Lord Kitchener: An Iconic Life in Images
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Field Marshal Kitchener Wants YOU!
Lord Kitchener was The Guy On The Poster is because at the time it was made, everybody knew who he was. He was famous for enforcing the Imperial presence in Egypt, Sudan, South Africa, and India. In 1914, when World War One was declared, he became a cabinet minister -- the Secretary of State for War. It was a natural appointment for the man who was emblematic of the success of the British Empire.
And perhaps it was just as natural that his image should become associated with the failure that was the Great War. The Kitchener Poster now speaks to the stupid arrogance of the British Empire's old-school officer class, of the leadership who thought the troops would be Home By Christmas, of the decision to kill and maim millions of young men. It reminds us of the Wilfred Owen poem, in which the old man refused to sacrifice "the Ram of Pride", but instead "slew his son/and half the seed of Europe, one by one".
Lord Kitchener: A Life In Pictures
A great man, or just a great poster?
Viscount Kitchener of Khartoum
Walter Wallor...
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Lord Kitchener was popular during his lifetime. During WWI, he enjoyed the loyalty of the British volunteer soldiers (these men were even referred to as "Kitchener's Army") and the high opinion of the British public. On the other hand, his fellow cabinet-ministers had little confidence in him, going so far as to say that he "made a better poster than a general". In short, they believed he was just a pretty face; his place in the cabinet was due not to his military competence, but to his popularity and the legitimacy he conferred on the war effort.
The following is an exploration of Kitchener's life and career through the images that made him a household name. It also explores the complexity of the man behind the icon. Was he really no more than a pretty face?
What do you think of Kitchener?
Sirdar Kitchener, Throwing The Mahdi's Ashes to the Wind
Or, desecrating the Mahdi's body. Depends who you ask.
The Sirdar Kitchener Throwing the Mahdi's Ashes to the Wind in Sudan, Illustrated by Ph.Ripp
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Under Lord Kitchener's command, the British Army met the Sudanese rebels at the village of Omdurman, and were decisively victorious. In the picture above, Kitchener is shown adding insult to injury by exhuming the body of the Mahdi, burning it, and scattering the ashes to the winds.
Horatio Herbert Kitchener began his military career with the Royal Engineers as a surveyor and map-maker in what was then Western Palestine. He subsequently served in Turkey and Egypt. In 1892, he was named Sirdar -- the British commander-in-chief of the Egyptian army.
As Sirdar, he began the British reconquest of Sudan. He moved his forces slowly up the Nile river, building a railway to ensure supply lines, and met the Sudanese rebel forces at Khartoum. The Sudanese rebels were led by Abdullah al-Taashi, who had succeeded a self-proclaimed messiah figure, the Mahdi Mahdi Muhammad Ahmad. Unfortunately for the Sudanese, while they vastly outnumbered the British, they were armed with rifles and spears. The British had the Maxim gun, the first self-powered machine gun.
Lord Kitchener Confronts Major Marchand at Fashoda
A diplomatic victory over the French.
Kitchener Confronts Marchand at Fashoda
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This image portrays Kitchener and the French commander, Major Marchand, at the town of Fashoda (now called Kodok). He politely pointed out that the British could back their claim to the Sudan with a large naval presence off the coast, whereas the French could not.
The Battle of Omdurman was a defining moment in Kitchener's career. The Sudanese lost 10,000 men; an additional 13,000 were wounded, with 5,000 taken prisoner. By contrast, Kitchener's force got off very lightly, with only 47 killed and 382 wounded. The British public loved him for his overwhelming victory. The British ruling elite appreciated his methodical command style and his efficient use of military resources.
A few weeks after the Battle of Omdurman, Kitchener achieved another important victory -- this time diplomatic in nature. As is often the case in the pesky nature of colonial expansion, the French believed decided that they, too, had a claim to the Sudan (the wishes of the Sudanese people were not consulted in this matter). The two nations were on the brink of war. Due in part to the French foreign minister's wish to gain the assistance of Britain in any future conflicts with Germany, Lord Kitchener was able to talk Marchand into standing down.
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Kitchener of Khartoum
In which Kitchener becomes a Baron, and a household name.
