WW1 And The Liberals Flashcards
Which liberal leader took the liberals into WW1
Herbert Asquith
What happened to Asquith in 1916
He was forced from office
Which men planned the war with Asquith
Lord Kitchener - secretary of war
John Fisher - first sea lord
Churchill - first lord of the admiralty
What was the shell crisis
An acute shortage of artillery shells
What happened in spring of 1915
Reports leaked of shortages
What did Asquith declare on 20 April
After assurances from Lord Kitchener, Asquith declared that there were supplies of shells
What did the french leak
Reports to the times
What did the daily mail do
Criticised Kitchener and the scandal resulted in him losing significant power within the cabinet
What happened to control of munitions
Lloyd George became minister of munitions in 1915
What did Asquith do in 1915
Invited Bonar Law and the unionists as well Arthur Henderson and Labour.
What happened to Asquith in 1916
He came under pressure to increase conscription
He was originally opposed to this as it was seen as illiberal
What did Asquith relent on
He allowed conscription to become law after pressure from Lloyd George and public opinion , making him look weak
Who died in June 1916
lord Kitchener
What did Lloyd George become in 1916
Secretary of State for war
What made people think Asquith couldn’t win the war
Naval battle of Jutland
Somme
Nationalist uprising in Dublin
What happened on 5 December 1916
Lloyd George resigned
Why did Asquith resign
He believed no other government would be formed and he could come back on his own terms
How did Lloyd George become PM
With support from the unionists, labour and his own minority
What did Asquith do well
He managed to satisfy both camps that were split over the war
Why was Asquith held back by the war
It was seen as illiberal
What was Asquith criticised about with his handling of the war
He seemed to care more for liberalism than the war
What did the issue of conscription do
Created rifts in the party
What was wrong with Asquith’s middle of the road approach
He was unable to appease Lloyd George whilst also seeming to look incompetent and a traitor to liberalism
What did Wilson say about the coalition
‘It represented a rebuff to liberalism and a triumph for right wing press’
What did Lloyd George hold his nerve over
Severe shortages, Russia leaving the war and the horrific casualties in France and Belgium
What was good about the war cabinet
The 5 man cabinet was well organised, focusing on total war
What did Lloyd George introduce
Convoy system
What debate did Lloyd George stay in power throughout
Maurice debate
What happened to the party under Lloyd George
Divisions became deeper
What was Lloyd George accused of
Sacrificing the party to stay in power
What did AJP Taylor argue about Lloyd George
Lloyd George was an energising figure and was the reason Britain won the war
What was DORA
Defence of the realm act gave the government wide powers to introduce restrictions on the civilian population at any time whilst they were at war. Through DORA, casualty figures were manipulated (press censorship)
What was the Maurice debate
Asquith accused Lloyd George of lying about how many soldiers the army actually had
Which army general did Lloyd George dislike and why
general Hague. He didn’t like that he had no concern for the individual soldier, but he supported him in order to win the war
