Reflecting on the global nature of warfare 1914-1918 deepens students understanding of social, cultural, political and diplomatic aspects of global conflict. They can develop a deeper understanding of the complex relationship between civilians, non-state bodies such as the Red Cross, individuals, the nature of relations between allies, neutrals and warring nations both in major theatres and in far-flung corners of the world. Teaching the global aspect of warfare in the early 20th century illustrates the formation of ideas that have significant impacts both at the time and following the war; through concepts of international relations; the relationship of major European Powers and their colonies and the development of humanitarian responses to warfare which continue to the present day. Such a global approach to the teaching of the First World War also addresses issues of diversity and race, prejudices and responses to them and, on a simple level for learners, a realisation that the war was not just the Western Front.
Teaching Issue: Making the Global nature of the war clear
There are several issues that teachers face when considering the global nature of the First World War. At GCSE it may simply be deemed to be insignificant: it isn’t. At Key Stage 3, there are time constraints and for many teachers a relative lack of subject knowledge, confidence or resources on this aspect of war: Afterall, the war was taught to most of us from a rather Eurocentric or American perspective.
Starting points
A simple starting point is to consider how the war affected different parts of the world. Students will have studied aspects of the British Empire. When studying the causes of the war they will have learnt about the Scramble for Africa. They may also have looked at the United States during and shortly after the Civil War. These are a very good starting point for addressing global warfare as all of these parts of the world would inevitably be drawn into the conflict through their colonial ties. Maps can be found in many textbooks or online that illustrate the scale of colonial influence in 1914, these can provide a focus and enable discussion with classes around the way in which the relationships with the Imperial Powers may pan out over the course of a Great War: contribution of troops, food, oil, the potential for the war triggering unrest and/or independence attempts and so on. See this Wikimedia map of colonialism in 1914.
Teaching Issue: Knowledge and understandable examples for learners
Of course the above can be rather complicated. It involves all aspects of colonial relationships and the various clashes that occurred between neighbouring colonies that were held by opposing warring nations: particularly in Africa. Many learners simply will not comprehend those issues at this stage in their development, they need something more accessible and relatable. Below is an example of how this can be achieved. The map of the world has 21 hotspots embedded in it. Each is an example of local involvement in the First World War: it excludes the Western Front quite deliberately. Examples include military input, natural resources, input into the logistics of imperial warfare, diplomacy with neutral powers and deployment to protect economic interests of powers. Simply click on the map to find the 21 examples.
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Teaching Issue: The Logistics of War
When studying the Home Front in the war there is often a focus upon Rationing. Rations are quite easy for students to understand. They can see the items that were restricted, the numbers that could be bought and comprehend the cost of these. Similarly, they can grasp the reasons for and extent of a Black Market. It is all very relatable as it is little different to having spending money cut, or more recently, shops closed due to the coronavirus. Students also understand that many items that they make daily use of are sourced overseas. With that in mind, they can grasp that there would be a wartime issue with regards to sourcing food, fuel and other goods. To demonstrate the Global Nature of the war you can tackle this by asking reasonably simple questions: What does an army need to fight and win a war? (Soldiers, Sailors, Weapons, Fuel, Food etc) Where do these items come from? How do they get to the United Kingdom?
Simple questioning such as this can be combined with references to prior learning about the Empire(s). Why did the Imperial Powers want to colonise specific places? Would that be useful in a war effort? How can the supply of those goods be safeguarded and continued? This can lead to exercises in which the geographical location of resource types is mapped and the method of transporting it to the various theatres of war identified, noted or explained in more depth. For a quick and easy exercise, a matching exercise of resource types and locations would identify the global nature of resourcing the war.
Examples:
Oil – Middle East – Shipped in Convoys – Protected by British and Commonwealth troops
Cotton and Sugar – Caribbean and Southern United States – Shipped in Convoys – Naval Auxiliary manned by sailors from the Caribbean
Food – Australia and NEw Zealand – Shipped in Convoys – Navy manned by men from Australia, New Zealand and the Indian Sub Continent
For added depth, how were these goods then transported from ports to the places that needed them? Here there is an opportunity to make reference to the many people from around the world who worked on the transportation and logistical side of warfare: Chinese labourers on the Western Front, for example.
Online CPD: The First World War
Teacher CPD on the First World War. This course is designed to bring research into the classroom. It looks at historiography of various elements of the war, explores classroom application of these and provides ideas and resources to enhance teaching and learning of the conflict. The course is not limited to the Western Front. It investigates ways of ensuring that pupils grasp the global nature of the conflict. This course starts in September 2020. It is hosted on our Virtual Learning Environment. Interaction is in a secure area and the course makes use of a range of multimedia, articles, interactive tasks and discussion areas.
For full details of our CPD course on the First World World War, or to book, click here.
Links
Australia’s Navy. A brief history of the Royal Australian Navy including service during the first world war. See the pdf from Keele University for references to aboriginal servicemen. Site: Royal Australian Navy.
British Empire and the First World War: the colonial experience. International Socialism Journal.
Canada’s Merchant Navy. Canadian Veterans Department. Covers both World Wars.
The Caribbean in the First World War. From Caribbean Roots.
Caribbean Participants in the First World War. Memorial Gates Trust.
The contribution made by BME troops in the First World War. An excellent resource that could be used in the classroom as an informational reference point. Keele University. (pdf file)
Chinese Labour Corps on the Western Front. Blog post by the National Archives.
Commonwealth and Empire in the First World War. Explores the role of the 3 million troops and labourers from the commonwealth and empire during the war. National Army Museum.
East Africa Campaign. National Army Museum.
German Commerce Raiders of the First World War. Wikipedia page.
Hunting the raiders. Chapter of a Google book looking at the locations of German Raiders and the deployments against them. Includes the Coronel, Falklands and Rufiji River. Imperial War Museum publication accessible via Google Books.
Indian Army during World War One. Wikipedia.
12 photos of the Indian Army in the First World War. Blog post by the Imperial War Museum.
Seasickness, Sharks and Unknown Lands: National Archives Files allow people to engage with Indian Troops’ experience of the First World War.
Mesopotamia Campaign. National Army Museum.
Memorial to African and Caribbean Servicemen who fell in the two World Wars. London Remembers.
Palestine and Gaza Campaigns of the First World War. Hurst Publishers.
Persia Mission: 1916. National Army Museum.
Senussi Revolt (Egypt, 1917). National Army Museum.
Union of South Africa. 1914-18 Encylopedia.
West India Regiment. Covers the entire history of the regiment including a brief reference to its role in the First World War.
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