Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

Wars and ConflictsΒ  permalink

pals battalions in ww1

• Message 1.Β 

  Posted by jemima-puddleduck (U2251044) on Tuesday, 31st January 2006

  what was the advantage to the government in creating pals battalions?

  Link to this forum: pals battalions in ww1

  Report message1

• Message 2

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by Mark (U2073932) on Tuesday, 31st January 2006

  To ensure that vast numbers of men signed up. Imagine yourself as a factory worker with several hundred of your mates. Drinking in the same pub, supporting the same football team, wouldn't you go off to france with your pals to fight. Imagine when they came back and you hadn't gone with them.
  
  The Pals would fight together so they would share the same bonds, the same history and the same yearning to be back to a familiar place.
  
  Also if a recruit was not accepted due to age or height, they would say, if I don't join, my twenty mates won't either.
  
  But, it did lead to tragic situations, in big offensives like the somme. When a pals battalion suffered mass losses, at the end of the war, whole towns would be without men.(The lost generation).
  
  

  Link to this forum: pals battalions in ww1

  Report message2

• Message 3

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by LongWeekend (U3023428) on Tuesday, 31st January 2006

  The Pals' battalions were not, strictly speaking, a government initative, but an expression of local patriotism. An example was the "Bantam" units, who were below regulation height for enlistment.
  
  The War Ofice developed the "New Armies", recruiting war service battalions within the structure of the existing Military Districts. However, eagerness to enlist was such that, particularly in urban areas (where there were large numbers of young men)local organisations could raise their own units, based on local loyalties.
  
  These "Pals' Battalions" were eventually incorporated into the formal military system. Until they were, they were something of an embarrassment to the system.
  
  
  
  

  Link to this forum: pals battalions in ww1

  Report message3

• Message 4

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by lrn2drv (U3101959) on Wednesday, 1st February 2006

  One advantage to the Government and the Military from the PALS REGIMENTS was thus:
  Soldiers fight Better, Harder and Longer when they have a high spirit of Camaraderie and High Morale. Normally this devolps in militery units over a length of time, and begins to establish in the early training days when the men first meet. The longer they are together the closer they become, and the Morale grows stronger. With The Pals Regiments, this Camaraderie is brought in with the groups of new recruits, from School days and shared working environments. Training for WW1 service was as short as possible for obvious reasons, but these men went to the front with good spirits. A plus for any Military Commander.
  There were, of course, many disadvantages, particularly to the communities back home, but that wasn't your question. Hope this helps. Good luck.

  Link to this forum: pals battalions in ww1

  Report message4

Back to top