The Era Of The Great War- Front Line And Domestic Impact Flashcards
Name the Methods of Recruitment
Propaganda- posters, leaflets- showing men as brave, wearing kilts
Actresses and music halls- performances would be interrupted to call for men
Football matches- halftime, volunteers were called for
Special recruitment songs
Pipers- marches to attract patriotic Scots
Give reasons why Scots joined up…
Patriotism- slogans, wars of independence or to represent their clan
Xenophobia- Scots affected by stories of spies and German army
Local Loyalties- royal Scots attracted people in Edinburgh, Hearts players signed up, so did their supporters
Adventure- see new places, leave behind difficult jobs, war was expected to be short, fear of missing out
Peer pressure- newspapers, women- white feather campaign
Economic- unemployment fear
Describe the layout of the trenches
Front line was a fire trench- deep enough to keep out shrapnel
Wooden duck boards and a fire step that allowed the soldiers to fire at ground level
Often a listen post dug out
Dugouts for shelter- sleep and rest
Communication trenches that ran back to reserve trenches
Sandbags were piled on the parapet for protection
Barbed wire in front
Describe No-Mans land and the 3 different parties that ventured out into
Land between the trenches
Filled with shell-holes, abandoned equipment, rotting bodies
Quiet during the day
Wiring parties repaired barbed wire
Raiding parties crept across enemy lines to kill or capture prisoners
Stretcher parties rescued wounded and dying
Describes soldiers daily life
Started half an hour before dawn
Register and the officer checked guns and ammunition
Breakfast
Inspection
Duties were give out- 1/3 for each duty- sentry duty, communication, repairing and improving trenches
Ended at dusk
Describe the food that the soldiers in the trenches ate
Dry food (sugar and tea) was at the bottom of an empty sandbag
On the top they put jam butter bully beef, stew, cheese, hard biscuits
It was not always in good condition
ration parties could be attacked and food would fall into shell holes
Rain could damage food
Drinking came in old Tins of petrol or oil
Scots soldiers we’re given rum, extra before battle
Describe hygiene in the trenches
Difficult to keep clean
One tin of water between forty soldiers
Mud everywhere ^ Dry weather- dust ^ These penetrated clothes
No one could change their clothes
Latrines were dug at intervals
Describe the rats, lice and flies in the trenches
Men- dirty infested with body lice
Lives in warm places sucking blood
killed by squashing or running a candle up and down seams of clothes
Lice in kilts
rats fed on food and rotting bodies
flies were attracted to horse manure 
Lice, flies and rats spread disease
Soldiers ate food that rats that urinated on
Describe the effects illnesses and wounds in the trenches and what stretcher parties did…
Stretcher parties searched no mans land for wounded
some wounded were unconscious or too weak to call out
Some were not too badly hurt and could make it back to the trenches
Mobile hospitals behind the front line
High velocity bullets and shrapnel produced severe wounds
Poison has caused blindness, deafness, burns, difficulty breathing etc
Trench foot- standing in wet conditions for a long period of time- feet would swell and go numb
Many diseases
Describe soldiers contact with home
Little chance of getting home in leave
People were urged not to tell and bad news
Letters were censored
Describe the food shortages that occurred
40% of British food was grown at home
Germans developed a U-boat that sank British ships carrying food
Food shortages were serious
At one stage only four days supply of sugar and a few weeks worth of wheat was left
Describe the government action taken to combat food shortages
Farmers were paid extra to plant crops
Allotments were started in towns
Football pitches and cricket grounds were used to plant crops
People dug up lawns and grew crops
Substitute food- margarine and potato bread
Women’s land army, farming
Rationing
Describe the results of rationing
Nobody starved
Fairness in food supply
Rich could buy extra on the black market
People in the country could get extra
More fibre less sugar
Describe the changing role of women during the war
Took on heavy industry jobs
Munitions factories
Fumes and risk or explosion
Death from poison and explosions
Drivers/ conductors on trams, buses and railways
Government departments
Nursing
Doctors
What was the position of women after the war like?
Encourage the vote to be given to women
More respect gained
Soldiers given their jobs back
Many Working women were back in domestic service
Describe why propaganda was used by the government to impact people back at home
What kind of propaganda
how Germans were affected
Used it to gain support for the war effort
Drawings of Germans killing civilians were produced in newspapers
Anti germ feeling grew
German civilians living in Britain were put in prison for the rest of the war
Describe conscription and conscientious objectors
Military service acts brought conscription for some men
They excused certain men from military service
Often people that were mentally or physically ill or people that were need to stay at home for their families
Military tribunals judged whether or not to accept the claims of objectors
Reasons for people becoming a conscientious objector
Religious
Pacifism against all wars
Political reasons- exemption due to socialist principles
Describe the treatment of conscientious objectors
Seen as cowards
Given non combat duties- stretcher bearers or ambulance drivers
Others Civilians work- munitions factories
Absolutists rejected any service and were imprisoned- beaten and tortured
Put in camp tents- extreme cold killed men
Others went insane
Describe the terms of the defence of the realm act (DORA)
Alcohol consumption limited- pub hours restricted, alcohol diluted
Censorship of the press, reports limited- so the enemy did not learn military secrets
Control of the supply of materials- munitions factories, coal, railways and docks
Some Men employed in the war could not leave
Men working in other trades could be redirected to war work
Restricted the freedom of foreign people
Describe the impact of death and casualties after the war on Scottish people
Scottish casualty rate was high
Estimated between 100,000 and 150,000 Scottish deaths
Most families had a loss
Edinburgh castle was the Scottish War memorial
Local memorials were post up across Scotland
Observing silence at 11am on the 11th of November and wear a poppy was started
