Warfare: Changes To Recruitment In Ww1 Flashcards
Who led the ‘call to arms’ at the start of WW1?
Lord Kitchener
How did the government plan to recruit enough soldiers?
A recruitment campaign
12 million posters were printed in 1 year
How many people volunteered every day at the start of the war?
20’000
How many men joined to services on the 3rd September 1914?
Over 33’000
What 1914 initiative encouraged men to join up together?
Pals battalions
Men all from a similar area/background/profession joining up together
What was the impact of pals battalions?
They suffered greatly on the frontline
Had a devastating effect on the local areas at home because of the numbers of casualties
So the government ended the use of them and began to realise conscription was their best bet
How many men had joined the army by the end of 1914?
1 million volunteered
Why did volunteerism fall by 1915?
The news of reality was beginning to reach home: heavy losses,trench conditions, evaporation of the idea the war was an adventure and would be over by christmas 1914
Why did the western front end up requiring conscription?
The war of attrition mean more solders were needed than volunteerism could provide
The french army was increaisnly unable to match the Germans in numbers- meant allies had to deploy more men
When was the National Registration Act?
1915
What was the national registration act?
Survey of all the men in britain
It was designed to find out how many men there were between 15-60 and what jobs they had
It showed that 5 million men weren’t serving in the armed forces
Of these, 1.6 million had occupations regarded as important to the economy and war effort
All men had to register and that register was later used to send call up letters when conscription was used
When was the Derby scheme?
1915
What was the Derby Scheme
Lord Derby was put in charge of recruitment in October 1915
He invited all men 18-41 to attest (publicly pledge) their willing to serve if called on
A pledge was given that married men wouldn’t be called upon until the supply of unmarried was exhauseted
Men who attested were sent back home and to jobs until called on
What did men who attested to serve in the Derby scheme get?
A grey armband with a red crown as a sign they had volunteered
Why is the Derby scheme generally regarded as a failure?
Over 2 million men attested for later recruitment but only 200’000 men enlisted as a result of the scheme
Patriotic attitudes were falling away as the war progressed
What did the liberal government have to do as a result of the failure of the derby scheme?
Introduce conscription
When and how was conscription introduced?
In January 1916
The military service act was passed
Military serves act
All unmarried men between 18-41 were enlisted
Only those in reserved occupations and conscientious objectors were excued
Why was there a lot of marriages in early 1916?
To avoid conscription
Married men were not included in conscription under the Military service Act until it was extended to them in may 1916
How did conscription impact the armed forces?
750’000 application were made for exemption within months of the Act being passed
Up to 70% of men industrial areas were rejected due to being so unfit
Most of the strongest men couldn’t be sent, they were miners or engineers
Half the British army was under 19 at the end of the war
Troops from empire were used in large numbers
How many men were called up by conscription by the end of the war?
2.5 million
Compare the size of the British army in 1914 and 1918
1914: 1.3 million
1918: 3.8 million
Ow many men joined the army in 1914?
1.1 million
How many men joined the army in 1918?
500’000
