A-Level Edexcel History British Experience of Warfare- Changes in the Role of Weaponry and the People

Naval Development in French Wars

- most british ships of the line carried 70 guns and each could fire 32lb cannonvall

- british could fire broadside every 90 sec

- carronade, light and able to swivel, was fitted to the forecastles and stern of ships (front and back.) nicknames smasher it could be fired rapidly and when loaded with grapeshot (type of ammo that was anti personnel.) The carronades acted like a giant shotgun which helped prevent boarding parties at trafalgar

- gunlocks (charge exploded in the gun) replaced slowmatches (slow burning rope used to fire). This allowed gun captain to aim and yank on a lanyard to trigger explosion rather than by the side of the gun trying to ignite gunpowder allowing more accurate and faster broadsides

Naval Developments, 1815-1914

- 1906 dreadnought creation, faster and better armed than any other warship

Army Developments in French Wars

- Brown Bess Musket reliable, light infantrymen armed with baker rifle (more difficult but accurate at over 200 yards)

- Major Henry Shrapnel introduced new shell effective at 700 yards consisting of a metal ball filled with musket balls, fuze exploded it and balls flew everywhere

- Rockets range no more than 550m but improved by william congreve by 1806 range 2.7km. poor accuracy were not used very much though did perform well at copenhagen in 1807

Army Developments 1815-1900

- crimea had rifled muskets- better than russians

- in late 1850s William Armstrong's produced rifled-artillery with shells loaded in rear not front. adopted in 1859

- in 1863 went back as inexperienced gun crews could not reload at speed

Changes in Weaponry WW1

- Vickers Machine Gun

- Poison Gas

- Tanks

- Fuze 106

- Aircrafts (fokker)

Vickers Machine Gun

- entered service in 1912

- fired 500 rounds a minute

- had tripod, gun, and can of water that fed into water jacket to prevent overheating

poison gas

- Germans used chlorine gas in april 1915 and british followed suit using phosgene as more deadly. only 90,000 deaths out of 1m

British Tanks

- churchill backed project as first lord of the admiralty

- first used at somme but almost all broke down

- by 1917 several modifcations allowed to overcome issues and cross over craters and water

- reliability issues meant they never made any significant breakthroughs

Artillery

- fuze 106, advanced mapping, aeriel comm, ariel photography meant british artillery superior to germans

Naval Developments

- main threat was German u-boats

- germany didnt come close with strike force fleet

- sea planes, depth charges, airships and new classes of patrol craft meant u-boat threat was maintained

Funding French Wars

- At least 21 goods and services were newly taxed during the war, including salt, beer, spirits, windows, servants and dogs.

- In 1799, Parliament imposed a graduated income tax for the first time in Britain's history.

- Paid by the rich, it raised £155 million by 1815.

- Before 1793, around £18 million a year was raised in taxes and between 1793 and 1815, an additional £12 million was, on average, extracted every year.

- The government also borrowed huge sums of money from merchants and bankers in the City of London.

- The close relationship between the government and London's powerful capital markets gave Britain a considerable advantage over France.

Financing Crimea

- not a serious problem.

- It was relatively short and limited in scope and Britain was at the height of its economic power.

- William Gladstone, Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1854, believed in balancing the budget and reducing taxes.

- However, the war's costs led to him increasing taxation and increasing the national debt by offering government bonds for sale.

- By contrast, Sir George Cornewall Lewis, who became Chancellor in 1855, believed that heavy taxation was more damaging to the economy than borrowing.

- He thus borrowed.

- About half the war's cost was met by government borrowing.

Financing Boer War

- The Boer War cost £217 million.

- In 1901, Chancellor of the Exchequer Michael Hicks Beach put a tax on refined sugar, imposed a levy of one shilling on exported coal and raised income tax by 2 pence in the pound. - But the war's cost was mainly met by borrowing by means of bonds and consols - only a third was met by taxation.

Taxes in financing WW1

- Income tax increased from 1 shlling and 2 pence to 3 shilling and 6 pence in the pound and the exemption limit was lowered, ensuring people on lower incomes had to pay.

- Supertax rates went up.

- An Excess Profits Duty (EPD) of 50 per cent was imposed on any increase in pre-war profits on all war-related industries.

