The Effect of World War I on Civilians

The Effect of World War I on Civilians

World War one was a military conflict which took place between 1914

and 1918. It involved many European countries as well as America and

other countries around the world. This war was one of the most violent

and destructive in European history.

World War I was the first total war. Once the war began, the countries

involved mobilized their entire populations and economic resources to

achieve victory on the battlefield. The term home front, which was

widely employed for the first time during World War I, perfectly

symbolized this new concept of a war in which the civilian population

behind the lines was directly and critically involved in the war

effort.

When war broke out in during 1914, Britain only had a small

professional army - it needed a large one quickly. The government

launched a huge recruitment campaign with posters, leaflets,

recruitment offices in every town and motivating speeches by

politicians and ministers.

Despite the country already having a strong anti-German feeling, the

press strengthened it with regular stories of German atrocities. This

recruitment campaign was highly successful and by 1915 over two

million men had been enlisted in the army.

However, in 1916, numbers started to fall and the demand started to

increase. The government were forced to introduce conscription. This

meant that all men aged 18 to 40 had to register for active service.

These men could be called up at any time to fight for Britain. But in

the end many welcomed the governments taking the control of the

situation and introducing conscription as they thought the volunteer

system was u...

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...ot until 1916 that the

government allowed approved journalists to go to the front to report

on the war. These reports focused only on good news.

The government also censored letters from soldiers at the front. The

soldiers sometimes chose to censor themselves as they did not want to

report bad news back to their families and cause worry.

Children were also aimed at by the government. Toys, games, comics and

books were all aimed at making children support the war effort. These

books and magazines sold well since many of them continued to sell

after the war in the 1920's and 1930's.

The end of the war in November 1918 came as a relief with a sense of

triumph. People were all too aware by then of the human and financial

cost of the war in Britain and in other countries, and were desperate

to rebuild their lives.