“What was the essence of the pre-war morale and the soldiers’ psyche prior to the actual crossfire?”
In the heat of the summer in England men were signing up for the war a hundred at a time at every hour, within just the first weeks after the start of the recruitment effort ("Voluntary Recruiting in Britain, 1914-1915."). Boys of the ages of 13 and 14 were enlisting themselves in the army, even though legally the age was 18 (Cooper, Rob.). There was lively activity in the streets as the excitement arose for the grandest and most patriotic war to be fought. The streets were adorned with propaganda posters and lovely ladies waving their boys off to fight ("Voluntary Recruiting in Britain, 1914-1915.”). Needless to say the morale of the people was high and they were excited for the war that was to come, as they believed they would have a victory before Christmas day ("The 'White Feather Girls': Women's Militarism in the UK." ). One British scholar, Bertran Russel, even noted “I discovered to my amazement that average men and women were delighted at the prospect of war” whilst describing the mood of England at the start of the war (Walsh, Ben.).
To the person in the modern day whom knows the fate of these men it seems entirely unreasonable that they would be so excited for what was certain to be a life altering event, for and for the worse in most cases, however the countries gave little room for them to feel otherwise. The French government demanded that all men whom were fit to fight and of the appropriate age group had to take part in full-time military service for three years after the age of 20 (Sass, Eric.). The French men were not reluctant to obey this law as they saw it as an opportunity to settle old scores and take back Alsace Lorraine (Walsh, Ben.). A quote from a young french soldier is said to describe the psyche prior to crossfire in which he says: “Thirty years of life would not be worth all that we are going to accomplish within the next few weeks” (Walsh, Ben.). England went on the offensive with their recruitment effort as their army was to be fully constructed of recruits. They sent out 54 million posters, 8 million personal letters, held 12,000 meetings, and over 20,000 speeches were given by military spokesmen (Cooper, Rob.). Women would go around the cities of England giving white feathers to men whom were not in uniform as a way to identify them as cowards for not joining the forces ("The 'White Feather Girls': Women's Militarism in the UK." ). The posters that were used enlisted emotional blackmail as a way to try and attract more men to the army ("The 'White Feather Girls': Women's Militarism in the UK." ). The men who bore witness to all of these various tactics were tricked into thinking that the war would be quick, heroic and an adventure of a life time.
The evidence that soldiers were excited about the war can be found within the writing of the time, where it is very clear that the men felt more strongly about showcasing their nationalism than about anything else. An example of this can be found in Rupert Brooke’s poem The Soldier in which the opening lines are:
“If I should die, think only this of me:
That there’s some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England.”
This demonstrates that the speaker wants his death to be recognised as a gain for England and not a loss of his life. Another example of such patriotism in the writing of the time comes from the poem Men Who March Away written by Thomas Hardy where the speaker cries: “England’s need are we! Her distress would leave us rueing!” This shows the sense of urgency of the matter in the eyes of the soldiers and the necessity they believed themselves to be to their country. Lastly, an all encompassing quote which demonstrates the mindset of the soldiers as they enlisted is from Alice Meynell’s poem Summer in England, 1914 “No man hath greater love than this, to die to serve his country! There are hundreds of poems which are written in the same enthusiastic and patriotic tone from this time period which all boil down to the same concept: the men were happy to go war as it seemed to be an easy road to glory and way to establish their nationalism.
In conclusion, the men who enlisted in the army were excited for the adventure to come which was thought to be short and worthwhile endeavour. The propaganda and promise of victory for their country and its allies had almost brainwashing effects upon the youth of the Triple Entente counties, leading them to believe wholeheartedly that they should be enraptured by the prospect of being able to represent their country on the front lines. Evidence of this is clearly found within the poetry of the time. as proven with the works of Meynell and Hardy. All in all the men expected to enter war like it had been in the 1800s and return home heroes, however, it would be to their surprise what it was they actually found upon the front lines.
Works cited
Cooper, Rob. "'Why Aren't You in Khaki?' Fascinating Archive of Posters Urging Men to Enlist for WWI - and Encouraging Their Wives to Send Them - Set to Sell at Auction." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 27 Feb. 2014. Web. 21 Apr. 2016.
Sass, Eric. "World War I Centennial: France Passes Three-Year Service Law." Mental Floss. N.p., n.d. Web.
"Voluntary Recruiting in Britain, 1914-1915." The British Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2016.
Walsh, Ben. Modern World History. 2nd ed. N.p.: GSCE, n.d. Print.
"The 'White Feather Girls': Women's Militarism in the UK." OpenDemocracy. N.p., n.d. Web