WW1 total war Flashcards
Restriction on freedoms conscription Role of women
why did Britain bring in conscription?
Within a year of Great Britain declaring war on Germany on August 1914, it had become obvious that it was not possible to continue fighting by relying on voluntary recruits.
Lord Kitchener’s campaign – promoted by his famous “Your Country Needs You” poster – had encouraged over one million men to enlist by January 1915. But this was not enough to keep pace with mounting casualties.
Was conscription popular?
Conscription was not popular and in April 1916 over 200,000 demonstrated against it in Trafalgar Square. Although many men failed to respond to the call-up, in the first year 1.1 million enlisted.
In 1918 during the last months of the war, the Military Service (No. 2) Act raised the age limit to 51.
Conscription was extended until 1920 to enable the army to deal with continuing trouble spots in the Empire and parts of Europe.
During the whole of the war, conscription had raised some 2.5 million men.
Did Women step up during the war?
During WWI (1914-1918), large numbers of women were recruited into jobs vacated by men who had gone to fight in the war. New jobs were also created as part of the war effort, for example in munitions factories.
