British Home Front Ww1 Essay Research Paper

British Home Front Ww1 Essay, Research Paper

Modern History Assessment Task #1

c) Britains immediate reaction to World War I was a combination of excited anticipation, curiosity and patriotism. The majority of people were swayed by the initial euphoria and the country settled into a state of patriotic unity.

Initially, Britain was sure that the war would be over by Christmas. They had only ever before seen small outbreaks of conflict like the Russo-Japanese War, which was quiet insignificant when compared to the results of the Great War to come. Whether it was soldiers about to leave for the combat or women entering the workforce, the general vibe was ecstatic and eager to contribute.

Britain contributed exceptional support with amazingly high spirits. However, this only lasted until Christmas of 1914. By this time, trenches had been dug and strong defensive positions were in place. The war didn.t seem to be moving anywhere. This caused concern as according to the government the war should have over by now and all the British back at home. By mid 1915 a stalemate had developed. General civilian attitudes started to turn. People were not so confident and patriotic as they once were at the beginning of the war. Wounded soldiers began to return home and stories from the frontline were out in the open. As the war situation began to look grim, the government began to control things like the media and censoring letters that were to reach the home front in order to keep morale as high as possible.

The Gallipoli campaign was the next major attempt to better the civilians. attitudes. Unfortunately the Gallipoli campaign was an absolute disaster. Gallipoli turned out to be eight months of a similar ordeal that Britain went through only a short while earlier in France. Back home the British press were shocked at the failure. As a result, Winston Churchill was sacked from his position and once again high spirits deteriorated.

The lead up to the battle of the Somme yet again improved British citizens attitudes and all were confident of a decisive breakthrough. Yet again it was a story seen only too many times before. Britains great expectations soon turned to disappointment and outrage. On the first day of the battle, sixty thousand British men were killed. The press back home were completely stunned. This was the turning point of the war. The Germans had seized the advantage and blockaded the English Channel with the highly effective U-boat campaign. This had an almost devastating effect as essential food and other supplies were no longer to reach Britain from places like Australia. Britain became desperate, as civilians had lost a great sense of hope as they began to starve to death.

The second full year of war was ending; victory and peace were nowhere in sight. The very effective minister for munitions, Lloyd George felt the government was not doing enough to win. In November 1916, he said privately: .We are going to lose the war.. Asquith resigned as prime minister and Lloyd George took over. He immediately reorganised the government for the concept of Total War. He set up a small war cabinet of top ministers that he felt could guide the war effort. There were new ministries (Labour, Food, Shipping, Pensions) and many departments and committees. Researchers gathered accurate information about what the country was producing and what was needed to win the war. People didn.t know what to think of the new issues and ways of living brought about by the highly active and motivational Prime Minister Lloyd George. Most followed in his confidence stance and anticipated a change of tune from the frontline.

1916 was known as the year of big offensives. However, it was large-scale on both the British home front as well as the front-line. British citizens both at home and in the midst in combat all shared the similar view that war was hell. 750 000 French and British had died in the campaigns that were meant to win the Great War. Back home, conscription had been introduced, milking every last able-bodied British citizen, leaving only despaired women and shaky-handed seventy year olds working in places such as munitions factories. Governments were doing as much as possible to hold on and maintain morale. Britain was trying to tap every last resource for every last supply. Nonetheless, the struggle to survive was enough. The British beat the German U-boat campaign and spirits were lifted. The entry of the Americans, although small, was also a major boost. In 1918, major allied offensives had driven the Germans back as far as their border. This was without any major effort from the Americans and so was great inspiration for the British civilians to hold on. Victory was once again in sight.

Finally, on the 11th of November 1918, the armistice was signed which signified the relief of the long awaited excitement and eagerness which had ironically greeted the war only four years earlier. The time of excitement of going off to war; anger at the truth of the front-line; the frustration of a stalemate; the deadly anticipation of scanning the daily published casualty lists; the confidence that the next offensive would be the last; and all-round mixed emotions came slowly to a holt on the British home front as soldiers did and did not return to there family and lives they had left behind so long ago.

HISTORY Student #571