Why Did Australia Volunteer To Fight So Readily In 1914 Essay
‘Why did Australians volunteer to fight so readily in 1914?’
The outbreak of The Great War in 1914 was the first battle The Commonwealth of Australia fought in as a separate nation. Having been an extremely young nation, federating in 1901, the country of Australia was still very much tied to their true ‘mother country’, Great Britain. Britain was in charge of Australia’s defence in that point in time and had certain obligations to Britain, particularly in times of war and conflict. Australians during this period were eager to help Britain any way they could and did so by calling for volunteers. Initially, entry was strict, however once replacements were needed these restrictions, such as height and level of experience, were lifted. A multitude …show more content…
of reasons existed as to the motivation Australian men, in particular enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (A.I.F). The 13 year old nation of Australia in 1914 expressed a higher sense of patriotism as opposed to the level shown today, which needs to be taken into account as Australia did not have conscription. However a very patriotic young nation, eager to gain a sense of nationalism is a part of the reason masses of Australian men, were eager to be involved in the A.I.F.
By August 10, 1914, recruiting began nationwide. By November 1914, ‘20,000 members of an infantry division and a light horse brigade…were on their way to Egypt[1] This quick gathering of volunteering men to fight overseas in an unforeseen, brutal battle, raises interesting points of discussion as to the reasons these men made themselves available.
An assortment of various motivations for joining up with the A.I.F, which include duty, honor, peer pressure, influential propaganda, the seeking of adventure, the overgrowing sense of nationalism and also the fact that the lack of wars in the European area since the 1870’s diminished any recent notion of danger and loss of life that participating in the war can attribute to.
Nobody foresaw the horrors of participating in the First World War would bring.
Being a new, recently independent nation, the outbreak of war provided the opportunity not only to fulfill their obligations to Britain, but also for Australia to establish itself as a country that has the manpower and support behind them to exhibit the traits of an established nation. ‘There was also a belief in society that war was a testing ground for individual and national character’[2] Australia was a product of the successful British military quests and here was the chance to prove themselves worthy on a world stage.’ What the war represented was an opportunity to say, ‘here we are right, look at us fighting’10. If society believed that war was a testing ground for individual and national character, this was certainly achieved at Gallipoli in 1915. Despite being a failed battle with ‘7823 Australians being killed and 19441 wounded with a further 70 becoming prisoners of war’[3], the ANZACS represented the values and qualities of the whole society which is still reflected in our nationalism today. Welborn (2002), describes the historic event as ‘the proving of a nations soul’[4].In essence, the failed landing at Gallipoli evoked at least the sense of nationalism many young men were inspired to enlist as a result
of.
Many people in Australia in 1914 had little if any perspective of what the world looked like outside of their country, this brought about the opportunity for free travel. Unless you were particularly financially comfortable, a majority of Australian men had the first opportunity to leave their home towns. This sense of adventure drove prospective recruits to their local recruitment offices. Particularly in the time of 1914, the offer to fight for your country in an unknown land and receive food and a paycheck would have been enticing. ‘Workers in urban environments looked forward to finding in it an exciting and, they hoped, a brief respite from the tedium of their everyday lives’6 . However those not keen to correlate war with an adventurous event, ‘…thought of the war as a chance for a holiday’3 as the notion was thought that war would be over by Christmas that year. However that was grossly understating the timeframe the Great War actually took to be over, eventually ending some four years later, on the 11th of November 1918.
However in 1914, young Australian men continued blissfully unaware of the terrible conditions awaited them in Gallipoli and The Western Front. Enthusiasm to the call for volunteers swept across Australia with men forming queues outside recruiting offices which were located in cities and many small towns. ‘In remote regions, men marched in groups of one hundred or more to the nearest recruiting office sometimes great distances away.’3 This would have led to young men following in the footsteps of their mates, falling under the peer pressure of conforming to a particular consensus because of a fellow group of friends have chosen so. Peer pressure came from the community also, ‘emotive words such as ‘shirkers’, ‘wasters’, and ‘disloyal’ were used to describe those… individuals who declined to volunteer, and those parents who failed to urge there eligible sons to enlist’8 Pressures of a general community, inclined to ridicule those who were opposed to war, considering them an outsider because of their beliefs.
