WWI - recruitment, conscription, censorship and propaganda Flashcards
Beginning recruitment in Britain?
- Outbreak of war British army = small
- 73,0000 offices and men
- 1/3 regular army most stationed in reserve formations.
- Territorial force – most highly regarded reserve force – volunteers
- Offices = upper class
- Rank-and-file soldiers = unskilled labourers
Recruitment Campaign?
- Impacted - public meetings, bands playing military music, posters and recruitment agents
- Newspapers + magazines ran stories of bravery and German Cruelty supporting war effort – propaganda
- Church Leaders delivered sermons to convince men to join
- Public institutions mobilised to aid recruitment
- Women’s suffrage movement encouraged young men – women gave men who weren’t enlisted white feathers (cowardice)
1914 Recruitment?
- men of military age = 5.5 million
- ½ million became eligible every year
- “August madness” – 30,000 men enlisted every day
- 2 million men had enlisted by late September 1914
- End of 1915 – volunteers for service organised into units – “New Army” “Kitchener’s men”
- Patriotic optimism– war believed to be over by Christmas
Benefits of enlistment?
- Working class men – opportunity to escape poverty
- Enlistment offered pay, good food and clothing.
Derby Scheme? - Recruitment
Persuasion rather than conscription – called upon men 18 – 41 to “attest” – voluntarily enlist when required
Uprising of conscription?
- “Derby Scheme” - brought 343 000 eligible men
- Inadequate amount = conscription (political debate in Britain)
- Out of all countries only Britain depended on volunteer army
David Lloyd George?
– conservative party
– argued for the introduction of conscription
Arguments for Conscription? - David Lloyd George
- Promote commitment to a unified war effort across society
- identify “shirkers” force them to meet responsibilities
- Ensured skilled workers remained in industries
- Provide sufficient numbers of men to the army to cover high causality rates
Herbert Asquith?
– British prime minster
– attempted to delay conscription, he was liberal and opposed policy.
Military service bill?
Jan 1916 – govt introduced military service bill – conscripting childless single men and widowers between 18 – 40
Conscientious Objectors + Absolutists?
- 16 000 “conscientious objectors” – “conchies”
- opposed to war political and religious reasons.
- “Absolutists” – people who refused to take part in war effort
- arrested, court maritaled and imprisoned
- 70 “absolutists” died in prison due to mistreatment
Manpower in Germany?
- Conscription not controversial issue as reserve training had been standard policy during 19th century
- Every German male between 17-45 years of age liable for service
- Armed forces averaged between 6-7 million troops, 5 million in field army
- Over course of war, 13 million men were mobilised
- 85% of male population
Censorship in Britain and Germany?
- Government controlled all forms of information
- Publications had to be approved to ensure they didn’t contain anything that could have a negative effect on community morale
- Regarded as necessary for protection of national security
- No-one could discuss information about munitions, movement of ships, location of troops or military action
Censorship in Germany? - News
- Wolff Telegraph Bureau was Germany’s exclusive official war news agency
- Foreign ministry checked all news item before publication
- German news told public they were fighting defensive war because war broke out when their land was invaded by the French
Public censorship discussion in Germany?
- Suppressed items regarded as controversial and reporting of military defeat, casualty numbers, food shortages, peace demonstrations
- Also applied to cinema, theatre, music halls, popular literature, etc
- Any publication or performance required censors approval
