The FirsT World War with imperial war museums Sarah Webb
Contents Introduction u Why did the world go to war in August 1914? How did the world go to war? Why did countries become enemies? How willing were countries to consider going to war? Was war still avoidable in the summer of 1914? u Why was there no quick victory? Why did the Schlieffen Plan fail? Who were the men who went to war? What made attacking the trenches difficult? The Somme: a needless slaughter? (1) The Somme: a needless slaughter? (2) Were British attacks on the Ottomans optimistic? What happened at Gallipoli and Baghdad? u What was life like at the Front? What was life like at the Front? Trench life: 90 per cent routine, 10 per cent terror? What problems did soldiers face on the other Fronts? u How did the Home Front help win the war? What was life like on the Home Front? How did the government get enough men to fight? How significant were women to the war effort? How far was life in Britain changed by wartime restrictions? u Why did the war end in November 1918? Who was winning the war at sea by 1918? Did the Americans save the Allies on the Western Front? Could Germany have won the war in March 1918? Why did Germany agree to the Armistice in November 1918? u What was the legacy of the war? What was the cost of the war? What problems faced the peacemakers? How was Europe changed by the peacemakers? Was it a good peace? Conclusion Glossary Timeline Index
1914 Aug War begins Aug/Sept Battles of Tannenberg and Masurian Lakes on Eastern Front Sept Trench warfare begins on Western Front 1915 Jan Poison gas first used Apr Gallipoli campaign begins Dec Siege of Kut begins 1916 Feb Battle for Verdun begins May Battle of Jutland Jul Battle of the Somme begins How did the world go to war? By the middle of August 1914 most of Europe was at war. Germany and Austria-Hungary (sometimes referred to as the Central Powers) were allied against Britain, France and Russia (known as the Allied Powers). Other countries joined later, including Turkey, Italy and the USA. Many European countries had large empires that sent troops from overseas, quickly turning it into a world war. The fighting took place throughout the world: in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. The most significant battles took place in Europe where the war began and where the majority of troops fought. Armed conflict first broke out between Austria-Hungary and Serbia in the summer of 1914 and, within three weeks, much of the world was at war. The response to war When war broke out, countries quickly had to mobilise vast armies. In Britain there was a rush to join the army; by 1916 over two million men had voluntarily enlisted. These included many boys younger than nineteen, the minimum age for overseas combat, who were so desperate to join up that they lied about their age. But this did not mean that people wanted war. Many, though, had come to consider it necessary. In Britain, as elsewhere in Europe, most people expected a quick war, one that would be over by Christmas 1914. The majority of volunteers would be sent to Belgium and France to fight against German troops. The road to war 28 July Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. 29 July Peace talks were suggested by Britain but did not take place. Russia ordered its army to prepare for possible action. 30 July Germany warned Russia to stop preparing its army. Russia refused. 1 August Germany declared war on Russia. 3 August Germany declared war on France and Germany invaded Belgium. 4 August Britain declared war on Germany. 6 August Austria-Hungary declared war on Russia. Serbia declared war on Germany. 12 August Britain and France declared war on Austria-Hungary. Source B. John Galsworthy, a British novelist, writes in his diary in August 1914. He was 47 at the outbreak of war. Monday August 3 rd... a miserable anxious day, [Britain is] hovering on the verge of this war... If Germany will not respect [Belgian neutrality] we shall be in. I hate war of all kinds. Tuesday August 4 th... We are in! The horror of the thing keeps coming over one in waves; and all the happiness has gone out of life. p Source A Men queuing to enlist in London, August 1914 4
