This is a large topic making up 50% of the course. Therefore there is a lot to cover.
I would approach the topics in the following order, however it is likely that the question will require you to pull on relevant knowledge from a mixture of areas as long as its relevant.
1. How effective was the government in mobilising volunteers and support for the war - propaganda, conscription, attitude to volunteering, role of women
2. Course and conduct of the war - success and failures of military leadership and tactics, often the examiner likes to ask if the leadership managed to keep morale up or contribution to winning the war - so methods and effectiveness.
3. What was the experience of British troops? How effectively did the leadership keep up morale?
4. How successfully did the government gain support for the war effort and control people via propaganda
5. Mobilising the economy - this hasn't come up for a while - what did the government do but more importantly how successful was it - successes and failures.
Sunday 8 May 2011
Monday 2 May 2011
How effectively did the British attempt to defeat the Germans in the great positional battles of 1916 and 1917?
Example - Battle of the Somme 1916
Success
Attempted join offensive with French
27,000 yard front, 14 divisions, many enthusiastic volunteers
Massive 7 day bombardment prior to attack – 1.5 million shells
120,000 troops
Flying corp had superiority over German air force
15th Sept – First time tanks used
3500 yards achieved by 15th Sept
Germans abandoned positions Feb and March 1917
BEF gained experience and tested tactics
Failure
Germans managed to attack first against French at Verdun. French contribution reduced.
Shells mainly contained shrapnel rather than high explosive.
Many shells were duds with poor fuses.
Germans aware of attack due to bombardment
57,000 casualties – 19,000 killed
Lasted from 1st July 1916 until Sept
Most tanks broke down and only moved at 2 MPH
German casualties equal to British and French est 600,000 however 2/3 were British on allied side.
The Battle of the Somme
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How effectively did the British Government recruit civilians into the armed forces?
Kitchener correctly predicted at the beginning of the war that it would be a drawn out land based war which would last 3 years.
Britain had a small professional army having relied on its navy to defend Britain and small armies aboard to control its empire.
As the war became a stalemate based on defensive trench warfare a large land army was needed.
Initially volunteers flooded to recruitment offices with over 500,000 men volunteering in the first few months. The government used propaganda to help with this process such as recruitment posters, songs, postcards, articles, recruitment rallies and parades. The newspapers also added to this with its anti-German attitude and pro war stance.
Men personally volunteered for a variety of reasons patriotism, peer pressure, guilt, adventure etc. Other subjected to a mixture of pressures and emotions.
The key question however is did everyone volunteer for the same reasons and did everyone view enlisting in the same way. Analysis of the evidence shows people may have been for or against enlisting but had their own personal reasons.
What happened to those who opposed the war?
Military Service Act introduced 1916 after volunteers reduced, Derby scheme failed, increased casualties and a continued stalemate in trench warfare.
Jan 1916 single men 18-41.
May 1916 married men 18-41 no longer select which service. Exceptions.
Exceptions where subjected to a tribunal, but this was not 100% consistent being influenced by the context of events.
Many CO's were not found except and were still sent to the front where they refused to follow orders, rather than being court marshalled and shot which would have implications for the military and government, they were given to the civil authorities and imprisoned.
Those who were except were ask to serve in NON-COMBATANT CORPS acting as stretcher bearers and ambulance drivers. Challenged by the NO CONSCRIPTION FELLOWSHIP led to those except working on public works like building roads.
ABSOLUTISTS who refused to serve in any form were imprisoned and faced harsh conditions and manual labour.
Clifford ALLEN and Fenner BROCKWAY were leading members of the NCF. Brockway had also been a member of the Independent Labour Party, which was split over the issue of conscription.
The majority of the public public were hostile to the Conscientious Objectors, CO's or Conchies seeing them as cowards, especially as friends and family members fought and died in the trenches. BUT not everyone was against them, they received sympathy from some for sticking to the principles despite poor treatment and hostility.
WHY did they seek exception or refuse to fight - a mixture of reasons in the mian they were pacifists, quakers, socialists or believed in free will.
Jan 1916 single men 18-41.
May 1916 married men 18-41 no longer select which service. Exceptions.
Exceptions where subjected to a tribunal, but this was not 100% consistent being influenced by the context of events.
Many CO's were not found except and were still sent to the front where they refused to follow orders, rather than being court marshalled and shot which would have implications for the military and government, they were given to the civil authorities and imprisoned.
Those who were except were ask to serve in NON-COMBATANT CORPS acting as stretcher bearers and ambulance drivers. Challenged by the NO CONSCRIPTION FELLOWSHIP led to those except working on public works like building roads.
ABSOLUTISTS who refused to serve in any form were imprisoned and faced harsh conditions and manual labour.
Clifford ALLEN and Fenner BROCKWAY were leading members of the NCF. Brockway had also been a member of the Independent Labour Party, which was split over the issue of conscription.
The majority of the public public were hostile to the Conscientious Objectors, CO's or Conchies seeing them as cowards, especially as friends and family members fought and died in the trenches. BUT not everyone was against them, they received sympathy from some for sticking to the principles despite poor treatment and hostility.
WHY did they seek exception or refuse to fight - a mixture of reasons in the mian they were pacifists, quakers, socialists or believed in free will.
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