ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes the momentous events of 1917 and their remarkable impact upon government policy. Britain and France experienced the largest strikes of the year as pent-up public frustrations exploded into national movements for better wages, living conditions, and a desire to end the war. In France soldiers in some units at the Front mutinied, leading to real fears of defeat. Finally, the Russian revolution inspired far-left radicals who looked to the Bolsheviks as a model and inspiration for their own revolution. These mass movements and the specter of communism caught the governments of both countries off-guard, leading to swift countermeasures. Surveillance operations expanded, direct action increased, and conservative governments under David Lloyd George and Georges Clemenceau determined to win the war at all cost. This chapter argues that the near-breaking point of 1917 led politicians and intelligence leaders to conclude that large-scale surveillance was necessary to prevent the collapse of the homefront and possible revolution.
