WWI

reasons Scots enlisted in the army

-pals battalion (groups that let friends join together)
-boredom/sense of adventure (chance to see the world)
-chance to escape poverty (paid salary + given food & shelter)
-propaganda (mass persuasion/lots of posters)
-fear of the white feather (didn't want to be seen as a coward)
-thought the war would be over by christmas (didn't want to
miss out and all thought the war would last a couple
months)
-scottish tradition (family members may have been soldiers & scots had a rep of strong fighter that they wanted to maintain

trench conditions

-wet/muddy=trench foot=could lead to amputation
-shell shock=some went mad
-dead bodies-smell bad/low morale
-lice (infest clothes/hair make them itchy)
-poor quality drinking water led to trench mouth
-unsanitary conditions led to spread of diseases like typhoid + cholera
-rats-massive + stole food & spread diseases

gas advantages

-caused blindness + psychological fear
-capable of disorientating or even killing enemy soldiers
-mustard gas, skin to blister & internal bleeding

tanks advantages

-used as cover for advancing troops
-crush barbed wire
-drive enemy into dugout to allow for easy capture of trenches

tanks disadvantages

-get stuck in mud
-soldiers become ill from engine
-very slow with top speed of 4mph

aircraft advantages

-drop flechettes on targets from above
-used for spying/gather intelligence on enemy position/defences
-drop bombs

aircraft disadvantages

-airplane guns not always effective, including jamming
-early planes were flimsy and dangerous to drive

machine guns advantages

-fire 400-600 bullets every minute
-kill large number of soldiers in a short period bc of quick firing
-easy to use

machine guns disadvantages

-overheated bc of speed at which they fired stopping them being completely useful
-heavy and could not be easily moved around the battlefield

gas disadvantages

-development of gas masks limited effectiveness of gas
-wind could blow gas back on own troops

artillery advantages

-difficult to defend against and caused more casualties than any other weapon
-up to 60% of western front soldier deaths were as a result of artillery fire

artillery disadvantages

-as soldiers advanced it was difficult to measure where to fire causing casualties to a sides own soldiers
-barrels of artillery cannons needed regularly replaced slowing down their use

defence of the realm act (DORA) CENSORSHIP RULES

-to stop info getting in wrong hands
-discussing military issues in public/spreading rumors was illegal
-newspapers were censored in what they were allowed to write about the war

DORA rules

-ppl forbidden from trespassing/loitering near bridges/tunnels
-patrol of mines & railways to help produce raw materials for war
-foreign ppl faced curfew/expected to register to live in Britain
-british summer time to give longer working hours
-pubs reduced opening hours & beer was watered down
-rationing (not allowed to feed spare food to animals such as horses + chickens etc.)

military tactics

-artillery (both sides firing at each other, large number of deaths)
-soldiers go "over the top" (mass attack when soldiers climb out of trenches and charge at the enemy)
-tanks (attack enemy and cover advancing troops across no mans land)
-trained snipers (hide in no mans land under camouflage & wait for an enemy soldier to lift his head out of the trench before shooting them causing fear)
-gas (soldiers exposed to gas would become disorientated or killed)
-building trenches & installing machine gun towers made it hard for enemies to advance)
-airplanes (spy on enemy positions + after guns, they became involved in dogfights too)

suffragist methods

-peaceful protests
-petitions to parliament (1910-250,000 signatures)
-newspaper 'the suffragist' + leaflets etc.
-worked with politicians (have them on their side + helped pro female suffrage candidates)
-processions (1907 'mud march')

suffragist success

-membership increased up to 100,000 members in 1913 & 500 branches nationwide
-maintained a "respectable" politician if given publicity
-large memberships=money->propaganda->influence
-friends with politicians

suffragist failure

-historians suggest that it was suffragETTE activity which caused the rise in suffragIST members
-being peaceful made it easy to be ignored
-lost essential political support from liberals in 1910

suffragette methods

-spit at policemen
-stone throwing/smashing windows to make insurance companies push the government
-imprisoned suffragettes started hunger strikes + give government bad publicity for force feeding
-cutting telegraph wires to disrupt communication
-pour acid on golf courses
-arson attacks
-blow up pillar boxes
-"slasher Mary" attacked paintings in national gallery
-burnt down David Lloyd George's house
-Emily Wilding Davison killed trying to pin a scarf to the kings horse at the 1913 derby

suffragette success

-brough much needed publicity to movement
-during the wild period, women's suffrage was discussed daily in parliament
-some politicians claimed they gave women the vote

suffragette failure

-maybe delayed women getting the vote bc the government could never give in to terrorist attacks
-choice of target was criticised (why shops?!) + annoyed public eg ripping suffragette posters
-violence lost public support (in 1910 the Times described them as "demented creatures")
-violence/tactics supported the idea that women were too emotional to vote
-pro female suffrage candidates did badly in by-elections
-caused divisions in campaign for women's suffrage

features of a trench

-barbed wire
-around 7ft deep
-sand bags
-duckboards
-ammunition shelf
-parapet

methods of recruitment

-propaganda (leaflets, posters, football)
-conscription
-pals battalions
-fear of white feather

why was conscription introduced

-number of volunteers were falling bc ppl were being told war horror stories

conscription timeline

-1915-national registration act: list of all men fit for military service
-1916-conscription introduced (military service act):single men between 18-41 years old could be forced to join army
-later 1916-a second act passed which extended conscription to married men
-1918-act raised the age to 51

exemptions from conscription

-medically unfit to serve in the forces
-those in reserved occupations (police, fireservice, teacher, coal miners, steelworkers and farmers)
-conscientious objectors
-those who would be adversely financially affected by serving in army

conscientious objectors reasons

-moral reasons: believed it was wrong to take a life(pacifists)
-religious reasons: taking part in war went against religion (Quakers)
-political: war only benefitted rich (socialists)
-16,000 in total

conchies service

-some pacifists agreed to perform non-combat service like stretcher bearers
-or other war work like ship building

conchies imprisonment and labour

-refused to do any other work (absolutists)->sent to prison + do hard labour
-very harsh conditions

conchies treatment in prison

-force fed
-tied in straight jackets
-beaten
-kept in filthy cells
-tortured
-fed on bread + water

scotland's loss

-of 557,000 Scots who enlisted in all services, 26.4% lost their lives
-city of Glasgow lost 18,000 men (1 in every 57)
-whole towns were devastated after single battles due to pals battalions being decimated
-e.g Macrae's(hearts) battalion-hearts players killed during the Somme

how to commemorate

-memorials built in every town + village
-remembrance day 11Nov minute silence (day the armistice was signed)
-poppy worn during November
-Scottish national war memorial in Edinburgh castle
-Imperial war graves commision-graves in areas such as france and belgium (soldiers buried where they fell)

what was propaganda used for

-convince men to enlist
-support rationing/help with food shortages
-encourage women to join workforce
-convincing families to support their men