War has never been an issue that affects only the military. In 1914, when the German advance towards Paris seemed unstoppable, the French transported 6,000 soldiers to the battle of the Marne by taxi. It was not an exorbitant amount, but the image of this operation was essential to boost combat morale.
Modern propaganda took care of publicizing and idealizing the contest through a wide range of formats: leaflets, postcards, cinematographic newsreels, patriotic songs… Many stars joined these campaigns, from writers such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Rudyard Kipling or H.G. Wells to film artists like Charlie Chaplin or Mary Pickford.
If the government did not convince the population to go to war, there was always intimidation. In Germany or France there was forced conscription, but not in the United Kingdom. There, if a man walked around in civilian clothes, he exposed himself to groups of high-class ladies humiliating him by handing over a white feather. It was a way of calling him a coward. The ladies who acted like this were often wrong, because officials, sick people or soldiers on leave could perfectly well wear civilian clothes.
There were many more women activists in the Great War. A paradigmatic case was that of the British suffragettes, the most radical wing of feminism, which even defended the use of violence to achieve its objectives. Although the British government viewed their activities with concern and rejection, the truth is that, in the midst of the war, they organized health teams and founded two military hospitals, run entirely by women, taking advantage of empty luxury hotels.
The logistical problems did not only affect health care. If at first it was believed that the conflict would be short-lived, it turned into an endless trench warfare that valued the efforts of the rear. By failing in their calculations, the opposing powers did not correctly weigh the need for supplies. In addition, all sides counted on supplying themselves through the looting of enemy towns.
The shortage of supplies not only decimated the health of the soldiers, it also highlighted the lack of ammunition. This is where the munitionettes came into action, the employees of the arms factories, who, given the shortage of men, were nourished by female labor.
In addition to making uniforms or preparing ammunition, women also began to work as clerks, secretaries, porters, drivers… Women’s police forces were even created to supervise other women. Even the aristocrats had a chance to feel useful.
The massive incorporation of women into the world of work meant an advance in their rights and independence. That change of roles would have its effect beyond the conflict, by initiating a process that accelerated the establishment of the female vote.
It was not all good news. The civilian population was subjected to the horror of aerial bombardments and starved. The lack of manpower in the field, machinery and fertilizers caused the harvest to fall. All industrial resources were concentrated in the war. Russia was the largest producer of wheat in the world, but its very serious problems in distributing food among its population caused terrible famines. Austria also suffered from transportation deficiencies. German submarines sank British merchant ships.
When the hardships ended with the patience of the people, the women staged the first revolts. On March 8, 1917, in Petrograd, thousands of those who queued for flour and fuel began a wave of protests that would lead to the February Revolution. And after the one in February would come the one in October, with the consequences that we all know: the fall of the tsars and the establishment of the Soviet regime.
In this episode of the Historia y Vida podcast, Isabel Margarit, director of the magazine, and the journalist Ana Echeverría Arístegui make two recommendations to delve into the subject. The first, The Guardians, a 2017 French film directed by Xavier Beauvois that takes place on a farm run by women during the Great War, with the men at the front. The second, No Place for Women, by Wendy Moore, is a book about suffragette doctors Flora Murray and Louisa Anderson and their fellow nurses.
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