WWI Britain

World War I - The Great War, as contemporaries identified it -was the earliest man-made catastrophe of the twentieth century. The underlying causes of this warfare are shrouded in skepticism and controversy and are still in debate among scholars and historians alike. A fact that is recognized by all is the truth that the war constituted the death and mourning of many valiant men. Regardless, the course of the war involved the participation of all civilians. This included the involvement of men as well as that of women, which in itself brought about a feminizing of home front society. The conventional view that the men on the front held the most responsibility was greatly altered as civilians began to acquire equal accountabilities and role in the war. For example women were encouraged to enlist in medical care and textile factories. Additionally, farmers and factory workers aided by increasing their work efforts in order to appease the demand of supplies required for the men n the front, which aided to confirm the role of civilians in the war.

The effect that World War I had upon civilians was devastating. The Great World War was a war that affected civilians on an extraordinary scale. Residents became a military target to the enemy. The economic impact of World War I meant that there were shortages of all produce. Living standards plunged, and the post-war economic state of Europe was at mid 19th century levels. During the war, eight to ten million soldiers were killed in battle, and twenty-two million were injured. This meant that nearly every person lost a family member, the population losses were enormous. In 1918, immediately after the war, there was an epidemic of influenza. The total amount of deaths from the disease after a year was on the same scale as the number of casualties as the "Black death" epidemic in the middle ages. Propaganda at the time also gave the false impression to the public that everything was reasonable, when in reality so many people were dying. World War I also had a large impact upon the role of women in a family.

With all the men at war as soldiers, women began working for a living. Although Women’s wages were not as high as the men’s were, they still took control and were a big benefit toward the war. The life for the civilians in the war was hectic, being a primary target of attack. When the war ended this caused a large conflict, but nevertheless, the role of women in society had gone through a radical change. This war caused a feminist movement and led to women being able to vote. The war gave the women an opportunity to prove themselves as valuable in society. Previously thought as someone who stays inside tending the house and family, women gained more respect. Feminist women were to be found in all classes but always as a minority; working-class feminists, besides, would often combine feminism and trade-unionism much to the dismay of their upper-class sisters. These included women in key positions such as administrators in government organizations and home front political unions.

In the war, children were left without fathers, and other family members. It was the women’s obligations to take over the “home front”. Experience for civilians in the war was all different. Although, it was hectic and frightening being under attack, the children could not do much to help with the war. All they could do was to attempt small tasks with their mothers. Unlike the male and female civilians who filled in the roles of the men and women that left for war. Jobs such as knitting socks and other articles of clothing or working in factories such as making ammunition were helpful in the time of war. During the war, the civilians were all anxious, and everyone wanted the war to be over as soon as possible. Because so many people perished, mourning and longing for a spouse or family member was a big part of civilian life. Overall the work force during the First World War from the civilians left at home left a major impact for women in society, feminism, and toward the victory of the war.

American agriculture boomed in World War I when the United States in essence fed the allied nations as well as its own wartime armed forces. Farmers increased their production through purchase of gasoline‐powered machinery and the cultivation of additional land. When the wartime foreign and military demands declined after the war, export markets collapsed, and American agriculture, already heavily in debt from the wartime expansion, plunged into a severe economic depression. More than ever, the war effort depended on the support and willingness to sacrifice of whole peoples. Women and children often took over the jobs of men in industry and agriculture.

A French politician, Albert Thomas, had a wartime job at the munitions ministry led to significantly increased output of munitions throughout WWI.[1] He immediately set about reorganizing France's method of munitions production. He acted to retrieve a half million men already serving with the army to aid in munitions production. He also introduced a policy of military exemptions for munitions personnel, in addition to encouraging a greater working role for women. Refugees and prisoners of war were similarly recruited to aid in the French war effort.

In Germany and Austria food became so scarce that famines occurred. To support more than four years of industrialized warfare, national governments almost everywhere faced tasks of an unexpected magnitude. They had to ensure industrial production for the fighting while millions of able-bodied men served in the military; they had to organize the food supply and keep up morale at home and in the front lines. Soon after the outbreak of the First World War the German Navy attempted to halt the flow of imports to Britain by introducing unrestricted submarine warfare. Panic buying led to shortages and so in January 1918, the Ministry of Food decided to introduce rationing. Sugar was the first to be rationed and this was later followed by butchers' meat. The idea of rationing food was ultimately to guarantee supplies, rather than to reduce consumption.

World War I was a global military conflict which involved the majority of the current world’s great powers. In a state of total war, the major combatants placed their scientific and industrial capabilities at the service of the war effort. Civilians during this war were an essential aspect in overall victory. With the help of women, injured men were able to be treated quickly and effectively, and were also useful for completing tasks that men “left behind”. A novel by Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front, accurately depicts this. In the novel the men on the front face heavy adversity from their enemy. Consequently, they are intensely dependent on the help of the support of people such as industrialists, farmers, and nurses. Moreover, men that chose not to head to the front, still proved useful for towards the cause of the war. Produce and munitions were supplied due to the patriotism that is displayed through increased work efforts. Ultimately, despite the large number of men who perished during the course of the war, the effort placed by all the civilians proved to make worthy their sacrifice.

-Oladeji Odewade, Noah Joachim, Cameron Macaulay

[1] http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/thomas.htm