Was Great Britain prepared for World War 1?

Answer 1

This is an opinion type question. Yes, Great Britain & all the other major nations in Europe were probably too prepared, and too willing to go to war over an issue that should have been resolved short of the bloody war it became. Great Britain was prepared to go to war, however..... it was not prepared to win the type of war that "The Great War" (WW1) became. Submarine warfare, naval mine warfare, trench warfare, high attrition warfare, and air warfare were all new aspects of the war, that Great Britain was not prepared for. Great Britain, France & Italy most likely would have lost the war had it not been for the United States. Russia was already defeated. Great Britain was also not prepared to cooperate effectively with its Allies (France, US, Italy, etc) or with its Commonwealth nations (Canada, Australia, etc.). Great Britain had not prepared it military leaders to fight in modern conditions against a well trained, led & equipped army on the continent of Europe (the Germans). It consistently under-estimated the enemy. Before the war started, Great Britain failed to understand the dangers of pledging blanket support to other nations on the continent, regardless of circumstances or consequences. Overall the biggest failing after the war started was poor army leadership at the higher levels of command.