Why British Men Enlisted in the British Army in 1914

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Why British Men Enlisted in the British Army in 1914

When Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, Europe erupted. The

Austro-Hungarian Empire invaded Serbia; Russia sends troops to its

borders with Austria and Hungary. Germany declares war on Russia and

France and marches into Belgium and Britain declares war with Germany

and her allies. Although Britain already had a well-trained

professional army, it was far too small to be able to stand a chance

against the huge German army that was more than three times its size.

As a result of this Lord Kitchener immediately went on a recruiting

campaign calling on all men aged between 19 and 30 to enlist in the

British Army. There was a huge response, during August and September

1914 736,000 Britons volunteered for the army. In this essay, I will

explore the reasons why the response was so successful at the start of

the war.

The majority of men went out to fight out of a sense of patriotism,

honour and duty. They loved their King and country to the extent that

they felt it was worth dying for. They thought it was a matter of

honour and duty to fight for the British Empire if a foreign force

threatened it.

Propaganda helped enforce the British portrayal the Germans as evil

and sadistic. Every single atrocity that the Germans committed was

reported at home. When an American passenger ship was sunk by German

u-boats many people were shocked, their idea of war was something that

only involved soldiers not civilians or traders. This inspired people

to volunteer in the hope of finding a way of getting revenge. Things

that happened in industrial cities like Scarborough, where German hot

...

... middle of paper ...

...If he does not think that you and your

country are worth fighting for - do you think he is WORTHY of you?.'

The glamour of a uniform and travelling to different countries also

attracted a number of men. Men who had never travelled past the

nearest town or city were after the chance of an adventure. And

especially since every one expected the war to be over by Christmas it

felt like a holiday for some.

Patriotism, honour, duty as well as pride in ones town or city played

a considerable part in explaining why men volunteered. Propaganda

pushed men to enlist as a way of getting revenge for all the deaths in

places like Scarborough committed by the Germans. Women too played a

vital role in moving men to volunteer, particularly the Order of the

White Feather which disgraced men in public by labelling them s

cowards.

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