To commemorate his successes, Horatio Herbert Kitchener was created Baron of Khartoum in 1898. He was given the nickname "K of K" in the press and enjoyed the high opinion of the public. However, he was not without his critics. A young officer by the name of Winston Churchill, who had also served in the Sudanese campaign, thought that he was a little too brutal about killing the wounded Sudanese.
Vanity Fair Cover of Kitchener with Others in South Africa
The Second Boer War Begins
In this cover from Vanity Fair magazine, the British leadership of the Boer War are drawn in caricature. Kitchener is shown standing second from the right.
Lord Kitchener's next campaign of note was the Second Boer War in South Africa. The reasons for the war are complex, but can be boiled down to conflicts between British emigrants to the area, and the Dutch Boers who had preceded them (as for the African residents, who had actually been there first, once again their wishes were not consulted).
The Boers had begun by besieging garrisons of Ladysmith, Mafeking, and Kimberly. In December if 1889, Kitchener arrived as second in command to Lord Roberts, who was leading a surge of British troops to relieve the sieges. A year later, after the defeat of the conventional Boer forces, Lord Kitchener succeeded Roberts.
The war, however, was not over; many Boers were determined to continue it in guerilla fashion. Kitchener realized that fighting the guerillas would require protecting British supply lines from sabotage. He employed armored trains and fortified blockhouses at key points to protect railways. Blockhouses were also built at bridges. They were linked with barbed wire and patrolled nightly.
Kitchener and the Boer War
In which his reputation for brutality is secured.
Surrendered Boers at Belfast, Anxious to Join National Scouts after Addressed by Lord Kitchener
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This contemporary illustration shows Kitchener addressing surrendered Boer fighters, encouraging them to join the British forces as scouts. The caption describes them as "anxious" to join up. Since the imprisoned families of Boer men who were known to still be fighting received even smaller rations than others, they had a strong incentive to switch sides.
The other key to fighting the guerillas was to restrict their own access to supplies as well as their freedom of movement. Kitchener, having inherited a "scorched earth" policy from Roberts, continued and expanded that policy. The homes and crops of Boer landholders were burned to the ground restrict the guerillas' sources of food and refuge. As for the civilians who had been actually living on those farms, they were rounded up and interred in concentration camps. These camps lacked food, medicine, or adequate sanitation to support the large numbers of women, children, and elderly civilians who were interred there. 34.4% of those interred in the camps died there. Most of the dead were children.
Lord Kitchener as a Toad
According to the French, anyway.
Horatio, Lord Kitchener 1st Earl Kitchener of Khartoum Soldier; a French Caricature
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Kitchener's tactics were condemned throughout Europe. In the French cartoon above, he is portrayed as a toad who says:
Je puis dire qu'a la guerre de la transvaal est terminée. Le pays est tranquille et j'y suis arrive en evitant toute effusion de sang. Les camps de reconcentration ou je reuni les femmes et les enfants font rapidement leurs ouvres de pacification.
Or in English:
I can say that in war the Transvaal is complete. The country is quiet and I achieved this by avoiding bloodshed. Concentration camps, where I gathered the women and children, are rapidly calming the situation.
The treatment of Boer civilians was not popular when it reached the British public. Support for the war, which had gone on much longer than anticipated, was already waning. The idea that British officers and gentlemen could round up white women and children and subject them to camp conditions was appalling (black Africans were also rounded up and interred in separate camps; little concern was shown for them). In 1901, Kitchener wrote to a member of parliament stating that no more Boers were being taken into the camps.
What Kitchener failed to mention is that the Boer civilians, whose livelihoods had been decimated, were left to be supported by the guerilla fighters. The guerillas lacked supplies themselves, and were further handicapped by the civilian presence. It was a shrewd, cynical maneuver that gave the Boers one more reason to surrender.
The Closure of the Camps, and the Trial of Breaker Morant
In which justice is not served.
Edward Woodward - 'Breaker' Morant
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The Breaker Morant trial became notorious in Australia. It has been turned into a play as well as a film starring Edward Woodward in the title role.
In the mean time, it was convenient for the British Army to show that it was taking steps to discipline those who had mistreated Boer prisoners. The Breaker Morant case was a perfect opportunity to make an example out of a low-ranking officer. Australian Lieutenants Harry "Breaker" Morant, Peter Handcock, and George Witton were court-martialed, accused of summarily executing eight Boer prisoners of war. Breaker Morant admitted to the executions, defending his actions on the grounds that he was following a "shoot to kill" order. The court martial was highly irregular, with important witnesses transferred out of South Africa, evidence being withheld by the prosecution, and other procedural problems.