As were as social peer pressures, another possible reason for voluntary enlistment by droves of men in 1914 is helped along by government propaganda. Propaganda is a term used to describe communication used to influence community’s attitudes toward a particular position or cause. Slogans such as ‘Are YOU in this?’[5] or ‘Australia has promised Britain 50,000 more men, will you help us keep that promise?’5. Those particular propaganda pieces were in the form of a draw picture, depicting various elements of war or symbolic features of Australian culture. These posters were designed to touch the moral beliefs of prospective male and thus help influence his decision to enlist for war. Propaganda was used more frequently once the reality of war had set in, particularly after the tragic loss of lives at Gallipoli, to help sway public opinion in favor of, in this case, the Australian government and continuing to resupply our forces with men to replace the dead and injured, however propaganda becomes more prevalent once the realities and the true sense of the war, along with its endless number of causalities becomes public knowledge. This of course results in a substantial reduction of volunteers, which will continue this tread throughout the rest of the conflict. A culmination of these various pressures was placed upon those men who had second doubts about joining the A.I.F and who were not immediately enthusiastic or even willing to sign up.
This influence of propaganda was also used cleverly to evoke nationalist ideals, such as the respect Australians had for their mother country, Britain, to bring about further numbers of participation, ready to mobilise. Duty was a widely used term that can be used in a multitude of different ways, much like a particular horoscope relating in some way to everybody, ones duty can be related the same. One young male’s duty in 1914 was perhaps to protect his family or wife from the threat of foreign invasion, another’s duty may be to assist his friends and help support them. Various other men who voluntarily enlisted, was widely understood that due to ‘the spirit of simple patriotic duty that they joined the colors and went to war’6. However coinciding with the use of government propaganda, these publications struck at the heart of ‘duty’ and its values. Other emotional slogans include, ‘Quick’5 accompanied by an artistic drawing of an outstretched solider, assumably a friend, extending his arm toward the viewer and pleading with the viewer to assist him. Again, the duty of helping your friends is the feelings trying to be evoked by this type of propaganda.
Australians have always had natural tendencies to help a neighbour and assist where possible, voluntary involvement in The Great War was indicative of the Australian culture. Having been in federation for a mere 13 years, the Australian community were grateful and patriotic towards their new found government and when their government asked for a commitment in what was widely misinterpreted as an adventure or a break from the monotony of everyday life, Australian men accepted this request almost in an unwittingly manner. Very few of these recruits were familiar with handling a firearm and ‘none had been in battle’3. Even throughout their training, in what were called ‘training camps’, it is stated that most recruits thought of a war as a ‘lark’3, meaning ‘a carefree or spirited adventure’[6]. This caused difficulties from officers who were trying to shape these inexperienced, naïve, young Australian men into a disciplined fighting force. This display of larrikinism and care-free behavior is consistent with the lack of understanding of what was soon to be asked and expected of them.
These attitudes and lack of reality can be helped along by the absence of European wars since 1870. For example, when World War 2 occurred, the Australian public, were less inclined and enthusiastic to volunteer for service. This was shown in the reduction of enlistment figures, comparing the beginning of WW1 with that of WW2. Propaganda used by Australian government was utilized more so during 1939, to curtail the current attitudes of that time. Painful memories from the people, who had experienced The Great War, were much more apprehensive towards the Second World War because of the amount of casualties and general hardships that war brings to a nation. At the conclusion of The Great War, out of the ‘333,000 Australians who served overseas, 61,508 died, 155,000 were wounded and 4,044 became prisoners of war’9. These figures would still have been fresh in the minds of Australians during the outbreak of the Second World War, but of course was not the case in 1914 when there had been no previous European wars fought for 34 years and more specifically, did not involve Australian defence forces.
Aforementioned, the relaxed nature of Australian soldiers and willingness to volunteer, without the prior knowledge of the experiences of war, which people in France and Germany had for instance.
