How useful are Sources A, B and M to an historian studying the attitudes of British soldiers to their commanders during the First World War

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Prashant Patel 11S        Candidate number: 8076

GCSE History Coursework                        Centre Number: 16325

How useful are Sources A, B and M to an historian studying the attitudes of British soldiers to their commanders during the First World War

The relationship between the British soldiers and their commanders is a vital part of the war; therefore, it is of great importance that we take their attitudes and relationships into account when studying the First World War and ultimately, the consequences. Without question, the men during the war fought with great bravery and courage till their tragic deaths for their country, but did their commanders also put in this same effort? Many historians past and present continue to share and fluctuate in views on the relationship between British soldiers and their commanders, in this essay I will study and evaluate three sources to see how useful they are to an historian, and inevitably come to an accurate conclusion.

        Source A shows us a view of soldiers’ attitudes towards their generals in the form of a cartoon, the drawing and caption is from a satirical British magazine ‘Punch’. The cartoon shows us the major- General addressing the men (his troops) before practicing an attack behind the lines. The sources suggest to us, a restrained conflict between the General and troops; the soldiers resented the protection the generals had and they saw the commanders as remote and cowardly in the war effort. Evidence to suggest this statement is true is General Morland- he was regarded as a fine, brave fighting soldier, however his infamous commanding on the last day of the Somme proves otherwise. He watched the whole of the battle three miles away in a tree, although in defence of Morland, by viewing the battle so far away he had a much broader and wider view of what was happening. On the other hand, this view also has it’s limitations in what it can tell us about these relationships; twelve percent of soldiers that fought in the war died in comparison to the officers, eighteen percent died- seventy-eight generals died. Showing us that they were more likely to have died in the war. To support this, Captain Maxwell an officer during the war, wanted to be with his troops fighting in the battle of the Somme proving the view incorrect.

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        In regards to the actual source, a British magazine called ‘Punch’- it is a cartoon and extremely over the top, exaggerated and a satirical view of the war. The magazine represented the views of the people back home in Britain when the war was being fought. Therefore its reliability and accuracy is questionable in that, the views incorporated into the cartoon were not of someone experiencing the war. Soldiers didn’t read this magazine that much and they preferred publications such as the ‘Wipers Times’ casting further doubt over the source.  The level of accuracy in the caption is also dubious; ...

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