1914 To 1918 Essay

How and Why Attitudes to War Changed from 1914 to 1918

World War 1 was a war without parallel - all previous wars eclipsed by its scale of destruction. Up to this point in history, war seem be be heroic and glamorous. Before 1914, when people in Europe thought about war they often thought of the glory and the excitement. Young men of the richer classes in every country were keen to be officers, and many felt that war was a noble experinence, showing a nation at it's best. Of course, people knew that war caused bloodshed and waste, but before 1914 it was mainly soldiers and sailors themsleves who suffered. Life at home usually went on as before, but with the extra excitement of news from the battlefield.

At the beginning of the war the army had strict specifications about who could become soldiers. Men joining the army had to be at least 5ft 6in tall and a chest measurement of 35 inches. By May 1915 soldiers only had to be 5ft 3in and the age limit was raised to 40. In July the army agreed to the formation of 'Bantam' battalions, composed of men between 5ft and 5ft 3in in height. The British government also began a successful poster campaign. Artists such as Saville Lumley, Alfred Leete, Frank Brangwyn and Norman Lindsay, produced a series of posters urging men to join the British Army. The desire to fight continued into 1915 and by the end of that year some two million men had volunteered their services.

Many people suffered. Unlike in the past the war affected people the people back home even though the fighting was happening all over Europe. Before the war broke out in 1914, Sir Edward Grey said 'If we are engaged in a war we shall suffer but little more that we shall suffer if we stand aside.' In fact the what hit Britain hard, and brought about many

The war affected bases of all combatant nations: Economical, Social, Political and Industrial.

The economical affects of World War One, were that armaments manufactures and industrialists made huge fortunes out of the war, because weapons to be able to fight, so companies could charge what they liked. Also new weapons for battle were being made which made many rich industrialists even richer. Other countries like Great Britain came up with weapons like the British V tanks, these were made out of metal and had Ricardo engines and travelled at 5mph. Also the airplanes were built to take action in the air, also trenches were used to hide camps, to out-smart the ememies. Also poisonous gases were produced and used against the ememies to blind and kill them.

The social affects of World War One were millions of men were killed, thousand of children would grow up fatherless. Also there was a huge inbalance between the number of females and males, as so many men died fighting. Other than getting killed, many more suffered horrific injuries and physical and mental disfigurements. Finally during the war the role of women changed for the better of all those