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Western-Front.Pdf Scots on the Western Front Collect a copy of the ‘Scots on the Western Front’ image and stick in your jotter Watch introductory summary video Exam questions on this unit will focus on four key areas: • Scottish Recruitment in WW1 • The Experience of War • Contribution of the Scots on the Western Front • Scottish Losses. You will not be examined on the causes of the war or why Britain became involved but its worth remembering…… • By 1914, Europe was divided into two armed camps. • Triple Alliance: Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy. • Triple Entente: France, Russia and Great Britain. • The assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand on 28th July 1914 was the trigger for war • Britain joined the Great War on August 4th 1914 after the German invasion of Belgium. How many British men joined the war effort in the first two months? Would we see the 10,000 same reaction st 100,000 today in the 21 century? 500,000 Creating an Army the recruitment campaign It soon became clear that the small British Expeditionary Force (BEF) that was sent to France on August 10th 1914, roughly 120,000 men, was far too small for modern warfare. The Secretary State for War, Field Marshal Lord Kitchener put out an urgent call for volunteers to join the armed forces. Watch recruitment summary video • A hugely successful campaign to get young men aged 19-35 to volunteer resulted in 1.25m recruits by the end of 1914. • However more Scots volunteered in proportion to the population than any other part of Britain e.g. - by the end of August 1914 over 20,000 had volunteered to fight from Glasgow alone. - 24% of the entire male labour force in western Scotland had joined by the end of 1914 Watch the Scottish reaction to recruitment Why So Many Scots?! The ‘Scottish’ reasons: The usual reasons: * Scottish martial (fighting) * Patriotism/German tradition inspired many. atrocities * Scotland suffered higher unemployment and more * Peer pressure – friends widespread poverty than most volunteered, wives, areas in Britain. The army was newspapers a chance for a regular job and * Guilt, fear of white feather wage. * Unlike England there were * Sense of adventure – get no official ‘pals battalions’ but away from mundane lives. many Scots rushed to join up together to fight alongside friends. The Scottish Pals Read pages 32 and 33 of the textbook and record information in bullet point form or a mind map of the ‘Scottish Pals’ Perhaps the most famous of the Scottish Pals was McCrae’s Battalion….. 13 Hearts players and 600 supporters helped to form the 1,350 men of McCrae’s Battalion Scottish Experience Life in the Trenches By Xmas 1914 due to poor weather and exhaustion the troops on both sides began to dig trenches for protection and shelter. Soon these trenches would stretch 400 miles from the English Channel to Switzerland. The trench would be the main feature of warfare between 1914 – 1918. Life in a trench • Muddy conditions leading to trench foot. • Vermin e.g. lice (kilt!), corpse rats, clouds of flies in summer. • Boredom e.g. cleaning weapons, filling sand bags, basic food rations etc. • Constant fear of death led to nervous breakdowns e.g. snipers, shell shock. • Censorship of letters, worrying about wives etc left behind. • Trench life has been exaggerated over the years – soldiers spent no more than 4 days in a trench and whilst difficult, they were entirely sufferable (lice aside) in a time of war Life in a Trench Collect an iPad and watch a selection of the following clips to add information to your notes on trench life. • ‘Life in the Trenches’ • http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/clips/zjj3kqt • ‘What was fighting like in the trenches’ • http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/clips/z8whsbk • ‘Shell Shock’ • http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/clips/zjr4q6f • ‘Going over the Top’ • http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/clips/z74k2hv • ‘Food Rations’ • http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/clips/zxf387h The Scots at War Scottish regiments were involved in three of the biggest battles of the Great War 1915…… The Battle of Loos 1916…… The Battle of the Somme 1917…… The Battle of Arras Collect an iPad or textbook and record all numerical information with a Scottish connection on the writing wall in the iCreate Room 1915 Battle of Loos Loos was a small coal-mining town in north-eastern France, near the Belgian border. To help French near Champagne and take pressure off Russians on the Eastern Front. First time gas ever used by the British. (ineffectively) It is famous for being the battle in which the most Scottish regiments fought together. It was a ‘Pyrrhic’ British victory (ie the win was not worth the losses – 50,000 British casualties, 25,000 German casualties) Commander John French was sacked and replaced by General Douglas Haig. Did You Find? 1915 Battle of Loos • No part of Scotland unaffected by losses at Loos • Black Watch suffered most – 9th regiment lost 680 officers in the first hours. • 6th Cameronians suffered 700 casualties • 35,000 Scottish soldiers participated • Half of the 72 infantry battalions were Scottish • 9th and 15th Divisions suffered 13,000 casualties • 15th Scottish Division captured the village of Loos • 5 Scottish soldiers were given the Victory Cross for extraordinary bravery • Of the 20,598 names of the dead on the Loos Memorial, one-third are Scottish For most conspicuous bravery prior to an assault on German trenches near Loos and Hill 70 on 25th September, 1915. During the worst of the bombardment, when the attack was about to commence, Piper Laidlaw, seeing that his company was somewhat shaken from the effects of gas, with absolute coolness and disregard of danger mounted the parapet, marched up and down and played his company out of the trench. The effect of his splendid example was immediate, and the company dashed out to the assault. Piper Laidlaw continued playing his pipes till he was wounded. 1916 Battle of The Somme • Worst day in British military history • July to November 1916 • Week long bombardment followed by creeping barrage and massive infantry attack Did You Find? 1916 Battle of Somme • Battle was led by Edinburgh born commander Douglas Haig • 3 Scottish Divisions – 9th Scottish, 15th Scottish, 51st Highlanders • Total of 51 Scottish battalions take part • 57,480 British casualties on the first day • 9th Scottish casualties 314 officers, 7200 other ranks • 15th Royal Scots lost 18 officers, 610 soldiers • 16th Royal Scots (McCraes Battalion) lost 12 officers, 573 soldiers • 16th HLI lost 20 officers, 534 soldiers (Boys Brigade) • 51st suffered 3,500 casualties at High Wood • 51st launched successful attack at Beaumone Hamel in November • 400,000 British casualties in total Battle of The Somme Battle of Arras • Aim of the battle was to divert German attention away from a major French attach at Aisne (to the south). • In this aim the battle was successful. • Much ground was taken from the Germans. This was particularly impressive as the Germans held the high ground in places such as Vimy Ridge. • Many new tactics were battle-tested at Arras, including the creeping barrage, counter-battery fire and mining and tunnelling. In addition, the RFC was used extensively for spotting and bombing. • The battle did not, however, ‘end the war in 48 hours’, as it was hoped and the casualty numbers were high – 150,000 1917 Battle of Arras • 44 Scottish battalions attacked on the first day • Other Divisions – 9th Scottish, 15th Scottish, 51st Highlanders • One third of the 159,000 British casualties were Scottish Historians Summary.
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