Breaker Morant and Peter Handcock were found guilty and sentenced to death by firing squad. Lord Kitchener signed the orders himself. George Witton's sentence was commuted, also by Kitchener. Oddly, no official account of the trial survives, leaving Witton's account of the case as the only primary source.
Kitchener on the Cover of "Tatler" Magazine, 1903
Kitchener's popularity remains undimmed.
Lord Kitchener
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The Tatler remains a popular magazine to this day, featuring stories about members of the upper class. It served the same purpose in 1903, billing itself as "an illustrated journal of society and the drama". At the time he appeared on the cover, Kitchener had been created Viscount, and was named Commander-in-Chief, India. Whatever tarnish his reputation received during the Boer Wars proved to be short lived.
YOU Are The Man I Want
Kitchener becomes War Secretary.
Recruitment Poster Featuring Kitchener: "You are the Man I Want"
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A full color variation on "Your Country Needs YOU!"
Lord Kitchener happened to be in London on leave in August of 1914. He was planning to retire. Then World War I broke out.
Prime Minister Asquith quickly appointed Kitchener to be Secretary of State for War (the title is usually shortened to "War Secretary"). He was well-known, widely liked, and inspired the public's confidence. As War Secretary he would have three main responsibilities: he would oversee recruitment, he would mobilize industry for the war effort, and he would be responsible for Britain's general strategy for the war.
From the beginning, he suffered with friction from the rest of the cabinet, most of whom lacked his experience in warfare. He resented interference from career politicians, who he saw as "armchair generals". For their part, the rest of the cabinet could not understand Kitchener's insistence that the war would long and arduous. They thought the troops would be home by Christmas.
Lord Kitchener as the British Bulldog
Who guards the flag ... by standing on it?
Kitchener as a British Bulldog Guarding the Flag
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When the Great War broke out in 1914, the British public was reassured that the renowned "K of K" was standing guard. However, he felt hounded by politicians in Asquith's cabinet.
Lord Kitchener threatened to resign from Asquith's cabinet many times over his clashes with other members. However, Asquith needed the legitimacy that Kitchener conferred on his wartime government. The only member of Asquith's government Kitchener could tolerate was a man by the name of Winston Churchill, who was himself a veteran of the Sudan and of the Boer Wars.
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Kitchener's Army
aka "Kitchener's Mob"
Eager Young Recruits for Lord Kitchener's New Army, 1914-19
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This image shows scores of young men mobbing an army recruiting office in response to Kitchener's plea for volunteers. Kitchener believed that the war require much larger forces than Britain had at its disposal in 1914, and that a large volunteer force would be key to achieving Victory.
When Britain entered WWI, it had little in the way of a standing army. Germany was the strongest military power on the planet. Alone among members of Asquith's government, Kitchener foresaw that the Great War would be a long slog, lasting at least three years and taxing the Allies' manpower sorely. The public, like the cabinet, believed that the war would be over in a few months. Young men signed up in droves, afraid of "missing the action".
One of Kitchener's tragic miscalculations was the encouragement of "pal battalions". He believed that people would volunteer more readily, and would enjoy higher fighting morale, if they were allowed to serve alongside with people they knew. These "pal battalions" consisted of young men from the same village, or the same school, or the same workplace. When these battalions were sent over the top, their home towns suffered disproportionate losses.
Kitchener Says
Sorry, what did he say again?
Kitchener Quote Poster
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Translated into modern English: "Your choice is between enlistment now, or conscription later -- and men who don't enlist now are wusses". Or, to put it another way, "You're gonna be in the army whether you like it or not".
Kitchener believed that Britain could only win the war by means of attrition. Germany had better ground, and they were years ahead of Britain in terms of their war machine. Britain's only hope, as Kitchener saw it, was to wear down the German army over the course of years. All the while he would keep a large number of troops in reserve to be deployed to overwhelm the Germans were exhausted. Kitchener believed that the British Army would need at least a million new men in order to accomplish this.
Ironically, the large numbers of volunteers who responded to his call found themselves, in many cases, without rifles and uniforms. War production had not caught up with the new army's demand for supplies, and the new troops could not be sent to France if Kitchener had wanted to send them. Most of Kitchener's Army would not see action until after his death -- at the bloody Somme offensive in 1916.
