Breadth Study Flashcards
1
Q
What were the causes of the French Wars and who were some significant figures?
A
- Due to the French revolution that lasted until 1799, Britain’s fears of invasion from the French was large.
- Britain also supported the countries financially invaded by Napoleon’s army such as Prussia.
- However, when the French took some of those countries, Britain knew they had to do more.
- Led to the Peninsular War (1808-1815) which took place across Portugal and Spain saw the British fighting the French.
- Arthur Wellesley, was the only general to defeat the French on land. Horatio Nelson, dominated the French at sea.
2
Q
What were the outcomes of the French war?
A
- Had a huge impact on the domestic impact on the British and French economy. PM Pitt the younger introduced income tax for the very first time and need for warships and ammunition meant British economy thrived.
- Napoleon operated a continental system which was used to attempt to hinder British trade however it just encouraged the British to discover new markets such as China and India.
- Britain’s success on land and sea led to them becoming the most feared and established army that was not challenged for 50 years.
3
Q
What were some of the Duke of York’s reforms and in what time period did he implement them?
What was the effect of the reforms and the problems with recruitment?
A
- Between 1795-1815
- Firstly, he abolished some harsh purchase systems which cut some nepotism in the army.
- Established a military college to help with professionalism of future officers.
- Created “light” infantry regiments. The original Victorian regiment system was seen as fit for purpose but had problems with recruitment. Victorian sensibilities about recruiting criminals meant volunteers declined. The other problem was purchase of commissions. These reforms did not really have an effect in Crimea later on as the army had done very well in the Napoleonic Wars so there was little concern for reform.
4
Q
When and what was the McNeill and Tulloch Report and why were they sent there?
A
- 1855
- During the Crimean war, army affairs was of public and political interest.
- It was clear that lack of supply and quality of clothing that were issues in the Napoleonic wars were continued into Crimea.
- Sir John McNeill and Colonel Alexander Tulloch were sent to Crimea to review the organisation of delivery of supplies to Balaclava.
5
Q
What were the problems that McNeill and Tulloch report found?
A
- Highly critical of army command and found several problems with the supply to Balaclava.
1. Poor health of soldiers was a result of lack of food and cooking facilities.
2. Supplies were slow to be distributed to ordinary soldiers. AN example was lime was sent in December 1854 to help with scurvy but arrived in February 1855.
3. Communication between officers and soldiers were poor.
4. Medical supplies were poor.
6
Q
What was the outcome of the McNeill-Tulloch report?
A
- The commissariat was reformed and made more professional in 1858 such as rebuilding of barracks in 1856.
- However, little was done to support soldier life as soldiers remained poorly paid and discipline was still harsh.
- Supplies were now dealt with in house rather than sorted elsewhere.
- There was also medical advancements such as Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole’s effect but that was more down to Russell’s reports.
- Overall, the McNeill-Tulloch report gave the government a more central role in army management.
7
Q
Why were Cardwell’s reforms needed and when was it?
A
-1868-74
- The Crimean War highlighted the inefficiency of the army and its structure especially in comparison to countries like Germany and Prussia.
- Part of the problem was British hierarchy resisted any type of change as the Duke of Wellington’s dominance meant tactics were hard to change 40 years later.
- Recruitment was the main problem as enlistment was minimum 12 years, wages were poor and discipline was harsh.
- Purchase of commissions was crippling the hierarchy as it cost £450 to join the higher ranks yet the ordinary income for a soldier was £30.
- The Liberals won the election and appointed Cardwell to reform the army which was in his manifesto.
8
Q
What reforms did Cardwell introduce?
A
- Short-term enlistments were introduced under the Army Enlistment Act 1870 and reduced it to 6 years from 12.
- Purchase of commissions was completely abolished.
- Under the Regulation of the Forces Act 1871, two regular battalions, two militias and a quota of volunteers were based over 66 different places in the country.
