Participation Assignment First World War - Ellis van de Weerdhof by Ellis van de Weerdhof

June 28th 1914, The Beginnings of the First World War

ellisvandeweerdhof — 2024-10-16 12:32:04 UTC

The Death of Archduke Franz-Ferdinand in Sarajevo caused Austria-Hungary and Germany to declare war on Serbia. Quickly after that, France and Russia got involved as Serbian allies. Britain decides to stay low at first but changes mentality when Germany invades Belgium.

August 4th 1914, Britain declares war on Germany

ellisvandeweerdhof — 2024-10-16 12:32:30 UTC

When Germany invaded Belgium, which was a neutral country, the British got annoyed. On the 4th of august, Britain decided to join the allied forces and declared the war on Germany.

The initial response of the people to the declaration of war was quite positive. People were excited to fight for their country and expected to be home by Christmas. The post right next to this one is an example of a primary source that shows one of the many applications filled out by the British soldiers in 1914.

In the sixties, the song Oh! It's a Lovely War that was written in 1917, was further developed as a satirical song about the First World War. It represents the enthusiasm of the British soldiers at the beginning of the war before they actually knew what was coming.

January 1916, Conscription is imposed

ellisvandeweerdhof — 2024-10-16 12:32:44 UTC

Recruitment for the army was strongly aided by pro-war propaganda like the poster above. These kinds of advertisements were used to make people enthusiastic to fight for their country.

When by the end of the year 1915 things still hadn't changed much, the British government decided to impose the first conscription to recruit more soldiers.

Source:

Jenkins, S., A Short history of England (London 2011) 224.

Easter 1916, Irish Revolt

ellisvandeweerdhof — 2024-10-16 12:32:59 UTC

The war did not stay within the battlefields, it reached home. Food prices rose, people lived in poverty and famines started to break out. The government had their hands full with the war on the continent, which gave the Irish nationalists the perfect chance to revolt.

A group of Irish Rebels declared a republic during the easter of 1916. The rebels managed to occupy the centre of Dublin for six days. Eventually, the revolt was suppressed and the leaders were killed.

The Irish Revolt in the easter of 1916 is a really good example of the Total War. It shows how the First World War affected the people at home and how it had an influence on nationalist thoughts.

Sources:

BBC - History, https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/britain_wwone/easter_rising_01.shtml, consulted on 23-10-2024.
Easter, 1916 a poem by W. B. Yeats.
Jenkins, S., A Short History of England (London 2011) 225.

July 1st - November 18th 1916, Battle of the Somme

ellisvandeweerdhof — 2024-10-16 12:33:20 UTC

The Battle of the Somme, which took place from July 1916 until November 1916, left 19.000 British soldiers dead on the first day.

The Battle meant the first deployment of battle tanks and gained the British army an average of two miles of ground. 420.000 British soldiers were wounded or dead.

The intensity of the battlefield resulted in a huge shock for the British soldiers, as can be seen in the video above.

Source:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZGSfFFuujw

Jenkins, S., A Short History of England (London 2011) 225.

December 1916, Government Crisis

ellisvandeweerdhof — 2024-10-16 12:33:50 UTC

After the disastrous battle of the Somme, Lloyd George, losing faith in Prime Minister Asquith's ability to win the Great War, threatened to resign from the government unless Asquith allowed a small group called the "War Cabinet" to take over the daily management of the war. Rather than accept this situation, Asquith chose to dissolve his government. Two days later, Lloyd George created a new Coalition government with support from the Conservatives.

Source:

GOV.UK, https://history.blog.gov.uk/2017/08/02/asquith-lloyd-george-and-the-struggle-for-the-premiership-in-december-1916/, consulted on 23-10-2024.
Jenkins, S., A Short History of England (London 2011) 226.

1917, Haig's controversial offensives

ellisvandeweerdhof — 2024-10-16 12:33:57 UTC

One of Britain's key figures during the First World War was Sir Douglas Haig. Haig was a senior officer of the British army. He played a crucial role during the Battles of the Somme and Passchendaele. Despite his victories, the senior officer also received a lot of criticism and was nicknamed 'Butcher Haig'.

Haig's offensives resulted in massive casualties. The strategy of attrition—wearing down the enemy through continuous attacks—led to significant loss of life, which many criticized as unnecessary and avoidable.

On the other hand, Haig's decision to not call off the offensive in the Battle of the Somme helped to relieve some pressure off the French in Verdun.

Sources:

BBC - History, https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/lions_donkeys_01.shtml, consulted on 23-10-2024.

1917, American reinforcements

ellisvandeweerdhof — 2024-10-16 12:34:23 UTC

'America has at one bound become a world power' is what Lloyd George said after Woodrow Wilson announced America's support in order to 'make the world safe for democracy'. The Western front was in need for American aid since the Russian revolts in February and October relieved Germany of the need to fight on two fronts.

The first American troops arrived in June 1917, supplying the allied powers with a million extra soldiers.

Source:

Jenkins, S., A Short History of England (London 2011) 226-227.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEf-rw3_HnY

March 21st 1918 - July 1st, The German Spring offensive

ellisvandeweerdhof — 2024-10-16 12:34:41 UTC

The German Spring offensive, with general Ludendorff as the driving force, meant a huge crisis for the western allies.

Because the Germans no longer had to fight on the Russian front, they were able to put three million troops into battle on the western front. Ludendorff also used spotterplanes to direct sudden bombardments.

Even though the Germans had an advantage, they eventually failed to achieve to win the war and withdrew to the north.

Sources:

Jenkins, S., A Short History of England (London 2011) 227.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu5icUshdUo

August 8th 1918, The start of the Hundred Day Offensive

ellisvandeweerdhof — 2024-10-16 12:34:55 UTC

On August 8th of 1918, the allied troops started their Hundred Day Offensive beginning with the Battle of Amiens. During this battle, Canadian, Australian, British and French armies surprisingly managed to break through the German lines.

This event has been crucial in British history because the start of the Hundred Day Offensive resulted in the end of the First World War.

Sources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Tq2bV4fsOA

11-11-1918, Poppy Day

ellisvandeweerdhof — 2024-10-16 12:35:11 UTC

On the eleventh day of the eleventh month at eleven o'clock, the guns fell silent. The day of the armistice is later referred to as Poppy Day because of the flowers that grew over the trenches.

Source:

Jenkins, S., A Short History of England (London 2011) 227.

1918, After the War

ellisvandeweerdhof — 2024-10-16 12:35:58 UTC

The First World War was undoubtedly one of the most gruesome wars to ever exist. Not just soldiers, but also people at home were really affected by the war, not just during but also after.

The war caused the development of a closer relationship between the government and the people, starting with the People Act of 1918 which granted voting rights for men and women over 30.

Because of the importance of the women working at home during the war, they eventually were politically freer and were able to earn their own living.

Source:

Jenkins, S., A Short History of England (London 2011) 229.

Application to join the Army (1/2)

ellisvandeweerdhof — 2024-10-23 14:41:42 UTC

Source:

Great War Archive, 61066, November 1914.

Application to join the army (2/2)

ellisvandeweerdhof — 2024-10-23 14:44:55 UTC

Source:

Great War Archive, 61066, November 1914.