When war was declared, the pain of separation was eased by the idea that the war would be short-lived. But as weeks went on, there was a real feeling of longing. Letters became a priority. In December 1914, postal sectors were created to facilitate their delivery, with more than 5 million sent daily. Only the name, the unit and the number of the postal sector were needed, with no geographical address.
Women sent soldiers basic essentials such as tobacco, candles, warm clothes or a little money, and photographs of them and their children. However, the letters, which were screened, did not tell the whole truth. Much went unsaid: soldiers sought not to worry those who remained at the rear and to avoid transmitting the sense of concern and longing, to avoid demoralizing them. Many of them could not find the words they needed.
No system of leave existed at the beginning of the war. The longer the conflict dragged on, the more important soldiers’ morale became for the army, which sought to maintain fighting spirit and discipline. With the help of private foundations, it worked to create “soldiers’ hostels” (foyers du soldat) for those on leave.
La Famille du Soldat (the soldier’s family) was founded in 1915 to put soldiers in touch with generous women who wrote to them to provide solace and a little support. More of these associations sprung up to respond to high demand, supporting up to 70,000 soldiers. Their activity declined from 1916.
Hélène Turquand d’Auzay (1894-1949)
Hélène and André met in summer 1914, just before the mobilization. Their relationship developed through cards and letters, until André was granted his first leave in 1915. They met again in January 1916 and Hélène became pregnant. They married at the city hall of Paris’s 17th arrondissement. They would never meet again. Their letters bear witness to their relationship. From one to the other, back and forth, they express the young couple’s love: “happy moments”, “generous mouth”, “best kisses from your little man”. On 16 June 1916, André Turquand d’Auzay was killed in an offensive in the Somme. On 11 August, Hélène gave birth to a son, whom she named André, Auguste, Marie: her husband’s three names. She never remarried and raised her son in memory of her lost love.
At the rear, food, animal products and heating fuel became scarce. The army requisitioned civilian supplies, and in Germany, the Allied blockade made daily life tough.
Women received recommendations to eat using substitutes, Ersatz in German, and economical recipes. “Hayboxes” to cook without a fire and “butter” made from mutton fat are examples of tricks that enabled women to feed the household with the meagre rations available. Groups also organized collective cooking in order to pool ingredients. Rationing coupons appeared in France in 1917 in order to regulate consumption.
Fashion too reflected how war overshadowed daily life. On the one hand, women adopted discreet, practical clothing to work in the factories. At the same time, fashion was inspired by the war, and cockades, pea jackets and Russian boots found their way into magazines. Styles accessorized with insignia and trench jewellery highlighted ties with the men on the front. But fashion was also marked by rationing, particularly of leather: buying new shoes was discouraged, and advice was given to strengthen soles and limit wear.
If every French citizen saved one match per day, that would be enough to supply a battery of four 75 mm guns firing 1,000 shots each in violent combat.
Advertisement about economical living
Jeanne Paquin (1869-1936)
In 1891, Jeanne Paquin opened her fashion house on Rue de la Paix in Paris and would dominate the city’s couture scene for fifteen years. In 1912, she became the first female fashion designer to receive the Legion of Honour and the first woman to chair the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture (chamber of couturiers), from 1917 to 1919. Her designs were inspired by the Empire style and the trend at the time for Japanese fashion, as well as the evolutions of society. She created corsetless clothing that was better suited to walking, to adapt to what she called the “metro civilization”. She personally contributed to the war effort by converting her home in Saint-Cloud into a military hospital, by corresponding with soldiers, and by providing one of her delivery vans to be used as an ambulance.
The First World War left almost 650,000 widows and 805,000 orphans in France.
Before you could grieve, you first had to learn of your loved one’s death. The mayor’s announcement of the death did not take place immediately, and could take a long time to arrive. Then, on the condition that the soldier must have been killed on duty, his wife was declared a war widow. All the family’s women would wear mourning dress: mothers, widows, sisters and daughters.
Widows, who were often unemployed and had to provide for their children, received government assistance in the form of financial help. In 1919, laws were passed to allocate them an allowance (800 francs/year, 500/child) and find them work, such as running newsagents. Widows could also expect support from associations.
In addition to widows, the 260,000 missing persons identified in 1920 left families behind. Those families were left in waiting, worry and resignation, often adding the missing person’s name to the family tombstone.
Honour to the mothers who will never more kiss their sons, to the women who seek the graves of their husbands on the battlefields, to the orphans who become the adoptive children of France.
Raymond Poincaré, speech on 13 November 1918
Blanche Maupas (1883-1962)
On 17 March 1915, Théophile Maupas and three corporals were shot for “refusal to obey in the presence of the enemy”. One week earlier, they had taken part in an unsuccessful sortie near Souain (Champagne). The War Council decided to make an example of them. Théophile’s wife, Blanche, investigated the story and discovered the injustice behind his death, going on to fight for the rehabilitation of the “Souhain corporals”. She collected witness statements, contacted the Human Rights League and founded the Maupas Committee. This association would become the Provisional National Committee for the Rehabilitation of the Victims of War Councils in 1926. In 1934, she at last won her husband’s rehabilitation and published his story: Le Fusillé (Shot by Firing Squad). The Souain affair inspired the novel Paths of Glory by Humphrey Cobb, and Stanley Kubrick’s film of the same name.
Women used their wealth or fame to help those most in need and civilians, perpetuating the tradition of “charitable ladies” and gifts to serve the common good.
They were often wealthy heiresses, sometimes from North America, like Anne Morgan. For American women, the fate of civilians was a major concern even before the United States joined the war, and more than 25,000 of them joined charitable organizations like the YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association) and the American Committee for Devastated France (ACDF).
For certain women of the aristocracy, helping the neediest was part of their traditional charitable work. Two of them stand out: Dowager Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom, who established an ambulance service, and above all Elisabeth, Queen of the Belgians, who became known as the “Queen Nurse” thanks to her efforts.
While their commitment was often sincere, some gave up in the face of the hard work, leading the Duchess d’Uzès, herself a philanthropist and volunteer nurse, to say that “very quickly, the devotion wears away”. It should not be forgotten, however, that the work of these women with considerable resources was crucial, particularly when it came to health and supporting the civilian population.
War is not only a military combat, but also a battle for civilians.
Summary of the statement of work of the ACDF from 1 April 1918 to 31 March 1924.
Anne Tracy Morgan (1873-1952)
Anne Tracy Morgan, daughter of the banker John Pierpont Morgan, was an admirer of France. She was in the country when the war broke out, then returned to the United States to raise money for soldiers. She was treasurer of the American Fund for French Wounded (AFFW), a relief organization that sent volunteers to Picardy from 1917, and founded the American Committee for Devastated France (ACDF), in which 350 volunteers worked from the Château de Blérancourt to support the population of the Aisne morally and socially. Post-war, she supported the opening of the Franco-American Friendship Museum in Blérancourt, then repeated her support to the region during World War II.
Elisabeth von Wittelsbach, Duchess in Bavaria then Queen of the Belgians (1876-1965)
Elisabeth von Wittelsbach was the wife of Albert I of Belgium, nephew of King Leopold II. She became Queen of the Belgians when the latter died in 1909. When the German troops entered Belgium, she and her husband refused to leave and decided to support the Belgian army behind the trenches of the Yser. She was known as the “Queen Nurse” for her support to soldiers and the wounded, dedicating part of her time to the L’Océan hospital in De Panne and founding relief organizations like the Symphonic Orchestra of the Field Army. The courage of the royal couple earned them great popularity and gratitude, both among the Belgian people and the Allies.