- Flogging in peacetime was banned meaning discipline wasn’t as harsh
- Cardwell also secured an increase in funds for the army( 2 million funds for 20,000 troops)
9
Q
What was the success and what were the outcomes of the Cardwell reforms?
A
- Reforms promised more than it actually delivered.
- The army lost more men than it gained during this period due to short term enlistments.
- The abolition of purchase of commissions did little to change the nepotism in the army.
- Although reforms were made, the army was steeped in tradition and pretty much did exactly the same as before.
- The recruitment was somewhat fixed by increasing unemployment at home meaning the army was an attractive occupation for some but was not due to Cardwell’s reforms.
- Although some punishments were removed, soldiers pay remained low and 3/4 could be paid back for food, fuel and clothing.
10
Q
Why were Haldane’s reforms needed and when was it?
A
- 1905-12
- Due to the Boer War, demands for efficiency of soldiers to be increased.
- One issue was the declining health of the population such as 2/3 of volunteers in Manchester were turned down.
- The Boer War should have been a landslide victory but the poor quality of British soldiers partly prevented this.
- By 1905, threat of war with Germany led to the government implementing reforms.
11
Q
What were some reforms introduced by Haldane?
A
- Used the budget of 28 million to create a two line army: A British expeditionary force(BEF) of 150,000 men and a territorial army(TA) created from volunteers to help support the BEF if needed.
- Existing military corps in schools were reorganised into Officer Training Corps which made purchase of commissions practically redundant.
- To deal with issues of the empire, Haldane created The Imperial General Staff to oversee matters involving the empire meaning it was dealt with separately from the army which was a better split.
12
Q
What were the thoughts of Haldane’s reforms?
A
- Were seen as valuable in efficient mobilisation and performance of the army when the war came in 1914.
13
Q
Who were some WW1 Generals and what were their tactics? What were the strengths weaknesses?
A
- General Haig sought to improve preparedness by holding large-scale manoeuvres and big offences.
- General Henry Wilson formulated mobilisation plans, especially the preparation of railway timetables and shipping arrangements to help the BEF to operate effectively.
- By 1914, this meant the army had improved professionally but continually underestimated the machine gun and still believed cavalry should be used.
- British army lacked in size and led to conscription in 1916 which showed the British morals being wiped.
14
Q
What was the status of the British navy during the French Wars?
Why was it so successful and what battle cemented its place?
A
- The navy proved to be superior against all its competitors.
- It was due to excellent leadership in Nelson and also the supporting role of the government.
- The British victory at Trafalgar 1805 cemented the British navy as unrivalled.
15
Q
Why did the British navy reduce its size after the French Wars?
What were the only needs for the navy?
How much did warships drop and what was the decrease in officers pay?
A
- After Waterloo in 1815 with the signing of the Congress of Vienna there was no need for a large naval force and so the British navy reduced its size.
- Only used the navy for protecting its trade routes and protecting its empire.
- Warships fell from 713 to 121 by 1818 and 90% of officers were on half pay.
16
Q
Was the navy affected by the reduction in size after the French Wars?
What did the navy do to maintain power around the world?
A
- Despite the reduction, the navy continued to dominate the waves as the main fleet was kept in Europe and 130 frigates defended.
- British split the navy in squadrons in different parts of the world to maintain power.
17
Q
What was the navy’s view of the new technological advances of steam?
What was the first ship to have a fitted steam engine and when?
What development on ships were made with the introduction of iron ships?
What was the first iron ship called and when?
A
- The navy kept up with technological developments such as steam but was seen as unreliable so most ships during 1840s and 50s relied on sail.
-The navy developed the HMS Devastation which had a fitted steam engine in 1873. - One of the biggest problems was fitting steam engines as the ships were made of wood so could only carry the equivalent weight.
- The development of iron ships coincided to heavier guns but also did more damage as it was the HMS Warrior being the first iron ship in 1860.
18
Q
What was Graham’s problems with warships in terms of production and its gunnery?
