Until 1914, all previous wars had been confined to small areas involving relatively small armies. World War I was the first ever ‘total war’ – where all aspects of a country’s economic, social and political systems became devoted to the waging of the war effort.
In July of 1914, Europe was at war.
For the soldiers, the lack of education of the war’s possibilities played a huge role in their changing attitude towards the war.
Source. A shows a large group of German enthusiasts marching off to join up for the war. Their courageous smiles and celebration shows their obvious lack of knowledge of the gruesome and tragic war that lay before them. This was a common scene in Paris, London, Vienna and Prague, as the source states, and shows the positive attitude of fighting prior the war.
Both sides were thrown into a whole new style of warfare never before seen. Technological advances ensured that the Great War would be different to any other before it. The common belief amongst soldiers, and those who stayed home for that matter, was that the war would be over by Christmas 1914. When Christmas came along, many of the British and German soldiers on the Front line arranged a truce between themselves and socialised as friends. This truce displayed the common attitude of soldiers at the time, who saw themselves as pawns dying for unnecessary political feuds.
The Essay on Post-war Soldier And Civilian Expectations Of The British Government
British soldiers and civilians had high expectations of their government following World War 1, most of which did not eventuate. The soldiers needed understanding of their suffering and emotional pains of the war, while the British civilians felt that Germany’s reparations were highly important in the short-term. Employment was a significant issue to both groups, with the soldiers arriving ...
A common enlistment tactic was the idea of joining with a mate. Many of these groups of healthy young men (often students, as Source. A shows) were split apart in wasted attacks with questionable tactics for little to no gain. Eventually, the loss of enlisted friends and family members led to a lot of soldiers questioning their reasons for supporting the war.
Soldiers were also becoming increasingly paranoid, of not only dying, but also other serious war-related dangers including shellshock, the loss of limbs, numerous infections, hygienic diseases, trenchfoot, and the risk of being buried alive in the often-horrendous conditions.
Source. B shows a photograph of returned World War I soldiers. It is assumed that these soldiers were sent home from battle and shows each of the young men with missing legs.
Soldiers on the front were being mutilated.
By mid-1916, the determination of all soldiers fell. For the Germans, the Kaiser-model army had gone. For the Allies, questionable offensive tactics had lost many lives. In April of 1917, the failed Nivelle offensives at the Second battle of the Aisne resulted in widespread mutiny after French soldiers revolted. The soldiers refused to continue attacking under the offensive plans of French commander-in-chief Robert Nivelle, and demanded an alteration in his plans.
Soldiers continued to die and those fighting wanted to return home. By the time armistice was called in November 1918, 8 millions soldiers from the armed forces alone had died.
The effect of total war had also heavily impacted the homefront of the major fighting nations.
Before the war, there was no real tradition of German loyalty or patriotism that the government could call upon, because the unification of the German states just 43 years earlier had been achieved through mostly force and coercion. Conscription of adult males from the very beginning of the war meant that the initial German response would be incredibly strong, but problems would emerge as manpower reserves became depleted.
This meant that Germany had to win the war early – this didn’t happen, and the tension at home began to fluctuate, as many German soldiers enlisted and never returned.
The Essay on Effects Of World War I On Germany
Effects of World War I On Germany World War I had a devastating effect on the entire world. Germany however, might have suffered the most from a war that claimed the lives of 9 million combatants. Germany lost more men in this war than any other nation involved. An entire generation of Germans was slaughtered, almost 2 million were killed, and the total number of casualties was over 7 million. The ...
The German home front began to crumble, and the government’s reliance on a victorious war became more and more apparent as the situation worsened. Germany’s limited coastline made it susceptible to the effects of blockade. Furthermore, Germany heavily relied on imports, which became near impossible to source during the war.
A poor harvest in 1915 resulted in shortages and rationing on the German homefront. Average food prices rose 446% between 1914 and 1918. Germany began to starve. Between 1914 and 1918, there were 762 000 German civilians who stayed home that had died from starvation and the lack of resources.
Due to its unstable economic situation during wartime, 3 500 000 women were forced to enter the workforce in Germany.
The longer the war lasted, the greater the degree of anti-war sentiment in Germany. Towards the conclusion of the war, there were many peace demonstrations and protest movements amongst other anti-war activities – including a strike of 250,000 workers at the start of 1918.
Germany was sick of the war. For Great Britain and the Allies, the impact on the homefront was very similar.
Just as in Germany, many women were thrown into the workforce to take the place of those who went to fight. In 1915, 30,000 women in Great Britain demanded the right to serve in the war and were given non-combatant roles.
Despite this, British women were amongst the most passionate against the war, and were also demanding the right to vote, which they were granted in 1918.
In Ireland, a rebellion was prevented in 1914 by the outbreak of the war, where Irish patriotism proved more important than the independence of the nation. However, 1917 saw the outbreak of the ‘Easter Rebellion’ in Ireland, which demanded freedom from English influence.
In the first two years of the War, the British government became unpopular following military failures at Gallipoli and the Somme. But it wasn’t until 1916 that the spirits of the British homefront really sank.
In May, the indecisive naval battle of Jutland between Britain and Germany saw German ships withdrawing after both sides had lost many casualties. This battle strongly contradicted all previous conceptions of British Naval Dominance.
The Essay on War Of 1812 Great Britain
List and discuss the events leading up to the War of 1812 and the impact it had on American and Great Britain relations, and the American economy. During Jefferson's second term in office, fighting between Great Britain and France was posed as a threat to American shipping. Napoleon made the decision to exclude British goods from Europe. As a result, Great Britain decided to blockade Europe and ...
In June, a ship travelling to Russia struck a mine with a loss of most onboard, including Britain’s much-loved Lord Kitchener. Kitchener was a national icon of power and security for Great Britain.
In July, the overwhelming bombardment on the River Somme was expected to put Germany’s war efforts to an end. It was a massive disaster for the allies, with 614 000 lives lost in just 5 months for very little gain. The next month, the graphic film documentary of the battle was released, and showed gruesome footage from the front line to the British public.
Germany’s strict submarine warfare had affected British food supplies, which brought about extensive rationing, increased prices and immense shortages. The price of food had risen 110% between 1914 and 1918 in Great Britain, and meatless days and limits were imposed.
Just as in Germany, the longer that the war continued, the more widespread and frequent the anti-war movements became. By 1918, there was much pressure on the British government to end the war.
Both sides had no expectation of the war lasting as long as it did. As both sides continued to lose masses of lives and the war continued, attitudes of both the soldiers and those at home became negative. The Great War increasingly relied on which sides total war effort was most effective. In the end, the demands of total war proved devastating for both sides.
