SOLDIERS’ CHANGING ATTITUDES TO THE CONFLICT

1. SOLDIERS’ CHANGING ATTITUDES TO THE CONFLICT • Pre-war, belief that war was acceptable & necessary. This was based on a romanticized view of small wars, cavalry charges & infantry engagements. • Carnage of trench warfare confronted both Allied & German soldiers with the reality of large-scale mechanical warfare in the industrial era. • Not all soldiers were dismayed by this change (eg. Hitler).

2. Reaction to the Outbreak of War • Throughout Europe, the outbreak of war was treated with enthusiasm. • In Britain, recruiting offices were overwhelmed by the number of volunteers. • In Germany, there was incredible excitement. The Military Law of July 31, 1914 called up all men for military service. • Photos of the time show crowds in all countries cheering their soldiers off to war. There was a widespread expectation that the war would be over by Christmas. • Many young men feared the war would be over before they had the chance to become involved.

3. Christmas 1914 • Instead of being over, the war had become bogged down in the trenches. There were hundreds of thousands of casualties. • On Christmas Day 1914, an unofficial truce operated in several places on the front line. Carols were sung, men met in no-man’s land & exchanged gifts, played games, etc. • Commanders on both sides put an end to this fraternization for fear that their soldiers might want to stop fighting. Instead orders were issued to ensure that the sniping, raiding & grenade throwing resumed. This prevented further instances of fraternization.

4. The Somme • Carnage of the Somme battle brought home to both sides the realities of industrial-age warfare. • Highest casualty rates in British military history. • Soldiers who died here were mostly volunteers from Kitchener’s ‘New Army’ who had joined as a result of recruitment campaigns at home. • These casualties were seen as ‘innocents’ – they had not ‘joined up to die’ – death wasn’t seen as an occupational hazard. Seen as the end of an era. • ‘The Somme was the muddy grave of the German field army.’ – Ludendorff reflecting in 1918.

5. 1917 – 1918 • By now, soldiers on leave felt that civilian complaints about air raids & shortages were superficial & irrelevant. Debates about rationing were seen in a similar way. • In July 1917, Siegfried Sassoon, a British war poet & officer made a dramatic gesture with his ‘soldier’s declaration’ - complaining that the young men of Britain were being wasted by a defensive war that was now being fought in an aggressive manner. • During the Nivelle Offensive of 1917, French troops ‘baa-ed’ as they moved up to the front line, suggesting they were sheep tobe slaughtered. After this disastrous battle, the FrenchArmy mutinied. Negotiations brought about better pay & conditions and a new commander but the French now stayed on the defensive until mid-1918.

6. 1917 – 1918 • The French Mutinies of 1917 placed onus for the offensive on the British. • From August 1918, it was the turn of the Germans to face problems of desertion & surrender. Some retreating soldiers even abused reserve troops who moved towards the front for ‘prolonging the war’. • Remarkably, most soldiers remained committed to the fighting. By 1918, enthusiasm for war had been replaced by a grim sense of duty.