1917 Feb British re-take Kut Apr USA joins the war Jul Battle of Passchendaele begins Dec Armistice between Russia and Germany 1918 Mar German Spring Offensive begins Nov Armistice 1919 Treaty of Versailles George s story George Coppard volunteered for the army at the age of sixteen in August 1914. This is an extract taken from his memoir With a machine-gun to Cambrai (1969). In 1914 I was just an ordinary boy of elementary education and slender prospects. Rumours of war broke out and I began to be interested in the [soldiers] tramping the streets in their big strong boots... Military bands blared out their martial music in the streets. This was too much for me to resist and, as if drawn by a magnet, I knew I had to enlist straightaway. Towards the end of August I presented myself to the recruiting sergeant in Croydon. There was a steady stream of men, mostly working types, queuing up to enlist. The sergeant asked me my age and when told replied, Clear off son. Come back tomorrow when you re nineteen, eh? So I turned up the next day and gave my age as nineteen... and holding up my right hand, swore to fight for King and Country. Activity 1. Read The road to war timeline. a) Which countries appear to be the most aggressive? What were their aggressive actions? b) You might want to ask some questions about why the countries behaved in the way they did. For example: Why did Austria-Hungary declare war on Serbia? Why did Russia start preparing its army for action when the conflict only involved Austria-Hungary and Serbia at that point? Add at least three more questions of your own. You will come back to these questions at the end of this section (pages 10 11) and see if you can now answer them. 2. Read George s story and Source B. a) How different are these reactions to the outbreak of war? b) How can you explain these differences? Why did the world go to war in August 1914? 5
1914 Aug War begins Aug/Sept Battles of Tannenberg and Masurian Lakes on Eastern Front Sept Trench warfare begins on Western Front 1915 Jan Poison gas first used Apr Gallipoli campaign begins Dec Siege of Kut begins 1916 Feb Battle for Verdun begins May Battle of Jutland Jul Battle of the Somme begins Who were the men who went to war? As soon as war broke out, the British government appealed for civilian volunteers to join the army. They realised that Britain s professional army of around 700,000 troops would not be enough to win the war. The public response was enthusiastic. Within eight weeks 750,000 men had enlisted. During the war this grew to a total of 2.67 million men. When Britain declared war, the countries in its Empire were also at war. Almost 30 per cent of men in the British Army during the war were imperial troops. As conscription was never introduced for men from the Empire, the majority were volunteers. Why did men volunteer? Men enlisted for a huge variety of reasons: duty, patriotism, adventure, comradeship, and the fear of being labelled a coward. The British government set up the q Source A Sikh soldiers arriving in France (1914). A woman is pinning a flower onto the tunic of one of the soldiers. Troops from the Empire were generally treated well, although many experienced racism. Ivor s story Ivor Evans was just 15 when he joined up in August 1914. The minimum age to serve overseas was 19. He was one of many underage soldiers who lied about their age to enlist. 6
1917 Feb British re-take Kut Apr USA joins the war Jul Battle of Passchendaele begins Dec Armistice between Russia and Germany 1918 Mar German Spring Offensive begins Nov Armistice 1919 Treaty of Versailles p Source B. A British recruitment poster: five questions for men who have not enlisted (1915) p Source C. An Australian recruitment poster: a free trip to Europe Parliamentary Recruiting Committee to encourage men to enlist. It produced 12.5 million posters during the war as part of their recruitment. Some men were attracted by the promise that groups who enlisted together would stay together, in pals battalions. Others were tempted by army pay and travel opportunities; research at the time suggests that 30 per cent of people in Britain s major cities were living in poverty. In addition, significant social pressure caused men to feel humiliated and ashamed for not wanting to fight. Some women even handed out white feathers, a symbol of cowardice, to young men they saw not wearing uniforms. Hatred of the enemy Government propaganda and the media encouraged the belief that it was right and necessary to fight Germany. Britain was presented as honourable, sticking to a promise dating from 1839 to protect Belgium s neutrality. (Germany belittled this as an outdated scrap of paper.) Stories of German atrocities against Belgian civilians spread throughout the country. Although outrages did occur (for example, German troops shooting 612 civilian hostages), most stories were exaggerated propaganda. Activity 1. How important were volunteers to the British Army during the First World War? 2. a) Create a mind map with the title: Why did men volunteer for the army? Use the text and the sources to find as many reasons as you can. b) Can you group these reasons into categories? For example, reasons to do with a sense of duty. 3. Choose a poster (Sources B C) and explain whether you think it was effective in its aim of appealing to men to join up. Give reasons for your answer by referring in detail to your chosen poster. Why was there no quick victory? 7
