Attitudes To The First World War

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

GILLIAN NICHOLSON

HISTORY ESSAY

JIM O’DONOVAN

DIPHE SOCIAL SCIENCES

CITY OF GLASGOW COLLEGE

‘Attitudes to the First World War remained positive in Britain throughout the duration of the conflict’

Attitudes to World War 1 (WW1) known as 'The Great War' changed throughout the duration of the conflict. At the outbreak of war the general attitude to the war was positive; the British public had feelings of euphoria. Despite objection from conscientious objectors, support for the war remained relatively high through out, however the positive attitude of the British people soon began to dwindle. There were several reasons for this, such as the increasing number of casualties, and the reality of trench welfare. The government attempted to intervene through propaganda, and rationing systems in order to maintain positive public opinions and ensure supply of production and men to the front line.

Initial attitudes to the war were positive. British government justified their participation in the war as a moral obligation ‘its pledge to Belgium and its duty to destroy Prussianism in a war to end war’ [i] ; Britain decided to aid Belgium and France and declared war on Germany. The declaration of the war was greeted by most with enthusiasm and jingoism. British people had not experienced anything on this scale for over a century. The public felt a 'mixture of fear, curiosity and anticipation, spurred by the realisation that this was a struggle for national preservation' [ii] A joyous mood swept over Britain as they began gearing in support of the war, there were street celebrations throughout the whole of Britain as they rejoiced in the nationalism and pride the war would bring unaware that it would take the lives of over 700,000 British Soldiers. The British people believed the war was going to be short crusade and that it would all ‘be over by Christmas’ as they believed that victory against Germany was a certainty. Young soldiers saw the war as an adventure, they were eager and determined to show their bravery and devotion to their country, unaware of the horrors which faced them believing it would be a romantic heroic affair. Positive attitudes to the war at the outbreak is apparent due to the number of volunteers that enlisted, 'recruiting figures ran at 300,000 in August, 450,000 in September, 137,000 in October, 170,000 in November, 117,000 in December and 156,000 in January 1915’ [iii] Much of this motivation is believed to be the result of government propaganda. Prime Minister Asquith said ' no nation has ever entered a great conflict with clearer conscience or stronger conviction to defend principles vital to the civilized world’. Soldiers were made to believe that Germany posed a threat to British interests.

During the First World War Propaganda in many different forms were used by government to influence the attitudes and public opinion of the British People and to ensure that people knew only what they wanted them to. With only a small army at the start of the war the government attempted to use propaganda to gain support for the war and increase recruitment into the Army from volunteers. Media-enhanced propaganda was one of the most influential forms of shaping public opinion. The government used Poster campaigns throughout the war, they were used to appeal to patriotism and to honour and showed picture of soldiers, woman and children in order to conjure up support for the war. It was important that the government got more men to enlist, as the number of deaths and causalities increased, they instilled a sense of duty into the nation with slogans saying 'your country needs you' which led to the recruitment of many patriotic men. Huge efforts were also made to blacken the enemies name in order to twist peoples thoughts and viewpoints towards the war and create a hatred and suspicion that would encourage them to sign up for example newspapers printed headlines that would stir emotions and write stories about German atrocities, this led British soldiers to believe that the war was worth fighting for. Propaganda was used to maintain high spirits and morale on the home front. Public opinion also had to remain positive following the appalling casualties of the young soldiers as the war progressed. All forms of information was controlled and censored by the government including newspapers and soldiers letters. The government realized that they needed the support of the people in order to win the war. Often newspapers report information only beneficial to Britain in order to keep public opinion in support of the war. They would fabricate the number of British deaths or write only of the deaths of the enemies. British successes were emphasized whilst minimal gains were omitted from their information this led British people to believe the conflict was benefiting them. Propaganda was aimed at woman as they aimed to show that everyone was part of the war despite being excused for military services, and give them a sense of importance. They produced posters with slogans on posters such as 'Woman of Britain say GO'. Men were encouraged to sign up as they would be seen as masculine and courageous by the woman. If they did not sign up they were made to feel guilty and shameful as woman ridiculed them by giving men out of uniform white feathers which was a sign of cowardice, this was a successful method of pressuring many able men to enlist with the army. ,

However this positive attitude to war was not unanimous by everyone. Conscientious objectors (COs’) made it clear that not everyone had a positive attitude towards the war. COs’ were mainly middle class people rather than working class people. There was several types of conscientious objectors; pacifists who refused to have any participation in the war, political objectors who did not consider the Germans their enemy and religious objectors such as ‘Quakers’ who felt that war and fighting was against their religion, Bert Brocklesby said ‘God did not put me on this earth to destroy his children’ [iv] . However many COs’ joined the Non-Combatant Corps where they did not have to fight but did jobs such as acting as stretcher-bearers for those who did. Following the increasing numbers of casualties in the early stages of the war conscription for British men was looking likely; Pacifists campaigned successfully for a 'conscientious clause' which freed them from military service following the assessment of their claims at a tribunal, however only 16,000 COs’ refused conscription and therefore remained a small minority as they compromised ‘only 0.33 per cent of the total conscripts plus volunteers’ [v] . Many woman became active in public affairs setting up to campaign against the war, as they were excused from military services they could not be accused of being cowards, they set up groups such as the Women’s International League (WIL) however they had very little influence. Although they did not express the same feelings of jingoism as the majority of the British public, by the end of the first month of the war opposition to the conflict had declined and most decided to back government’s effort as they realized that war was necessary.

