Abstract
Many European nations, such as Ireland, hoped to achieve nationhood through the Great War. The self-mobilization of the society was extremely powerful. Military service was central to the culture of war-time. Universal conscription was the norm, and it encountered only a very little resistance in Europe. The UK managed to recruit 2.5 million volunteers before introducing conscription in 1916 to find the same number again. Ireland sent 21000 volunteers, but resisted conscription.
Combat-related death:
Modern technology such as machine guns made WWI the deadliest conflict so far. It gave a huge importance to the ability of the soldiers to defend themselves, leading to the trenches war. These two issues once related shaped the experience of the conflict in the concerned societies. It became hard to sustain self-mobilization in face of such huge casualties. Mass destruction required mass production, which led belligerent countries to launch an unexpected war effort. The last two years of war were marked by the need for both collective and individual endurance. Where the nationhood was the weakest, it turned into refusal. Elsewhere, it sustained the war effort. Ireland experienced both.
