Overview of the Specification

Option C1:
The Experience of Warfare in Britain: Crimea, Boer and the First World War, 1854-1929

The main focus of this topic is on the impact of war on social and political developments in Britain during this period. Students will be expected to understand how war influenced public attitudes, the development of medicine and social and political change. The impact of the three wars in which Britain was involved during this period will be studied: the Crimean War, the Boer War and the First World War. Students will not be expected to know about the causes or course of the wars but they will be expected to understand how specific events, battles or issues impacted on social and political developments in Britain.


It should be appreciated that the content topics should not be taken as discrete entities. There are many ways in which they impact upon each other and mesh together. Thus, for example, the glorification of Empire (topic 1) has a direct link to the questioning of Britain’s imperial role (topic 2). The treatment of the First World War deserters, soldiers with shell shock and conscientious objectors, along with mass conscription, (topic 3) has a direct impact upon changing attitudes to the war (topic 4). Throughout, an understanding of the impact of war as a generator of change within Britain drives the study.

Topic 1: The impact of the Crimean War: significance of newspaper reporting; medical and nursing developments; pressure for army reforms.

The topic requires students to understand how the Crimean War impacted on the British public and on social and political developments in Britain. Students will be expected to understand the ways in which the reporting of William Howard Russell of The Times and the photography of Roger Fenton both formed and changed attitudes to the war. They should also know about the polarisation of attitudes from glorification, exemplified by, for example, Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s ‘Charge of the Light Brigade’, to alarm at disorder and incompetence. Students should know about the work of women in the Crimea, in particular that of Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole, and they should understand how this impacted on medical developments in Britain. Students should understand how the war affected the reputations of Lord Raglan, Lord Cardigan and Captain Nolan, and how calls for greater efficiency in the management of war led to Cardwell’s army reforms and to stricter controls over entry to the civil service.

Topic 2: The impact of the Second Boer War: propaganda; support for, and questioning of, Britain’s imperial role; national efficiency campaigns; impact on social reform.

The second topic requires students to understand the impact of the Second Boer War on the British public and on social and political developments in Britain. Students should consider the nature of propaganda and the ways in which Empire was glorified, together with the impetus provided by Winston Churchill’s reportage. They should know about divisions among politicians regarding support for, and opposition to, the war, with particular reference to Joseph Chamberlain and David Lloyd George, and about how this impacted on popular support for the war itself. Students should know how the Boer War led to a debate about the value of Empire and Britain’s imperial role and should understand the main dynamics of the debate. Students should understand how problems raised by recruitment to the army led to concerns about national efficiency and how this, in turn, impacted on New Liberalism and the Liberal reforms of the early 20th century.


Topic 3: The experience of war on the Western Front: outline of Britain’s involvement; medical and surgical developments; creation, recruitment and retention of a mass army; morale and discipline of troops; effectiveness of strategy and tactics.

The third topic requires students to know about the experience of war on the western front for British soldiers and the impact this had on mainland Britain. Students will not be required to demonstrate an understanding of the causes of the First World War, but they should understand how the initial war of movement evolved into positional warfare, the nature of trench warfare and the tactics employed on the western front. In order to address ‘effectiveness of strategy and tactics’, students will not require a detailed knowledge of campaigns but they should understand the growing importance of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the extension of its deployment, the importance of the battles of the Somme in 1916 and the third Ypres offensive in 1917 and the important role played by British forces in 1918, first in resisting the German offensive and then leading the counter offensive which won the war. Students should know how the First World War initiated and speeded up medical and surgical developments, including x-rays, blood transfusions, brain surgery and skin grafts. They should know about recruitment techniques, the ‘Pals Brigades’ and the impact of mass conscription. Students should know how discipline and morale was maintained among the troops and this should include the treatment of deserters, soldiers with shell shock and conscientious objectors.


Topic 4: The impact of the First World War on the home front; changing attitudes to the conflict; work and working practices; propaganda; organisation of the state for total war.
 
The fourth topic requires students to understand how the experience of the First World War impacted on the Home Front. They should understand how and why public and personal attitudes to war changed between 1914 and 1918. They should know about the ways in which the State was organised for total war, in particular the significance of the Defence of the Realm Act (DORA). Students should consider the nature of propaganda and the ways in which men and women were mobilised to contribute to the war effort. Students should understand the impact of total war on the British economy and in particular how this affected work and working practices.
 
Information taken from the Exedcel Specification September 2007 Booklet