Kitchener at Gallipoli
The Dardanelles Disaster
Lord Kitchener Inspecting Australian Positions During the Gallipoli Campaign
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Lord Kitchener is shown reviewing the ANZAC (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps) troops at Gallipoli. The superimposed recruiting poster is especially poignant, as this would be some of the bloodiest fighting in the war, resulting in the Allies' withdrawal.
The Gallipoli campaign was the brainchild of Winston Churchill, who was then First Lord of the Admiralty. The Ottoman Empire had entered the war in October of 1914. By joining with Germany and Austria-Hungary, they prevented the British and French from supplying the Russians by sea. Churchill believed that some of the Royal Navy's older vessels could be employed to capture the Gallipoli peninsula. The Allies would then control the adjoining Dardanelles straits, and would be able to send supply ships to Russia from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea.
Churchill originally believed that the Gallipoli could be secured by naval operations alone. In February of 1915, he send a fleet of French and British vessels -- those that were deemed obsolete, and useless against the German navy -- to secure the peninsula. The ships faced shelling from Ottoman forts, and many were destroyed by mines. These losses were deemed unacceptable, and the fleet withdrew.
After the naval failure, Kitchener allowed Churchill to attempt a ground assault. In spite of the Ottomans' having bested their fleet, it seems that the British leadership simply proceded on the assumption of the inferiority of Ottoman forces. In the six weeks it took the Allies six weeks to mobilize their army, the Ottomans prepared their defenses. The Gallipoli Campaign began in April of 1915. When it ended in January of 1916, both sides had suffered a total of half a million casualties. The affair was nicknamed "The Dardanelles Disaster".
Kitchener Graphic Art
The End of a Career
Horatio, Lord Kitchener 1st Earl Kitchener of Khartoum Soldier
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Here, Kitchener's likeness is shown in a modern, energetic graphic arts style. It's a fascinating image because it diverges from his more usual, old-school Imperial portrayal.
The Dardanelles Disaster coincided with the Shell Crisis of 1915. The crisis began when Sir John French, then Commander-in-Chief of British forces on the Western Front, was quoted in The Times as blaming the loss of the Battle of Aubers Ridge on an insufficiency of munitions. The Guardian carried the story in a more sensationalist style under the headline "Lord K's Tragic Blunder!".
The Shell Crisis forced Asquith to re-form the government as a coalition. Conservative politician David Lloyd George was named Munitions Minister. Lord Kitchener, still popular, was kept on as Secretary of State, but with significantly reduced responsibilities; he lost control over war production, and was marginalized as a military strategist.
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British Officers Mourn the Death of Kitchener
June 5, 1916
British Officers in Mourning for the Death of Lord Kitchener
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These British officers on parade are shown wearing black armbands in mourning for Lord Kitchener.
In June of 1916, Lord Kitchener was sent to Russia to perform a diplomatic mission. He was travelling on the armored cruiser HMS Hampshire in a force nine gale when it hit a German mine and sank off the Orkney Islands. Of the 655 crew aboard, 643 perished. Lord Kitchener's body was never found. David Lloyd George succeeded him as War Secretary.
Less than a month after Kitchener's death, on July 1st, 1916, the Battle of the Somme commenced. Many of the young men who had enlisted in response to Kitchener's entreaties went over the top. For most of them, it was the first action they had ever seen. For all too many, it would be the last.
The War After Kitchener
The Somme, and Beyond
Fields of Poppies, Valley of the Somme, Nord-Picardy (Somme), France
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Poppies grow where earth has recently been turned. After the mass burials in WWI, the poppies grew all over Europe as they never had before. The poppy has come to symbolize The Great War all over the world.
The Battle of the Somme has become a by-word for military incompetence. The battle began in July 1916 and continued until mid-November. By that point there were a total of a million casualties on both sides. British casualties numbered more than 350,000; the North of England, which had supplied many of the Pals Battalions, was particularly hard hit. The dead included Raymond Asquith, son of Prime Minister Asquith. Asquith himself was forced out of government in December of 1916, to be succeeded by Lloyd George.