1914 Aug War begins Aug/Sept Battles of Tannenberg and Masurian Lakes on Eastern Front Sept Trench warfare begins on Western Front 1915 Jan Poison gas first used Apr Gallipoli campaign begins Dec Siege of Kut begins 1916 Feb Battle for Verdun begins May Battle of Jutland Jul Battle of the Somme begins The Somme: a needless slaughter? (1) From volunteers to conscripts As the war dragged on fewer people volunteered. Conscription was introduced in Britain in 1916 for men aged between 18 and 41. Eventually 2.77 million men were conscripted into the British Army. Almost one in four British men served in the army at some point during the war. On 1 July 1916 the British Army launched a major attack on 30 km of German trenches near the River Somme in France. Their task was to capture the German trenches at Beaumont Hamel. Preparations for the attack The British started a huge preliminary artillery bombardment, firing over 1.6 million shells and detonating enormous mines to destroy the German defences and cut through the barbed wire. A week later, at 7.30am on 1 July the infantry emerged from their trenches to cross no man s land. The first day It soon became clear that something had gone terribly wrong. German defences were still operating. The vulnerable advancing infantry were mowed down in a hail of machine gun fire and shrapnel shells. Many men fell just metres from their own trenches. Barely any reached over halfway across no man s land and none could get past the thick, uncut barbed wire. The German trenches at Beaumont Hamel were not captured. Of the original targets, only the towns of Mametz and Montauban were captured. By the end of the first day, there were almost 60,000 British casualties, of which one third were dead. The battle continues During the battle, British artillery became better at creeping barrages, then, on 15 September they used a new weapon, the tank, with good results. Although only 49 tanks took part in the attack on the village of Flers, German troops were terrified and retreated. The small number of tanks, however, meant the battle soon slowed to stalemate again. The mud presented another problem. From the end of August, heavy rains combined with the artillery bombardments turned the ground into a bog. It became almost impossible for infantry to advance. Beaumont Hamel, by November no more than a ruin, was finally captured but at a cost of 20,000 British casualties. Gordon s story Private Gordon Etheridge, a twentyfour year old volunteer soldier from Newfoundland (now part of Canada) took part in the attack with his brother, John Charles Etheridge. Of the 780 men in the Newfoundland Regiment, 670 became casualties that first day. Private Gordon Etheridge was one of them. His brother was seriously injured, and died later of his wounds. George s story Hundreds of dead were strung out like wreckage... Quite as many had died on the enemy wire as on the ground... they had died on their knees and the wire had prevented their fall... It was clear that there were no gaps in the wire at the time of the attack Had [the British generals] studied the black density of [the wire] through their powerful binoculars? What made them think that artillery fire would pound such wire to pieces? Any Tommy could have told them that shell fire lifts wire up and drops it back down, often in a worse tangle than before. What was superior beyond any doubt was the enemy trench system... any element of surprise... had been ruined by the long bombardment. 8
1917 Feb British re-take Kut Apr USA joins the war Jul Battle of Passchendaele begins Dec Armistice between Russia and Germany 1918 Mar German Spring Offensive begins Nov Armistice 1919 Treaty of Versailles The battle ends The Battle of the Somme was finally called off in mid-november 1916. German casualties were 660,000 and the British, 630,000. The British had gained just 10.5 km at the furthest point of the advance. On the next page you will find out more to help you decide if there were any winners in this battle. William s story Lieutenant William Hamo Vernon was 21 years old when he went missing at the Somme on 7 October 1916. Like so many, his body was never found; perhaps it was unidentifiable after being hit by a shell or sunk deep into the mud. His name, along with the names of 72,000 other missing men, is carved into the Thiepval Memorial in France. Activity 1. How useful is Source A in showing conditions during the Battle of the Somme? 2. Once you have read all the information on these pages, list all the problems the British troops faced at the Somme between July and November 1916. 3. Think of three questions you would like to ask about the British attack on the Somme in 1916. Keep these questions in mind when reading the following pages and see if what you read answers them. q Source A Horses knee-deep in mud, struggling to transport ammunition through the mud at the Somme, outside Flers, November 1916 Why was there no quick victory? 9