ww1

• explain why men joined up in 2014

  patriotism - many men believed they had a duty to their king and country,

  pals battalions - this meant that men could enlist in groups or with friends, making it less intimidating.

  unemployment - a stable job and wage was attractive to many

  short war theory - many soldiers thought the war would be over by christmas.

  escape boring jobs - many thought the army would be a more exciting and fun experience than other alternatives.

  propaganda - false advertisement for the war and what it was like was everywhere, therefore soldiers had an idealistic view of it.
• Describe how conscientious objecters were treated

  • some lost their jobs

  • physical assault

  • refused service in shops

  • newspaper campaigns against them
• describe the use of new technology

  gas - chlorine gas temporarily incapacitated the enemy. Mustard and phosgene gas were more potent and likely to cause panic in the enemy. Blinded troops and had a great psychological effect. however, wind could make it blow back on your own troops and they were useless once gas masks were invented.

  tanks - tanks could cut through barbed wire and clear large spaces of trench. however, it got caught easily and required multiple people to operate
• describe trench conditions/experiences of Scottish soldiers on the Western Front

  • soldiers experienced Shell shock - some went mad

  • soldiers were fed boring and monotonous food -e.g bully beef and hard biscuits

  • trench foot from waterlogged trench - could lead to amputation

  • fear of death/gas attack/being shot

  • discomfort of lice/flies - could lead to boils and blisters
• describe the role of soldiers of Scottish soldiers at Loos/Western Front


  • the attack on loos started on the the 24th of September

  • Of the soldiers who took part, 30,000 were Scottish.

  • the attack started with a four day artillery bombardment

  • a scot, General Douglas Hais was in command of British forces
• explain how battles were fought in WW1/use of tactics

  • one way that battles were fought during WW1 was cavalry - specifically, it was used at the beginning of war

  • Big pushes. These would weaken the enemy - they would be forced to retreat and thousands of soldiers would be wounded or killed • artillery barrage. These would destroy enemy trenches. • the Germans had deeper trenches. This meant that they were dug deeper or made of concrete.
• Why British military tactics failed

  • Britain’s new volunteer Soldiers were ready to fight but had no experience in the army

  • There were 20,000 British soldiers killed and 40,000 wounded by the end of the first day of the Battle Of The Somme, yet fighting continued

  • the British continued with the Somme offensive in spite of the fact that the French couldn’t contribute new troops.

  • the weather turned the battlefield into a mudbath which meant that tanks were ineffective
• Describe events at the Somme 1916


  On June 24 the artillery bombardment began. It lasted 8 days and used more heavy guns than had ever been used before. Haig believed this would destroy the barbed wire and that few Germans would remain alive in the trenches.

  • On June 1, British infantry were ordered to attack be’. The soldiers were told that the German defences were destroyed and they should cross no man’s land at walking pace, As they walked towards the German trenches, British troops came under heavy machine guns.
• Explain the impacts of DORA on Scottish people

  • people were unhappy that they could not strike for better conditions/pay

  • people were upset at the censorship of the press

  • pub owners were unhappy with the restrictions on alcohol/ limitation of pub opening times/ watering down of alcohol

  • blackouts made it dangerous to get around at night

  • people resented conscription/rationing

  • People could be fined /arrested/imprisoned for breaking the terms of DORA
• Explain why the government introduced rationing

  • health was being affected by lack of food/malnutrition

  •some people were starving
• Explain the impact of the Great War on Women


  • Labour shortage because of shortage of men - women took over jobs vacated by men

  • women worked in munitions factories and it was reported that by 1918, they were producing 80% of the shells to the western front

  • they kept transport going - they did this by driving buses

  • women also worked in the ‘land army’ ensuring that the country remained fed whilst the Germans were bombing merchant ships in the Atlantic

  • Women increased their confidence in their abilities to do ‘men’s jobs ‘
• Describe the tactics employed by women in their fight for the vote

  Suffragists - peaceful tactics - wrote letters to MPs, sent petitions to parliament, distributed leaflets, organised meetings and held rallies and marches.

  Suffragettes - founded by Emmeline Pankhurst - militant tactics. Poured acid on golf courses, chained themselves to horses, Emily Davison threw herself in front of the kings horse, set fire to important buildings, slashed paintings, hunger strikes
• Explain why women got the vote in 1918


  Suffragist campaigns gained momentum before the  war-built up supporters in
• 1918 representation of the People Act

  • the 1918 representative of the people act gave some women over 30 the vote in national elections

  • they had to be either householders or the wife of householders, occupiers of property with an annual rent of £5, graduates of British universities.

  • it gave the right to vote to all men over 21

  • women still did not have the vote on the same terms as men
• explain why Suffragette militancy damaged the campaign for women’s right to vote 


  • militancy created lots of bad publicity which made achieving the vote much less likely/portrayed women as unfit to vote

  • suffragettes smashed shop windows which angered business owners

  • suffragettes interrupted political meetings which annoyed politicians

  • Emily Davison’s actions at the Derby outraged the nation

  • Suffragettes slashed paintings upsetting many artists
• Explain how the war benefitted the Scottish economy 


  • industry generally bloomed, especially the heavy industries associated with the war effort.

  Shipbuilding - 1914 - 14% of male working population or 100,000 workers relied on the shipbuilding industry . The shipbuilding industry grew; 481 warships built on the Clyde during war. John Brown shipbuilder produced tanks from 1916. Aberdeen and Dundee also benefitted from the shipbuilding industry.
• Explain why Scotland’s economy declined after 1918


  • lack in investment and foreign competition

  • demand for shops declined - causing high unemployment- impact on coal/iron/ steel industries

  • shipyards hit by labour disputes

  • jute prices collapsed after the war

  • cheap foreign imports

  • collapse of fishing industry - lost market due to the war
• explain the decline of heavy industry


  • Post-war lack of demand orders for shipbuilding e.g 1921-23 tonnage of ships built on the clyde declined from 510,000 to 170,000.

  • poor industrial relations (e.g demarcation disputes) caused difficulties

  • failure to invest in new technology/lack in investment

  • lack of demand led to iron and steel production declining/plants closing

  • lack of orders led to decline in railway
• describe the events of bloody friday 1919


  • the clyde workers computer called for a workers demonstration in support of a 40 hour week

  • sixty thousand strikers demonstrated outside the City Chambers in George Square

  • the police charged with their batons to break up the demonstration

  • the workers fought back with bottles and iron rails and the police were forced to withdraw

  • the demonstration was peaceful, the police charge was unprovoked
• Describe the rent strikes of 1915


  • workers flooded into glasgow for work in booming industries

  • not enough housing - demand soared. Rent was increased by the landlord.

  • rent strikes were encouraged by women (Mary Barbour and Helen Crawford) refused to pay increased amounts of rent.

  • 25,000 households refused to pay rent

  • landlords representatives pelted with flour when they came to collect rent.