensitive to public opinion and realised the importance of keeping up civilian morale: particularly in relation to rationing and wage rises. He also took key industries (Coal mines & Railways under government control). Aspects you should be aware of: DORA The great recruiting campaign Women & unskilled labour in the munitions industry Female pressure to be usefully employed in war work Women as bus drivers, conductresses, policewomen, in the armed services and as nurses at the front Morale and civilian reaction to casualties Censorship & propaganda (controlled by the newspaper industry) Public opinion & morale Rationing and additional food production Civilian losses due to German bombardment of east coast ports (Scarborough, Hartlepool & Yarmouth) together with zeppelin bombing of London & the south east The democratisation of society: sacrifices by all classes; fewer servants & less rich living by the wealthy (including the royal family); votes given to remaining men over 21 & women over 30 The rebranding of the royal family so as to appear more British & not German |