A
- Graham sought to reverse the fact production of warships were decreasing.
- Graham felt gunnery had been neglected so he ordered all gunners to receive training and practice(Which was done daily under Nelson).
19
Q
What was the problem with officers by the end of the French Wars?
What did Graham do to fix this?
A
- By the end of the war the navy had too many officers and not enough ships.
- You could be promoted to officer even if not seeing active service in years. Graham sought to reverse this.
- He merged the Admiralty and Navy board which improved naval admin which encouraged less nepotism, corruption and bribery.
- Officers now needed to have at least two years of experience at sea before promotion to commander.
20
Q
What was the problem with supply in the navy and how did Graham fix this?
A
- One of Graham’s biggest reforms was the abolition of the civilian-run Naval office. All aspects of supply was now placed under naval control rather than the governments which had been slow.
- One clear advantage of this was communication improved as five principal officers would be in charge of different areas.
21
Q
Why did the Navy’s role need to be changed in the Crimean and Second Boer War?
A
- Navy’s previous role was to protect Britain from invasion. However, it changed as a naval blockade was stopping supplies enter Britain which would have led to starvation in Britain leading to surrender.
- During Crimean and Second Boer War, the navy was only used to supply rather than fight that had happened in the Napoleonic Wars.
22
Q
What was the Two Power Standard adopted by the Navy and when?
A
-In 1889, The Naval Defence Act formally adopted that at any given time, the naval strength of Britain should rival her two biggest enemy strength.
- It was estimated Germany would have the second largest navy which led to a race to ensure Britain could match up.
23
Q
Who was Admiral Jacky Fisher, what was he fascinated by and what was his ideology to stop naval war?
A
- Was a sea lord 1904-1909.
- He was fascinated by technology and saw the new innovation in weapons, ship design and aviation as a way to change naval warfare.
- He detested war and believed the best way to prevent this was to make the navy so strong that they would go unchallenged and prevent any threat of war.
24
Q
What act did Jacky Fisher pass to reform all navy officers and what did it do?
A
- Selbourne Scheme which meant all naval officers were to be trained in common and could specialise in gunnery, navigation or engineering.
25
What did Jacky Fisher do in response to the government cutting defence spending?
How many vessels did he sell?
- He sold off 90 vessels and put 64 more in reserve claiming as they were "too weak to fight and too slow to run away".
- He also created the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve to give the navy a large reserve to call on if needed.
- He also reorganised the location of fleets which reduced costs as they were closer together but also emphasised Germany were a key priority.
26
What was Fisher's 2 high considerations when introducing submarines?
- It was much cheaper- It was 25 times cheaper for a submarine than a battle ship.
- They had the potential to increase Britain's security.
27
What was the First Dreadnought called and what did it consist of?
- Were very powerful ships that made other ships obsolete.
- Sparked a naval race with Germany.
- The HMS Dreadnought was the first new breed of modern British ships as it was deadly with a range of 18,000 yards but also the fastest ship in the world as it was powered by steam turbines.
- Also had perfectly timed gunnery technology.
28
How many men did the navy have after 1793?
What were the 2 main ways the British Navy recruited for the French Wars?
- Had around 120,000 men.
- Given that voluntary recruitment didn't provide enough, they used press gangs who pressured men age 15-55 to join around ports.
- By 1805, half of the Navy was made up of pressed men.
- The Quota System meant that each county had to provide volunteers on a percentage of their population. To meet their quota, the counties often gave criminals in.
29
Why was it difficult for the British military to recruit for the French Wars?
- No press gangs operated on the army's behalf.
- Pay was poor.
- Soldiers suffered a high death rate.
- Punishment was harsh such as flogging.
- The Militia(Home defence) which made up 1/5 of the army.
- Recruits had to serve at least 5 years unless they paid for commissions.
30
What were the positives for British army recruitment before the French Wars?
- After 1805, 74,000 men from the militia joined regular service between 1807-12.
