Winning On The Western Front: The British Army 1914-1919

A Large scale mutiny did not take place in the British army and indiscipline also remained very low. Only 31,405 British soldiers deserted meant 0.5 percent of the army's manpower were tried for absence without leave or desertion abroad and some of these were cleared. Other military crimes were also low; for example, forty-two men were charged with mutiny by the British army on the Western Front between 1914 and the beginning of 1918. Why was it that other armies had such massive mutiny's and that the British army survived such activity? Some historians like Gary Sheffield believe that the reason why more British soldiers did not Mutiny was because of the officer-man relationship in the army. Sheffield saw this relationship as paternalistic and this level of care for soldiers enabled soldiers to gain a sense of care and love which ensured soldiers had nothing to mutiny about. Alexander Watson viewed faith as the most important factor which stopped men from mutinying in the war. Watson argued that the faith the British soldiers had in winning the war kept them going instead of opting to leave the war. Other historians argue that the conditions of the British army compared to that of the German and French army was not that bad at all. The British provided their soldiers with food, shelter and warmth thus the soldiers had no excuse to mutiny John Bourne however saw the most important factor which prevented soldiers from mutinying was that most soldiers in the army were from working class backgrounds and this meant they were able to cope with the grim conditions of war as it related to their everyday lives.

More British soldiers did not mutiny out of fear of punishment. Officers enforced behaviour and loyalty through the threat of punishment. The power to impose sanctions on a soldier was governed by the King's regulations and the Manual of military law. They set out guidelines for sentences and detailed general penalty procedures but it was up to the commanders to decide what type of punishments should be given. Commanders saw the penal sanctions as a significant device to help ensure obedience. Generals considered executions to be a necessary deterrent. Punishments were used to stress unacceptable behaviour and discourage its recurrence by soldiers. There were different punishments that could be given to the soldiers, when soldiers were absent they would get detention, fines were given for drunkenness and soldiers wages could also be deducted. Soldiers could also face field punishment which consisted of men doing continuous labouring duties and also meant they could be handcuffed during imprisonment and tied to an object for up to a total of twenty-one days. There was also a threat of minor punishments which consisted of imprisonment to barracks, punishment drills and a warning. Therefore because soldiers were scared of getting punished they did not revolt.

Furthermore, Many British soldiers did not mutiny on the Western Front because their care and hospitality was not that bad and life on the trenches were better than most of their lives at home. Abraham Maslow created a theory in psychology which was about "A Theory of Human Motivation". This was known as Maslow`s hierarchy of needs. If these requirements are not met, the human body cannot function properly, and would ultimately fail. Water, food and air are essential needs for the survival and endurance of humans. Clothing and shelter provided the necessary protection from the cold. These basic needs need to be fulfilled in order to motivate people to fight. In the British army these basic needs of shelter, food and warmth were met as the British army were fed and looked after well. The British were well fed and well supplied compare to the Germans. The Germans faced material inferiority thus they remained at a disadvantage. The Germans lacked transport and their army had hungry, war-weary soldiers and thus the German army lacked material and the psychological strength to defeat the allies. Many of the British rank and file soldiers were better off in the trenches than at home. The troops therefore were cheerful and enduring rather than outraged. The British soldiers had a sense of belonging in the army as they made friends with fellow soldiers and they did not just fight but also had leisure time to make them feel more comfortable and less home sick. In the trenches there were hundreds of football games that were played by soldiers. These basic needs were met and soldiers were looked after well, thus they did not mutiny as this motivated them to fight on and win the war.