With the enthusiasm and eagerness to volunteer for duty, each man was influenced back a variety of possible reasons as to their motivation for joining the A.I.F. For some the pure reasons concerning duty, be it for their country, their duty to Australia’s ‘mother country’, Britain, or out of respect and protection for their families to help prevent invasion or to represent family values shown toward the country. Others needed a break from the sometimes monotonous day to day living, vying for the opportunity for a paid trip overseas. Many believed that war would be over by Christmas, 1914 and treated their training with the presumption of an individual whose responsibilities would be properly reinstated upon their return a perceived short time later. Others may have been influenced by propaganda that targeted their core values and resonated throughout the community implying that every young male should be helping their mates and supporting their culture and respecting their freedom from the Germans. Each individual who enlisted would have had their own motivations; however had they known the true dangers that faced them in Europe, doubt would have set in and those core values would have been tested.
Lest We Forget.
Word Count: 1,987
-----------------------
[1] Digger History: an unofficial history of the Australian and New Zealand Armed Forces, viewed 18 September 2009,
[2] Anzac Day Organisation: http://www.anzacday.org.au/history/ww1/homefront/homefront.html
10 (Historian/historical advisor for the film Gallipoli) Cochrane, P 1994, (cited in Western Front Diaries) 14-16 Suakin Street,Pymble NSW, Australia
[3] Hillman, R, 2002, Gallipoli, Binara Publishing Pty Ltd, Victoria, Australia
[4] Welborn, S, 2002, Bush Heroes, 2nd edition, Fremantle Arts Centre Press, Fremantle, Australia
6 Howard, M, 2002, The First World War, a very short introduction
3(Historian) Hillman, R, 2002, Gallipoli, Binara Publishing Pty Ltd, Victoria, Australia
[5] A multimedia history of World War, http://www.firstworldwar.com/posters/australia.htm
8 Kingston Historical Website, 2006, http://localhistory.kingston.vic.gov.au/htm/article/264.htm 6 Howard, M, 2002, The First World War, a very short introduction
5 A multimedia history of World War, http://www.firstworldwar.com/posters/australia.htm
3 Hillman, R, 2002, Gallipoli, Binara Publishing Pty Ltd, Victoria, Australia
7 The free dictionary, http://www.thefreedictionary.com/lark
9 Australian War Memorial, http://www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/conscription/ww1.asp
The outbreak of The Great War in 1914 was the first battle The Commonwealth of Australia fought in as a separate nation. Having been an extremely young nation, federating in 1901, the country of Australia was still very much tied to their true ‘mother country’, Great Britain. Britain was in charge of Australia’s defence in that point in time and had certain obligations to Britain, particularly in times of war and conflict. Australians during this period were eager to help Britain any way they could and did so by calling for volunteers. Initially, entry was strict, however once replacements were needed these restrictions, such as height and level of experience, were lifted. A multitude …show more content…
of reasons existed as to the motivation Australian men, in particular enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (A.I.F). The 13 year old nation of Australia in 1914 expressed a higher sense of patriotism as opposed to the level shown today, which needs to be taken into account as Australia did not have conscription. However a very patriotic young nation, eager to gain a sense of nationalism is a part of the reason masses of Australian men, were eager to be involved in the A.I.F.
By August 10, 1914, recruiting began nationwide. By November 1914, ‘20,000 members of an infantry division and a light horse brigade…were on their way to Egypt[1] This quick gathering of volunteering men to fight overseas in an unforeseen, brutal battle, raises interesting points of discussion as to the reasons these men made themselves available.
An assortment of various motivations for joining up with the A.I.F, which include duty, honor, peer pressure, influential propaganda, the seeking of adventure, the overgrowing sense of nationalism and also the fact that the lack of wars in the European area since the 1870’s diminished any recent notion of danger and loss of life that participating in the war can attribute to.
Nobody foresaw the horrors of participating in the First World War would bring.