- It was also largely a myth that press gangs got people drunk to join or that the ranks were filled with criminals. Patriotism was widespread and adventure motivated individuals.
- British Kings were also leaders of Hanover so many joined the King's German Legion(KGL) which consisted of Hanoverians and French deserters. 52,000 foreigners which made up 1/5 of the army.
31
Why was recruitment so high at the start of WWI?
How many volunteers joined at the outbreak of WWI?
- On the outbreak of WWI, Kitchener was Secretary of War and knew Britain needed large numbers.
- 761,000 volunteers joined the army in August and September 1914 due to codes of self-patriotism, duty and self-sacrifice was widespread in British society.
32
Why was recruitment patterns uneven at the start of WWI?
How did Kitchener fix the shortage of officers?
- Lancashire, Yorkshire and Scotland furnished over 1/3 of all battalions while Southern counties like Devon only produced 11 battalions.
- In 1914-15, the entertainment industry contributed 40% of their workforce to the army while manufacturing and transport only sent 30%.
- There was a shortage of officers (only just over 20,000) so Kitchener did a few things to increase this:
- Shortened courses at Sandhurst
- Brought back retired officers
- Granted temporary permissions.
33
Why was conscription introduced even though Britain was so against it?
What Act brought all men to be enlisted?
Did conscription bring more troops in?
- PM Herbert Asquith was initially against conscription .However, in 1915 he faced threat of Lloyd George's resignation, so he introduced conscription.
- Second Military Act in 1916 meant all men between 18-41 would be conscripted.
- Conscription did not provide more troops and was actually less than the voluntary system. It led to 750,000 claims for exemption.
34
What was the Carronade and when was it introduced?
Why was it effective for naval tactics?
What battle was it used at?
What were the drawbacks and what developments did it bring?
- The carronade was a short cannon that fired grapeshot at short range.
- Was introduced in 1790.
- The rationale was it would be easier to use than the naval guns.
- It was quick to reload and could do devasting damage to ships.
- It fitted to their favourite tactic, the Broadside(Being able to board the enemy ship)
- Was used at the Battle of Trafalgar, the HMS Victory had 2 and cleared the top deck of the French battleship.
- Carronades were more effective at short range so fell out of favour.
- Their accuracy with such a small bullet led to developments such as the rifled barrel.
35
What were Congreve's rockets and when were they introduced?
Who created it?
Why was it a feared weapon?
Who was reluctant to use it and why?
What were the drawbacks of it?
- British experienced rockets as weapons whilst fighting in India.
- Sir William Congreve was the British engineer which examined them and made a British variant in 1806.
- Both Navy and Army used it in the Napoleonic Wars.
- Its unpredictable flight path, smoke and noise made it a fearsome weapon which had a massive psychological effect on soldiers.
- However, many of those in the army like Wellington were reluctant to use them as they felt it was unnecessary but the government pushed on.
- As well as being inaccurate, it did not store well and reacted badly to temperatures.
36
What was Armstrong's new artillery and when was it?
What was the effect of battlefields on this?
What was Armstrong inspired by?
- Traditionally, firepower weapons needed to be loaded through a muzzle with gunpowder which was long and tiresome.
- 1859-60.
- Was the first breech loaded weapon and was inspired by the issues at Crimea- overcoming slow reloads, barrel wear and poor accuracy.
- Army used it in 1859 but was high maintenance, expensive and needed more training so reverted to muzzles.
- The improved weaponry allowed for wider battlefields. At Waterloo it was 2 1/2 miles and by the Somme it was 25 miles.
- Without Armstrong's artillery for naval ships, battleships would not have progressed in the way it did, naval wars evidence of this.
- By WWI, soldiers were more likely to be killed by weapons than disease which had not been the case previously.
37
What was the Vickers Machine Gun and when was it active battle?
How much more effective were machine guns to riflemen?
What were the issues?
- 1914-18
- Vickers machine gun was a much lighter, reliable and easier to produce than the previous maxim gun.
