A Voluntary Army tested in War,

1914-19151914-1915

By

Edward M Spiers

(University of Leeds)

Army reformed by R. B. Haldane

(1905-12)

• Reforms not based on what

WF might require

• BEF (6 divs. & a Cavalry div.),

Special Reserve, TF & OTC

formed out of what was formed out of what was

politically acceptable (budget &

voluntary system)

• Relied on military to rearm &

retrain after lessons of Boer War

(& Russo-Japanese War)

Mobilization of BEF (6 divisions & a

cavalry division) for WF

• Mobilization planned

over 1910-14 for despatch

of BEF, with reserves, horses

guns, supplies & transport

to France within 15 days (& to France within 15 days (&

coped with last-minute delays

& cut to 4 divisions)

• Maj.-Gen. Henry Wilson

still sceptical about potential

of the voluntary system

BEF: ‘Incomparably the best trained, best organized, and best

equipped British Army that ever went forth to war’

BEF with 60% reservists inflicted disproportionate casualties

on enemy at Mons (23/8/14), then a 14-day retreat; Le Cateau

(26/8/14) lose 38 guns; but

hold at the Marne, ‘race to the

sea’ & survive 1st Ypres.sea’ & survive 1 Ypres.

BEF lacked heavy ordnance for

trench warfare & sufficient

numbers worsened by

casualties of 3,267 officers &

86,237 men by 30/11/14)

Kitchener appointed secretary of state

for war (5/8/14) & raises New ArmiesKitchener knew little of home

Army, which was seriously

under-strength

• expected a long war

• gained support of a Liberal • gained support of a Liberal

cabinet to raise a mass army

• but had to accept a voluntary

process as part of cross-party

consensus in support of the war,

& as differentiating UK from

Prussian militarism

Non-use of Territorial Force (TF) as a

means of expanding army in war

Critics – Kitchener disdain for ‘town clerk’s army’

-- creates chaos in early recruiting.

But Kitchener worried about

• Invasion threat & TF raised for home defence• Invasion threat & TF raised for home defence

• Territorials not obliged to serve overseas but

by 25/8/14, 70 TF battalions volunteer to do so

• Size of mass army unclear (30, 50, & even a

notional 70 divisions envisaged)

TF wartime contribution

• Kitchener relents on TF & permits them to finish

their training & recruit alongside the New Armies

• By end of 1914, 23 TF battalions on WF & another 4

in India & Egyptin India & Egypt

• Over entire war 318 TF battalions serve in front line

compared with 404 New Army battalions

Rise and Fall of Voluntary Recruiting

2,466,719 voluntary recruits (Aug.’14–Dec.’15)

• ‘Rush’ to the Colours (Aug.-Sept.1914) attracts

one third of voluntary recruits (761,824 men)

• Recruiting ‘Rally’ or ‘Decline’ (Oct. 1914 –• Recruiting ‘Rally’ or ‘Decline’ (Oct. 1914 –

Sept. 1915)

• Derby scheme (Oct. 1915- 15 Dec. 1915) some

215,000 enlisted & 2,185,000 attested but

conscription follows

Recruiting Myths

• ‘At times it would seem easier to enlist than

not to do so’ (Paxman)

• ‘Despite initial doubts, the voluntary principle

worked’ (Royle)worked’ (Royle)

2.4 million by end of 1915 was remarkable but

�recruiting was not always easy & slow to start

�’rush’ over 31/8 to 11/9 – over 12 days

�Volunteering has minority appeal

‘Rush’ to the Colours during Aug-Sept

1914 when

‘Rush’ is 31 Aug-11 Sept (295,278) with 33,204

on 3 Sept follows

Kitchener’s 2nd appeal &

expanded age limit to 35expanded age limit to 35

• ‘Amiens despatch’

• civilian help in recruiting

• Pals battalions

Pals Battalions

Locally raised, Pals Battalions reflect social, class,

geographical, workplace/other identities:

• Eased strain/costs of WO recruiting as 76 Pals

battalions raised by end of Dec 1914 (only battalions raised by end of Dec 1914 (only

100,000 of 1.2M men raised by this time)

• Concept extended to local units of RE, RFA,

RGA & 11 Div ammunition columns in 1915

• 215 Pals battalions raised by June 1916

Pals Battalions (pros/cons)

• Iconic symbols of civic

pride/local identity in

industrial north, &

• broaden social base of

army but they are army but they are

�exclusive units &

reflect divisions in Edwardian society

�retard recruiting in some cities (Sheffield & Leeds)

�concentrate casualties in particular communities

Leeds Pals: ‘It was the cheering that

killed recruiting in Leeds.’