Being a new, recently independent nation, the outbreak of war provided the opportunity not only to fulfill their obligations to Britain, but also for Australia to establish itself as a country that has the manpower and support behind them to exhibit the traits of an established nation. ‘There was also a belief in society that war was a testing ground for individual and national character’[2] Australia was a product of the successful British military quests and here was the chance to prove themselves worthy on a world stage.’ What the war represented was an opportunity to say, ‘here we are right, look at us fighting’10. If society believed that war was a testing ground for individual and national character, this was certainly achieved at Gallipoli in 1915. Despite being a failed battle with ‘7823 Australians being killed and 19441 wounded with a further 70 becoming prisoners of war’[3], the ANZACS represented the values and qualities of the whole society which is still reflected in our nationalism today. Welborn (2002), describes the historic event as ‘the proving of a nations soul’[4].In essence, the failed landing at Gallipoli evoked at least the sense of nationalism many young men were inspired to enlist as a result
of.
Many people in Australia in 1914 had little if any perspective of what the world looked like outside of their country, this brought about the opportunity for free travel. Unless you were particularly financially comfortable, a majority of Australian men had the first opportunity to leave their home towns. This sense of adventure drove prospective recruits to their local recruitment offices. Particularly in the time of 1914, the offer to fight for your country in an unknown land and receive food and a paycheck would have been enticing. ‘Workers in urban environments looked forward to finding in it an exciting and, they hoped, a brief respite from the tedium of their everyday lives’6 . However those not keen to correlate war with an adventurous event, ‘…thought of the war as a chance for a holiday’3 as the notion was thought that war would be over by Christmas that year. However that was grossly understating the timeframe the Great War actually took to be over, eventually ending some four years later, on the 11th of November 1918.
However in 1914, young Australian men continued blissfully unaware of the terrible conditions awaited them in Gallipoli and The Western Front. Enthusiasm to the call for volunteers swept across Australia with men forming queues outside recruiting offices which were located in cities and many small towns. ‘In remote regions, men marched in groups of one hundred or more to the nearest recruiting office sometimes great distances away.’3 This would have led to young men following in the footsteps of their mates, falling under the peer pressure of conforming to a particular consensus because of a fellow group of friends have chosen so. Peer pressure came from the community also, ‘emotive words such as ‘shirkers’, ‘wasters’, and ‘disloyal’ were used to describe those… individuals who declined to volunteer, and those parents who failed to urge there eligible sons to enlist’8 Pressures of a general community, inclined to ridicule those who were opposed to war, considering them an outsider because of their beliefs.
As were as social peer pressures, another possible reason for voluntary enlistment by droves of men in 1914 is helped along by government propaganda. Propaganda is a term used to describe communication used to influence community’s attitudes toward a particular position or cause. Slogans such as ‘Are YOU in this?’[5] or ‘Australia has promised Britain 50,000 more men, will you help us keep that promise?’5. Those particular propaganda pieces were in the form of a draw picture, depicting various elements of war or symbolic features of Australian culture. These posters were designed to touch the moral beliefs of prospective male and thus help influence his decision to enlist for war. Propaganda was used more frequently once the reality of war had set in, particularly after the tragic loss of lives at Gallipoli, to help sway public opinion in favor of, in this case, the Australian government and continuing to resupply our forces with men to replace the dead and injured, however propaganda becomes more prevalent once the realities and the true sense of the war, along with its endless number of causalities becomes public knowledge. This of course results in a substantial reduction of volunteers, which will continue this tread throughout the rest of the conflict. A culmination of these various pressures was placed upon those men who had second doubts about joining the A.I.F and who were not immediately enthusiastic or even willing to sign up.
This influence of propaganda was also used cleverly to evoke nationalist ideals, such as the respect Australians had for their mother country, Britain, to bring about further numbers of participation, ready to mobilise. Duty was a widely used term that can be used in a multitude of different ways, much like a particular horoscope relating in some way to everybody, ones duty can be related the same. One young male’s duty in 1914 was perhaps to protect his family or wife from the threat of foreign invasion, another’s duty may be to assist his friends and help support them. Various other men who voluntarily enlisted, was widely understood that due to ‘the spirit of simple patriotic duty that they joined the colors and went to war’6. However coinciding with the use of government propaganda, these publications struck at the heart of ‘duty’ and its values. Other emotional slogans include, ‘Quick’5 accompanied by an artistic drawing of an outstretched solider, assumably a friend, extending his arm toward the viewer and pleading with the viewer to assist him. Again, the duty of helping your friends is the feelings trying to be evoked by this type of propaganda.
