{"product_id":"2940015645071","title":"The British Empire at War","description":"GREAT BRITAIN is not a military state. It maintained a relatively small professional standing army, sufficient for its needs in ordinary times—well disciplined, well equipped, and with splendid traditions which have been lived up to in the present war. Before the war, the total effective strength of the regular forces of the British Empire, including the Indian Army and Colonial and native Indian Corps, was 243,357. The Territorials and reserves of all kinds numbered 468,218, a total force of 711,575 men—a mere pigmy compared with Continental armies. Twelve days after the outbreak of war, the greater part of the Expeditionary Force of 140,000 men was in France, and the remainder shortly afterwards. This Expeditionary Force had to bear the brunt of the onslaught of Germany's undiminished power; and it is almost miraculous that the force was not totally destroyed. Lord Kitchener was appointed' Secretary of State for War on 5th August 1914. His vision was particularly clear in regard to the war. He first called for half a million men; and the response was magnificent. Prior to the war, the annual recruitment was 30,000; so it can be readily imagined what the difficulties of the authorities were when more than that number presented themselves daily! They simply could not cope with the numbers. Men had to stand for days outside the recruiting offices before they could be examined and attested; and when enlisted, had to sleep for nights without proper accommodation, and suffered great bodily discomfort without complaint. A second half-million were called for soon afterwards; by this time the authorities were able, by putting forth the most strenuous efiforts, to deal with the men presenting themselves as far as reasonable comforts were concerned; but they could not be immediately supplied with clothing or equipment. The first increase of the Army by half a million was sanctioned by Parliament in August 1914. This increase was quickly followed by others, until, in December 1915, the sanctioning of another million raised the total authorized land forces to 4,000,000 men. These numbers are exclusive of the forces of the Indian Empire and Overseas Dominions. Voluntary enlistment continued, with rises and falls (the numbers always increasing after a Zeppelin raid), until January 1916, when the first Military Service Act was passed. The British people are not imaginative; but in the spring of 1916 it became evident that to bring the war to a satisfactory conclusion in the shortest period of time, and as an earnest to our Alhes of our grim determination, a more drastic Compulsory Service Act was necessary. Consequently a second Military Service Act was passed in May 1916, which made service in the Army compulsory for all men between the ages of eighteen and forty-one, except such as properly constituted tribunals exempted as being necessary for other national service. All sorts of dire consequences were predicted by a small but unsatisfactory element at the time this Bill was proposed; but when it became an Act, it was accepted calmly by the people as a national necessity. From the beginning of the war up to this date, the naval and mih-tary effort of the British Empire exceeded five miUions of men; a magnificent record, notwithstanding that these figures include those who were rejected on medical grounds.","brand":"MONANGOTUSK","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47069576954096,"sku":"2940015645071","price":3.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940015645071","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}