20,000 cheered Leeds Pals off at the station but the unit

� had turned away numerous artisans

� 2 workers’ battalions fail as local economy improves, &

� 90% of Leeds recruits left

‘without a cheer & without a ‘without a cheer & without a

song … The boom over the

“Pals” was all very nice & full

of esteem & goodwill but it

froze the stream of recruits

right off’ Leeds and District

Weekly Citizen, 20/10/14

Finding officers for the New Armies

Kitchener inherited 28,060 officers (of whom 9,563 TF).

Needed another 30,000 officers, he ordered

• each BEF battalion to leave 3 officers behind,

• shortened courses at Sandhurst & Woolwich,

held back Indian Army officers on leave in UK, • held back Indian Army officers on leave in UK,

• brought back retired officers for New Armies & gave

• temporary commissions to 20,577 current or former OTC cadets from Aug 1914 to Mar 1915, so preserving the officer-gentleman tradition in first year of the war

Why does ‘Rush’ to the Colours end?

On 11 Sept WO raises height to 5’6” but complaints about

• separation allowances/disability provisions

• chaotic sights of recruits without uniforms/rifles/

accommodation/sanitation & feeding difficulties

• 10% of enlisted men discharged as unfit for service• 10% of enlisted men discharged as unfit for service

• censored news led to perception of allied successes.

These factors had an unintended consequence, namely a

belief that not every man was needed & UK could return

to business as usual (136,811 recruits in Oct 1914)

Recruiting Rally or Decline?

WO alters height & extends age limits; mass rallies

(on causes of war); & PRC organizes meetings &

publicity (13M leaflets & 1M posters by end of

1914). Recruiters try to raise recruits by

exploiting bad news (shelling of east coast, sinking of • exploiting bad news (shelling of east coast, sinking of Lusitania, execution of Nurse Edith Cavell)

• Regional comparisons

• Recruitment by insult

• Last chance for voluntary system & fear of conscription

Recruiting aides: illuminated tram,

Harry Lauder & Leete’s poster

War wastage (186,974) by end of Feb

1915

Despite recruiting 1.4M men by end of Feb 1915,

wastage keeps growing & ‘shells crisis’ (Mar 1915)

underscores importance of industrial support

& manpower planning (‘starred’ occupations)& manpower planning (‘starred’ occupations)

Military casualties keep mounting:

�11,161 (Aubers Ridge, 9 May 1915)

�59,247 (Loos, 25 Sept – 14 Oct 1915)

�120,246 (Gallipoli, 25 Apr 1915 – 8 Jan 1916)

Lord Derby administers final test of

voluntary system (Oct-Dec 1915)

National Register (15 Aug)

reveals some 5M men of

men of military age not in

forces (1.6M in starred

occupations). Derby door-to-occupations). Derby door-to-

door canvas asks men

between ages of 18 & 41

if they would attest to serve

when called

Derby Scheme (16 Oct- 15Dec 1915)

2,185,000 attest in list that would take single men of 19

years first & then 22 other groups, ending with married

men.

�But 2,182,178 refuse to register (inc. 651,160�But 2,182,178 refuse to register (inc. 651,160

bachelors not in starred occupations). Result paves way

for Military Service Act (Jan 1916)

2,466,719 men enlisted from outbreak

of war to the end of 1915

Massive tribute to Kitchener, political consensus,

WO/local/PRC recruiting. Iconic legacies: ‘Rush’ to

the colours & Pals battalions. Enlistment still

• a minority activity & so conscription inevitable• a minority activity & so conscription inevitable

• lack of planning exacerbated accommodation, equipment & training needs

• posed problems in planning manpower for war economy

• perceived latterly as a shirkers’ charter

Voluntary system fails

‘A modern state demanded a

more rational, more organized,

and more egalitarian approach.’and more egalitarian approach.’

• J. M. Osborne, The Voluntary Recruiting

Movement in Britain, 1914-1916, p. 132