191. Manpower and the man of the moment

Lloyd George was a Liberal, but he led a coalition government even more dependent on Conservative votes than the one he replaced under Asquith. And, not only was he dependent on the Conservatives, he also faced an Opposition – a loyal and generally supportive Opposition, committed to not blocking any measure designed to win the war – made up of Liberals, under the leadership fo the very Asquith he’d replaced.

Meanwhile, the war itself had hit something of a plateau. In country after country, men were losing heart in the war. In France, that turned into outright mutinies in numerous units, following yet another bloody and unsuccessful offensive. And in Russia things were worse still, with despair both in the military and in the civilian population, leading to the so-called February revolution (that took place in March 1917) which brought down the Tsar.

Only the Germans and the British could still contemplate major offensive actions. And, indeed, Haig organised another, that led to the Battle of Passchendaele, which again caused massive numbers of casualties and failed to achieve its objectives.

This episode looks at how these numbers were now becoming a statistically significant proportion of the total number of men available for service in Britain. That number was kept shockingly low, above all by the effects of poverty, leading to far too few men of military age having the level of fitness necessary for combat.

The most powerful Empire the world had seen couldn’t feed and care for the men of its mother country sufficiently to ensure they could defend their home against an enemy on its borders.

Illustration: Wounded Canadians on their way to a first-aid-post through the mud at the Battle of Passchendaele. Photo: William Rider-Rider / LAC.

Music: Bach Partita #2c by J Bu licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.