Lord Kitchener becomes Secretary of State for War
- Category:
- Politics
- Date:
- 6 August 1914
- Author:
- Łukasz Skowroń
On 6 August 1914 Field Marshal Lord Kitchener took office as British Secretary of State for War. He had been appointed the day before, and now replaced at the War Office the prime minister, H. H. Asquith, who had headed the department since 30 March 1914.
The prime minister at the War Office
Asquith had taken over the War Office in the spring of 1914 after the resignation of John Seely. Seely had had to go after the so-called Curragh incident, when a number of officers stationed in Ireland declared that they would not obey an order to use force against the Ulster Protestants who opposed Irish Home Rule. In peacetime the prime minister could combine both posts. Once war broke out this became impossible, and the press and public opinion demanded that Kitchener should head the department.
Hero of the empire
Kitchener was Britain’s most famous soldier. He had made his name with the victory at the Battle of Omdurman in the Sudan in 1898, held command in the Boer War and later commanded the army in India. When war broke out he happened to be in England on leave from Egypt, where he served as British Consul-General. A serving officer in the cabinet was a rare exception in the British political tradition.
A war lasting years
Kitchener at once stood out for his sober assessment of the situation. Most politicians and soldiers expected a short war, over by Christmas. The new minister predicted that it would last at least three years and that Britain would need an army of millions. As early as 7 August he issued an appeal for the first hundred thousand volunteers. Later rounds of recruitment produced the so-called New Armies, and his image on the poster with the slogan “Lord Kitchener Wants You” became one of the symbols of the war.
Significance
Kitchener headed the War Office until June 1916. Over time his position weakened, especially after the shell crisis of 1915 and the failure of the Dardanelles operation. He was killed on 5 June 1916, when the cruiser HMS Hampshire, in which he was sailing on a mission to Russia, struck a mine and sank off the Orkneys. His greatest achievement remained the building of a mass volunteer army, which in the following years fought on every front.
Remember the articles you have read? Only in this browser; nothing is sent anywhere.How it works
Read ·
Spotted a mistake?Report an error
Meanwhile
(04)Elsewhere in the same days.
- 6 August 1914 · Balkan FrontSerbia declares war on GermanyOn 6 August 1914 Serbia declared war on Germany, ally of Austria-Hungary. The two states had no common border, but the declaration was a political statement.
- 6 August 1914 · Eastern FrontAustria-Hungary declares war on RussiaOn 6 August 1914 the Austro-Hungarian ambassador in St Petersburg handed over the declaration of war. The monarchy's main front shifted to Galicia.
- 6 August 1914 · War at seaFranco-British naval conventionOn 6 August 1914 France and Britain concluded a naval convention in London. A French admiral took command of the Allied forces in the Mediterranean.
- 6 August 1914 · War at seaHMS Bristol clashes with the cruiser Karlsruhe in the West IndiesOn 6 August 1914 the British cruiser Bristol fired on the German cruiser Karlsruhe in the West Indies. The faster German ship managed to escape.
Related events
(04)The same battle, people or subject.
- 21 August 1914 · MilitaryKitchener's first New Army is formedOn 21 August 1914 the British War Office ordered the formation of the first New Army, six divisions strong, from volunteers.
- 11 September 1914 · MilitaryKitchener's second New Army is formedOn 11 September 1914 the British government ordered the formation of a second New Army of volunteers. It comprised six infantry divisions, the 15th to 20th.
- 3 August 1914 · MilitaryGreat Britain orders the mobilisation of the armyOn 3 August 1914 the British government decided to mobilise the army. Proclamations calling up the reservists and the Territorial Force were issued on 4 August.
- 13 September 1914 · MilitaryKitchener's third New Army is formedOn 13 September 1914 the British War Office ordered the formation of a third New Army of volunteers, consisting of six infantry divisions.