Recruiting, recruits & equipment

1. Starter - War plans and the Schlieffen Plan

Required Resources

• Slides 1-9

Delivery

• Ask students how many troops signed up to the Army of their own accord during the First World War. Present Slide 1-2 which explains that nearly 4.5 million men signed up and ask how many men they think would sign up if a war broke out today.
• Display Slides 3-4 which outline the assumptions about French and Russian mobilisation made by Schlieffen and von Moltke. Explain that these assumptions formed the basis of the Schlieffen Plan.
• Display Slide 5 which shows a map demonstrating the German army's intended movements through Western Europe as dictated by the Schlieffen Plan. Display Slides 6-7 which explain that determined Belgian forces managed to delay the German advance long enough to allow French and British mobilisation. This delay led to the entrenchment of positions and signalled the start of a war of attrition.
• Display Slides 8-9 which outline the fact that by 1916 the number of men volunteering was failing to maintain pace with the number of casualties suffered. By 1916 conscription was introduced for all unmarried men between 18 and 41. Eventually this was extended to married men.
• Explain that the need for troops led to the production of recruitment materials designed to encourage men to join the Armed Forces.

Differentiation

Higher Ability:

Higher ability students can be asked to conduct their own research on the forms of warfare prevalent during the 18th and 19th century and the factors which led to the shift in style towards Trench warfare (i.e. advances in weaponry, substantially larger armies, quicker mobilisation etc).