Australians have always had natural tendencies to help a neighbour and assist where possible, voluntary involvement in The Great War was indicative of the Australian culture. Having been in federation for a mere 13 years, the Australian community were grateful and patriotic towards their new found government and when their government asked for a commitment in what was widely misinterpreted as an adventure or a break from the monotony of everyday life, Australian men accepted this request almost in an unwittingly manner. Very few of these recruits were familiar with handling a firearm and ‘none had been in battle’3. Even throughout their training, in what were called ‘training camps’, it is stated that most recruits thought of a war as a ‘lark’3, meaning ‘a carefree or spirited adventure’[6]. This caused difficulties from officers who were trying to shape these inexperienced, naïve, young Australian men into a disciplined fighting force. This display of larrikinism and care-free behavior is consistent with the lack of understanding of what was soon to be asked and expected of them.
These attitudes and lack of reality can be helped along by the absence of European wars since 1870. For example, when World War 2 occurred, the Australian public, were less inclined and enthusiastic to volunteer for service. This was shown in the reduction of enlistment figures, comparing the beginning of WW1 with that of WW2. Propaganda used by Australian government was utilized more so during 1939, to curtail the current attitudes of that time. Painful memories from the people, who had experienced The Great War, were much more apprehensive towards the Second World War because of the amount of casualties and general hardships that war brings to a nation. At the conclusion of The Great War, out of the ‘333,000 Australians who served overseas, 61,508 died, 155,000 were wounded and 4,044 became prisoners of war’9. These figures would still have been fresh in the minds of Australians during the outbreak of the Second World War, but of course was not the case in 1914 when there had been no previous European wars fought for 34 years and more specifically, did not involve Australian defence forces.
Aforementioned, the relaxed nature of Australian soldiers and willingness to volunteer, without the prior knowledge of the experiences of war, which people in France and Germany had for instance.
With the enthusiasm and eagerness to volunteer for duty, each man was influenced back a variety of possible reasons as to their motivation for joining the A.I.F. For some the pure reasons concerning duty, be it for their country, their duty to Australia’s ‘mother country’, Britain, or out of respect and protection for their families to help prevent invasion or to represent family values shown toward the country. Others needed a break from the sometimes monotonous day to day living, vying for the opportunity for a paid trip overseas. Many believed that war would be over by Christmas, 1914 and treated their training with the presumption of an individual whose responsibilities would be properly reinstated upon their return a perceived short time later. Others may have been influenced by propaganda that targeted their core values and resonated throughout the community implying that every young male should be helping their mates and supporting their culture and respecting their freedom from the Germans. Each individual who enlisted would have had their own motivations; however had they known the true dangers that faced them in Europe, doubt would have set in and those core values would have been tested.
Lest We Forget.
Word Count: 1,987
-----------------------
[1] Digger History: an unofficial history of the Australian and New Zealand Armed Forces, viewed 18 September 2009,
[2] Anzac Day Organisation: http://www.anzacday.org.au/history/ww1/homefront/homefront.html
10 (Historian/historical advisor for the film Gallipoli) Cochrane, P 1994, (cited in Western Front Diaries) 14-16 Suakin Street,Pymble NSW, Australia
[3] Hillman, R, 2002, Gallipoli, Binara Publishing Pty Ltd, Victoria, Australia
[4] Welborn, S, 2002, Bush Heroes, 2nd edition, Fremantle Arts Centre Press, Fremantle, Australia
6 Howard, M, 2002, The First World War, a very short introduction
3(Historian) Hillman, R, 2002, Gallipoli, Binara Publishing Pty Ltd, Victoria, Australia
[5] A multimedia history of World War, http://www.firstworldwar.com/posters/australia.htm
8 Kingston Historical Website, 2006, http://localhistory.kingston.vic.gov.au/htm/article/264.htm 6 Howard, M, 2002, The First World War, a very short introduction
5 A multimedia history of World War, http://www.firstworldwar.com/posters/australia.htm
3 Hillman, R, 2002, Gallipoli, Binara Publishing Pty Ltd, Victoria, Australia
7 The free dictionary, http://www.thefreedictionary.com/lark
9 Australian War Memorial, http://www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/conscription/ww1.asp