As the war progressed positive attitudes to the war were not always maintained as war weariness and opposition to the war began to grow. It was difficult for the government to maintain a positive public opinion once the reality of modern welfare became apparent. The Liberals were worried that once positive attitudes to the war began to wear off pacifist campaign may gain support from the British people. Soldiers who had initially excited to go to war quickly changed their attitudes once trench welfare set it. The devastation of the soldiers became apparent to the public back home through their poems and letters they expressed the horror that the young soldiers faced on a daily basis, British citizens were beginning to realise the reality of war for the first time, causing the public to have a more negative attitude of the war. Battles such as Ypres and Somme led to a large number of casualties, and voluntary recruitment had begun to dwindle by 1916, as people began to realize that this was not going to be a quick victory. Instead of excitement they were now eager for the war to come to an end as soon as possible. Shortages of men in the military caused the generals to appeal for conscription, and in 1916 the government eventually opted for it. This meant that all men ages 18-40 had to serve your country in the military for a certain period of time; this had a huge impact on attitudes and morale to the war. Older men were pushed into the front line but did not share the same enthusiasm for the war as the young soldiers and the number of men refusing conscription increased. Inflation and Rationing systems introduced in 1917 also impacted on the attitude of the British people on the home front. The Defence of Realm Act (DORA) was used to ensure that food shortages did not occur in Britain as a result of Germany’s U-boat campaign to sink merchant ships in order to prevent the flow of imports entering Britain. Panic buying had also led to shortages and Inflation also meant that food prices increased, this meant that many working class families faced malnutrition by the end of the war causing negative attitudes towards the war.

The impact of the continual hardship faced by the British people on the home front led to civil unrest. Shortages began to occur to a short of male workers as more men were conscripted into the war, skilled workers in key industries such as engineering, mining and steel joined the armed forces. Female workers stepped in to fill the positions that previously only men had vacated, working in dangerous conditions in industrial factories producing weapons for the soldiers. The number of woman who agreed to work in these conditions shows the popular support for the war effort by the majority of British citizens at the beginning. However those who had been brought in to fill the gaps soon ‘realised that they were being exploited by government, who were making high profits.’ [vi] Trade union membership increased from 4 million to 6.5 million by the end of the war. There was a trade union agreement that meant that woman would only be employed during the war to ensure that men had jobs to come home to. The government knew that they had to maintain Britain’s economic strength. Lloyd George had to try and persuade leading trade unions to come to a truce in order to relax its ‘restrictive practices’ in industries vital for the war. many of the strikes which broke out during the war however they were quickly settled, and trade unions decided to postpone their demands until after the conflict had ended and turned their support towards helping government, in some cases even giving payments to their members, as they were worried that the war would lead to unemployment. Business owners were also encouraged by the government to pay unskilled workers higher wages as they did not want to hinder production. This shows that the British population knew that they must unite in order to win the war. Keir Hardie wrote ‘a nation at war must be united… With the boom of the enemy’s guns within earshot the lads that have gone forth to fight for their country’s battles must not be disheartened by any discordant note at home’ [vii] 

British Soldiers on the front line were also finding it difficult to maintain a positive attitude. Young men enlisted in the Army for different reasons whilst some were forced into joining due to conscription, many had volunteered through loyalty to their country and felt they had to protect their country; others were prompted by the unemployment. It can be said that they were ignorant to the horrors that life of the front line held for them. As the war progressed many soldiers began to suffer the misery of trench welfare. There are many written documents by WW1 soldiers such as ‘Goodbye to all that’ by Robert Graves or ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ by Erich von Remarque. Documents such as these highlight the horrific experiences endured by the British soldiers. The war caused many soldiers to be alienated from home; they had to witness horrifying sights which often resulted in psychological trauma such as shell shock ‘Between 1914 and 1918 the British Army identified 80,000 men (2% of those who saw active service) as suffering from shell-shock’ [viii] . Soldiers had to put up with rats and lice and were forced to witness killing and bombing so regularly that many of them had to disregard their feelings.

By the end of the war nearly everyone across Europe had a negative attitude towards the war. The war had brought many people suffering, and had negatively shaped public opinion. Amnesty day brought about rejoice that the war had finally ended; the nation was ready to celebrate the return of the soldiers, which showed that they remained faithful to the cause throughout. However the memories of the war remained strong with the British people who were unhappy with the little gains that had come out of their struggles. Prime Minister Lloyd George declared his intention 'to make Britain a fit country for heroes to live in' [ix] . However the British people wanted more from their efforts and demanded that Germany take full responsibility for the war, this led Lloyd George to campaign for indemnities for the total cost of the war from Germany in order to show the British People that the War was not for nothing.

In conclusion attitudes towards the war did not stay positive throughout, at the outbreak of war the public had a positive attitude towards the war, they were full of excitement and determination, however as the conflict continued the public opinion changed to a more negative outlook. Increasing casualties and short supplies of food caused to British population to become disheartened and they simply wished for the conflict to come to an end. The government was forced to take action in order to sway the public to have a more positive attitude in order to supply soldiers to the front line; they did this through various forms of propaganda. Soldiers had believed that the war was going to be a short, exciting experience, however once the reality of the horror of the war sunk in, the attitude of the soldiers soon changed, many felt isolated and alienated, and others experience physical and mental torture. However through poems and letters written by the soldiers, the horrors of trench life got back to the British people at home. After this public remained negative to the end, and even after the war attitudes towards the war remained unfavourable as the nation remained hurt over the lack of results for their struggles.