Moreover, as the war carried on the British soldier's reasons for joining the war became more apparent. Adrian Gregory talks about the reasons why men joined the war in the first place and the main reason men joined was to protect their homes and their families. Therefore many British soldiers did not mutiny because soldiers joined the war to protect their homes and throughout the war the Germans were attacking the British homes even more and the soldiers got to see this firsthand, thus their eagerness to fight the war to protect their homes was increased as the war continued. The soldiers feared a German invasion and what this would mean for their homes and loved ones, and as the war was ongoing this fear increased. The British soldiers heard of the German brutalities in France and Belgium which outraged them more and made them fear for their country. These atrocities against Belgian civilians showed men the threat the Germans posed as the Germans murdered and raped women and children. Men enlisted to protect their country and their families from the Germans as there was a fear that the Germans would invade. A soldier B.C Myatt in his diary wrote: "We know we are suffering these awful hardships to protect our beloved ones at home from the torture and rape of these German Pigs who have done some awful deeds in France and Belgium cutting off children's hands and cutting off women's breasts awful deeds." As the war continued the British saw the Germans becoming more aggressive and heartless thus they did not mutiny and kept fighting because they did not want the Germans to hurt their families. This fear meant for four horrific years however awful the war was British soldiers stuck it out. Gregory observed that most volunteers enlisted at the time when war became serious; "men did not join the British army expecting a picnic stroll to Berlin but in the expectation of a desperate fight for national defence". The British soldier's sense of duty and fear of invasion compelled them to continue fighting no matter how hard life in the trenches was getting. They viewed their hardships as a sacrifice they had to make in order to protect their families and country, the safety of their families were of upmost importance to them and they would do anything to keep them safe.

Furthermore, the British soldiers did not mutiny because of their high level endurance which was also linked with their connection with home. Watson argued that the British soldiers had more resilience compared to that of the Germans. He believes that the British always believed they would win the war and believed the war had not been lost whereas the Germans came to a certain point where they realised the war would go on for another two years and believed they could not win. The collapse of the German army in 1918 was due to the fact that they were too physically and mentally exhausted to continue fighting. By April 1918, the failure to defeat the British army had caused depression among many of the ranks and the victorious allied attacks in July and August also swayed the majority of the officers to believe that the war was lost. The British army was not in a bad state compare to the German and French as they had fought in the war for two more years than the British as the British joined in 1916. The collapse of the German soldiers was the logical outcome of fighting two years longer. If the British had been in war for longer may be soldiers would have mutinied more and the soldiers endurance would have ran out. Watson argues that the German resilience had run out and that the military discipline had nothing to do with the soldiers revolting. The British had more endurance and resilience to fight because they believed they were in the right and God was on their side. The propaganda used put a positive angle on events; even defeats the British faced. Watson believed the British survived the disaster of the Third Ypres because they believed they would ultimately win the war. The British had confidence and faith that they would win the war, hence many soldiers did not revolt. This belief of winning the war was also linked with their want and need to protect their loved ones at home. Therefore the belief that they were going to win the war and the optimism the British soldiers had kept them fighting and ensured that many did not dessert the army like the Germans and French did.

In conclusion many British soldiers did not mutiny on the Western Front because of the generally better conditions of the trenches compared to the other armies. The British were well fed and better equipped than the Germans. For most British soldiers the life on the trenches were better than their living conditions back at home and thus they had nothing to complain about and instead enjoyed life on the trenches. In the British army life was not just about fighting the army allowed leisure time where soldiers played football matches; this gave soldiers a feel of normal life and allowed them to create friendships which in turn created a sense of belonging and comradeship. Sheffield believes the officer-man relations created mutual trust and love between the officers and their men and this resulted in soldiers not mutinying. The officer-man relationship was friendly and personal; this created a sense of comradeship and loyalty and made men want to follow their officers in battle and listen to their commands. The officers had a paternalistic relationship with their men and ensured there men were looked after well which strengthened the armies cohesion. The officer-man relationship played a crucial role in sustaining the morale of the British army through four years of exhausting warfare. Furthermore the fact that the allies and the German army had been at war longer than the British points towards the idea that if the British army had been fighting for longer maybe they would have had faced more mutinies. The German soldier's human resilience could not hold out any longer as the war had gruelling effects on them and this could have happened to the British army and their men could have lost their endurance if they had been fighting as long as the Germans had been. The British soldiers joined the war to protect their families, as the war carried on the soldiers saw the brutality of the Germans and this pushed them to fight harder and increased their desire to win the war as the protection of their families was of upmost importance to them and they would sacrifice anything to make that happen, even if it meant suffering on the trenches. Bourne argued that because the army was made up of mostly working class men it made it easier for the army to integrate soldiers. This was because working class men were used to following orders and their lives were not too different from the life and conditions of the trenches, thus they did not have that much to complain about. The working class were used to poor conditions and knew how to make the best of what they had, and thus they carried these values into the army. Therefore they stuck to fighting and tried to make the best of what they had in the trenches. These values and similarities to civilian life made the British soldiers not mutiny and made them want to endure the war until they won.