- High duties were imposed on some 'luxury' articles, for example cars and watches.

- The rising cost of the war forced McKenna and his successors to further increase taxes.

- By 1918, the standard rate of income tax had risen to 6 shillings in the pound.

- EPD, which rose to 80 per cent in 1917, provided a quarter of the total tax revenue in the war period.

Importance of Public Borrowing in WW1

- 30 per cent of war expenditure covered by borrowing

- interest on nation debt increased from £625 million to £7809 million. servicing this took nearly half yield of taxation in 1920s

International finance

- £1.85 billion loaned to allies

- £1 billlion in debt to USA by end of war due to essential US supplies

Camp Followers

- For most of 1790-1914, women and children followed their husbands/fathers during military campaigns.

- For many families, the absence of their main wage-earner compelled them to enter the workhouse: most wives chose a life with the forces instead and performed essential duties such as cooking, cleaning and nursing.

- Many camp followers became quite wealthy by providing goods, such as alcohol and tobacco, and services, including washing.

The home front 1793-1914

- french wars had militia units to uphold order and law in the abscence of regular troops

- from 1860s wealthy private individuals set up their own volunteer units providing basic military training

DORA

- gave gov power to rule by decree

- Censorship - Newspapers and letters were censored to prevent leaks of military information.

- Control of Resources - Government could take over land, industries, and railways.

- Restrictions on Daily Life - Pubs had reduced opening hours, and alcohol was watered down.

- Arrests Without Trial - People could be detained for anti-war activities.

- Blackouts & Curfews - To prevent enemy spies and protect against air raids.

Munitions Act

- law passed to control the workforce in war industries, ensuring maximum production of weapons and supplies.

Employers - Effects

- Strikes & lockouts banned, prevented industrial unrest, ensuring continuous production.

- Wage rates controlled, Prevented excessive demands, ensuring stability.

- Dilution (skilled workers being replaced with semi-skilled workers), More workers available, production increased.

- Profits controlled, Limited excessive war profiteering.

- Government-directed labor, Ensured labor supply where needed.

Workers - Effects

- Lost bargaining power, Unable to protest unfair treatment.

- Wage security but no free negotiations, Government approved raises.

- Resentment over dilution, Skilled workers feared wage cuts.

- Restricted movement, Families disrupted, no job changes without consent

- Mandatory overtime, Longer hours, exhaustion, poor work-life balance.

- Munitions Tribunals, Harsh penalties for minor infractions, biased rulings.

Impact of Lloyd George

- prepared to suspend traditional liberal freedoms and take greater control of economy

- created 12 new ministries such as blockade, shipping, food control, health and transport

- new ministries ran what some called 'war socialism'

Manpower allocation WW1

- main issue was keeping up production due to war of attrition

- mid 1918 Geddes (minister of national service,) recieved powers to allocate labour to particular industries

Role of Women in WW1

- In 1914, Suffragette groups suspended their campaign for women's right to vote, demanding instead that they be allowed to serve the country by undertaking work that would release men for military duty.

- Trade union opposition initially made this difficult.

- But as the labour shortage intensified, women found work and the number of women employed in munitions production rose from 82,859 in 1914 to 947,000 by November 1918. 200,000 women entered government departments.

- 500,000 took over clerical work in private offices.

- Female transport workers increased from 18,200 to 117,200.

- However, the extent of the changes in women's role can be exaggerated.

- The total number of women doing waged work increased by only 22.5 per cent.

- In 1918, most working women were still employed as domestic servants.

- Main impact of war was change in work that women were doing

- Granted right to vote due to role they played in war

- War gave women more freedom which they lost after war

- Pay was main factor preventing equality for women

- Attitudes towards women in work shifted

Women's Military Involvement

- The service ministries were reluctant to sanction the use of female personnel.

- Nevertheless, in 1917, volunteer bodies were consolidated into the Women's Auxiliary Army Corp (WAAC), followed by the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS) and later the Women's Royal Air Force (WRAF); in total over 100,000 women.

- Serving as typists, drivers, clerks and cooks, they released more men for combatant duty.

- 40,000 women also worked as nurses or female orderlies in Britain or France.