The Somme has a complex historical legacy. Many leaders were opposed to the offensive. Kitchener had hoped to keep his "new army" in reserve. General Douglas Rawlinson, serving at the time under General Haig, opposed a massive infantry maneuver. General Ferdiand Foch, who would become Marshal of France later in the war, thought that the Somme offensive would achieve little. Indeed, by the end of the offensive, the Allies had gained only 7 miles at the point of deepest penetration. According to some calculations, the British lost two men for every centimeter of ground gained.
In recent years, historians have come to believe that the Somme was "politically and militarily inevitable". The Somme may have marked the beginning of the Western Front attrition that would ultimately result in victory for the Allies. Kitchener himself foresaw this attrition; the German forces were ground down, and the Allies were assisted by the arrival of fresh "reserve" troops when the United States entered the war in 1917.
Biographies & Autobiographies
Kitchener's Legacy
Stephen Fry's "Lord Melchett" in "Blackadder Goes Forth"
I've always conflated Lord Kitchener and General Melchett in my mind. I see the Kitchener Poster and I hear Stephen Fry's voice saying "Your Country Needs You! Baaaaaah!" There was something comforting, I think, in seeing Kitchener and his ilk as buffoons; if they were genuinely stupid people, it would explain the waste and bloodshed, not just in World War One but throughout Britain's colonial wars.
It is much less comforting to realize that Kitchener was a competent military strategist, and that the choices he made were deliberate and considered. He knew that war is psychological as well as military. He knew that by slaying the wounded at Omdurman, by burning the Boers out of their homes, he was attacking the morale of his enemy. Likewise, he knew that Germany held many advantages in the Western Front, and that Britain's only choice was to maintain a standstill until attrition could be achieved.
He may not have known how to fight a modern war -- nobody did, because nobody had done it before -- but he knew that the casualty rates would be appalling, that Britain's victory would only be assured by the "last million" men it could throw into battle. He knew that Britain would need a new kind of army. He told the young men of that nation that their country "Needs YOU!", knowing that they would join up, knowing that many would never come home again.
Thank You to Prosperity66
As always, Dom (aka Prosperity66) has graciously provided help with a difficult translation from French into English. Je vous remercie!Test your Kitchener IQ
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What's Your Opinion of Lord Kitchener?
Let me know!
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PaperQuest Mar 7, 2012 @ 7:15 pm | delete
- I think this was a very good lens about a very interesting man. Great job!
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aesta1
Oct 15, 2011 @ 7:12 am | delete
- Really a comprehensive account of Lord Kitchener.
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Ramkitten
Jul 29, 2011 @ 11:12 am | delete
- Although I knew nothing about Lord Kitchener before reading your lens -- SO well done! -- I know I heard my father mention him a time or two. My dad was in WWII and he was also a history buff. I know he would have found this lens fascinating. I'm leaving a blessing behind with his name on it, too.
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Waxing-Lyrical Jul 23, 2011 @ 11:10 am | delete
- The Kitchener poster is very familiar to me and it was very interesting learning more about the man behind it. Blessed.
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Wednesday_Elf
Jul 23, 2011 @ 10:51 am | delete
- Very interesting look into (war) history as seen through the eyes of Lord Kitchener. I agree he must have been a competent military strategist and good at fighting a psychological war, but he doesn't sound like a very nice man. Too brutal, but then, war is brutal. Your images are as interesting as your story. Well done.
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Learn More About Lord Kitchener
My sources for this article
- Horatio Herbert Kitchiner
- A brief description of Kitchener's military career.
- "Raising Kitchener's Army" (Imperial War Museum website)
- Part of an excellent series of short articles about the Battle of the Somme.
- British Propaganda from WWI
- This page contains a flash gallery of British propaganda posters culled from all over the web.
- Kitchener Biographies
- An aggregation of biographical articles about Lord Kitchener from various sources.
- Lord Kitchener on Wikipedia
- Kitchener's life and career with links for further reading.
- Kitchener's Army on Wikipeda
- An overview of Kitchener's innovations of the British Army during the Great War.
- Lord Kitchener Wants You! at Wikipedia
- A brief overview of the famous Kitchener recruiting poster and its many imitators.
- The Battle of the Somme at History Learning Site
- A synopsis of the Battle of the Somme, with quotes from witnesses and survivors
- England Needs You
- Frank McLynn's review of John Pollack's biography of Lord Kitchener.
- A Walking, Talking Ramrod?
- A review of John Pollack's biography of Lord Kitchener.
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