- At the start of WWI, each infantry and cavalry had 2 of these.
- Every division eventually had its own machine gun regiment.
- Vickers machine gun was a key development in trench warfare. The machine gun could produce the same fire of 40-50 riflemen and was easy when firing.
- However, machine guns were very high maintenance as they often overheated, needed lots of parts and needed men with expertise.
38
When did the tank see active battle?
Who pushed for tanks to be developed?
What were the first prototypes called?
What were the issues with tanks at first?
How many tanks out of 50 made it to the start line?
- 1915-18
- Churchill pushed the "landships" programme which encouraged the development of tanks in 1915.
- The first prototype was "little willie" and showed the benefit of caterpillar tracks for moving over tougher terrain.
- The prototype was altered named "big willie" and was the standard model throughout WWI.
- The first tanks had several issues. Its top speed was 4mph, most tanks broke down in the battlefield, difficult to operate and needed several men to operate them.
- First used at the Somme in 1916, where only 24 out of 50 tanks made it to the start line and then many broke down.
- However, there was a relentless development of tanks and led to better engines. Was most successful at the Battle of Cambrai in 1917 when 400 tanks helped support with creeping barrage.
39
How did the British finance the war in the French Wars?
- William Pitt the younger introducing income tax in 1799 meant the treasury had lots of money, too much.
- It led to the introduction of The Bank of England which meant people could use bonds with a promissory note(The government saying they would pay it back).
40
How was the wars throughout the 19th century financed?
- Through income tax and small increases in national debt.
- Imperial wars such as Crimea were lower costing due to the low amount of soldiers needed and weakness of the enemy.
41
What was the national debt by 1918 and where did the government get its money from?
How much was income tax increased from 1914 to 1918?
What did lots of single women do?
- National debt increased from 625 million in 1914 to 7,800 million by 1918.
- This was borrowed from the Bank of England and USA.
- Another form was war bonds.
- This was the first time civilians had been encouraged and asked to fund the war.
- Taxes were increased from 3.5% in 1914 to 30% by 1918.
- Lots of single women would travel with the army as pay would come easy as soldiers needed things done and also finding a husband was easy.
42
What was the role of nurses during the French and Crimean Wars?
- During the French Wars, medical care was given to bandsmen who would act as stretch bearers and the surgeon of each battalion- neither had formal training and nurses often did lots.
- The Crimean War exposed the poor medical care such as McNeil-Tulloch report exposed the poor mismanagement of medical supplies. It was the first war to have experienced trained nurses.
43
What were camp followers and how did they benefit?
What act came from prostitution in camp?
- Followed the army and could result in profit from prostitution, selling alcohol, gunsmiths and cobblers.
- It was estimated throughout the Crimean war 1 in 5 servicemen had a STD from prostitutes which led to the Contagious Diseases Act 1864 where women could be examined and then detained for 3 months while men weren't.
44
What did the government do in the French Wars with threat of invasion at home?
- The threat of invasion from the French led to militia units throughout Britain. They protected well and made a good basis for army recruitment in 1803.
45
What Act recognised militias as the army and what figures did this?
- After the Napoleonic Wars, most militias were disbanded but some remained. The Militia Act 1852 proved 80,000 of the militia could be enlisted during the war.
- Cardwell brought the reserves closer to the army and Haldane made them a formal part of the army.
46
What was the home front like in WWI?
What was the organisation that controlled activity at home?
How many women were in work at home?
Why was rationing introduced?
- Government passed the Defence of the Realm Act (DORA) which allowed the government could intervene in any area they felt necessary such as flying kites and even telling bartenders to water down beer which resulted in alcohol consumption halving by 1918. Propaganda and rationing was also part of this.
- Women were used to fill any vacant positions(7.3 million women employed by 1918).
- In 1914, 60% of Britain's food was imported so merchant shipping was crucial and because of U boat attacks supply was shortened so the government introduced rationing and protection to ships.
