The United Kingdom—then consisting of England, Scotland, Wales, and all of Ireland—was one of the Allied Powers during the First World War of 1914–1918, fighting against the Central Powers (the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Bulgaria). The country's armed forces were reorganised—the war marked the creation of the Royal Air Force, for example—and increased in size because of the introduction, in January 1916, of forced conscription for the first time in the country's history as well as the raising of the largest all-volunteer army in history, known as Kitchener's Army, of more than two million men. The outbreak of war has generally been regarded as a socially unifying event, though this view has been challenged by more recent scholarship. In any case, responses in the United Kingdom in 1914 were similar to those amongst populations across Europe.On the eve of war, there was serious domestic unrest in Britain (amongst the labour and suffrage movements and, most notably, in Ireland), much of the population rapidly rallied around the national cause. Significant sacrifices were made in the name of defeating the enemy and many those who could not fight contributing to philanthropic and humanitarian causes. Fearing food shortages and labour shortfalls, the government passed legislation such as the Defence of the Realm Act, to give it new powers to safeguard civilians. The war saw a move away from the idea of "business as usual" (the preservation of the status quo) under prime minister Herbert Henry Asquith, and towards a state of total war (complete state intervention in public affairs) under David Lloyd George, the first time this had been seen in Britain. The war also witnessed the first aerial bombardments of cities in Britain.Newspapers played an important role in maintaining popular support for the war. Large quantities of propaganda were produced by the government under the guidance of such journalists as Charles Masterman and newspaper owners such as Lord Beaverbrook. By adapting to the changing demographics of the workforce (or the "dilution of labour", as it was termed), war-related industries grew rapidly, and production increased, as disparate groups of people pulled together. In that regard, the war is also credited by some with drawing women into mainstream employment for the first time. Debates continue about the impact the war had on women's emancipation, given that a large number of women were granted the vote for the first time in 1918. The experience of individual women during the war varied; much depended on locality, age, marital status and occupation.The civilian death-rate rose due to food shortages and Spanish Flu, which hit the country in 1918. Military deaths are estimated to have exceeded 850,000. The Empire reached its zenith at the conclusion of peace negotiations. However the war heightened not only imperial loyalties but also individual national identities in the dominions (Canada, Newfoundland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa) and India. Nationalists in Ireland after 1916 moved from collaboration with London to demands for immediate independence (see Easter Rising).Historian Arthur Marwick sees a radical transformation of British society, a deluge that swept away many old attitudes and brought in a more equalitarian society. He sees the famous literary pessimism of the 1920s as misplaced, for there were major positive long-term consequences of the war. He points to new job opportunities and self-consciousness among workers that quickly built up the Labour Party, the coming of partial woman suffrage, and an acceleration of social reform and state control of the British economy. He points to the decline of deference toward the aristocracy and established authority in general, and the weakening among youth of traditional restraints on individual moral behavior. Marwick says that class distinctions softened, national cohesion increased, and British society became more equal.Germania was in low esteem. The British Royal Family, under King George V, dissolved ties with its German cousins and changed its name from the Germanic House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to the distinctly English House of Windsor.
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