World War 1 Flashcards
Why did so many Scots volunteer to join the army in WW1?
Patriotism/ Martial tradition German Xenophobia Local loyalties A sense of adventure Peer pressure Economic necessity
What was Scottish martial tradition?
Patriotic appeal of slogans such as ‘Defend the Glory of the Empire’ helped recruitment.
The Wars of Independence and the Jacobites - helped create a sense of Scotland’s proud martial tradition.
The power of the image of the tartan-clad soldier was such that in 1881 the War Office ordered even lowland
regiments to wear tartan trews.
What was German Xenophobia?
Scots affected by stories of spies and ‘Belgian Atrocities’ of German Army - I.E: Germans using baby heads as footballs.
What was local loyalties
The Cameronians recruited largely from Glasgow and Lanarkshire. The Royal Scots tended to attract men from Edinburgh. After 13 Hearts players signed up, 600 Hearts supporters in six days also joined the 16th Royal Scots which became known as McCrae’s Battalion
How did ‘a sense of adventure’ encourage Scots to join the army?
Opportunity to see new places and countries and perform heroic deeds - and quite possibly to leave behind a boring or difficult job. The war was not expected to last long / fear of missing out. The attraction of setting out on this great adventure with your friends was possible by the formation of ‘pals’ battalions’.
How did peer pressure encourage Scots to join the army?
Peer pressure was cranked up by pretty much the full country. Women would give men a white feather to represent their cowardice. Newspapers would call conchies cowards as well.
What was economic necessity and how did it encourage Scots to join the army in WW1?
Fear of unemployment was probably an important factor in joining up. Recruitment in high unemployment areas more successful than in low. E.g. Earl of Wemyss threatened to dismiss any employee who failed to join up!
What were trench conditions like for the soldiers in WW1?
> Mud and rain a common difficulty creating problems such as trench foot.
Lice a constant nuisance, as were rats that fed on food scraps or corpses.
Lice caused trench fever - severe pain followed by high fever.
Dysentery struck the men due to poor sanitation and contaminated water.
Boredom of trenches - rifle cleaning, filling sandbags, repairing duckboards
Most letters home were censored to prevent leaks of sensitive information.
What was trench warfare like for the soldiers in WW1?
Artillery caused more casualties than any other weapon in the war.
Artillery for destroying trenches -not always successful e.g. Somme The machine gun - second only to artillery in casualties it caused. Gas first used by Germans 1915 - mustard gas caused choking / blistering of the skin, phosgene gas choking and chlorine gas choking and blinding. Gas was not an effective weapon because of wind drifts and gas masks
How many Scots took part in the Battle of Loos and how many died?
Over 30 000 Scots took part, of which 20 598 died.
How many VCs were awarded in the Battle of Loos?
5 - including Piper Laidlaw.
Who was Piper Laidlaw and why was he so heroic?
Piper Laidlaw was a piper for the King’s own Scottish Borderers. During the Battle of Loos, Laidlaw’s company was shaken by the gas attacks. Laidlaw then played his bagpipes, encouraging Scottish soldiers to storm forward and take the enemy trenches. Laidlaw was shot and wounded, despite this, he continued playing his bagpipes. He earned the VC for his gallantry.
How many casualties were there in the first day of the battle of the Somme?
Roughly 60,000 - making it the worst British military defeat in history.
What was the Scottish casualty rate compared to the rest of the UK’s?
Scottish casualty rate = 26%
Rest of UK’s casualty rate = 11%
How many of the casualties at the battle of Arras were Scottish?
A third, roughly 53,000
