In France and Germany the general belief held in 1914 was that the War would be fought only between the opposing armies. But this was a wrong assumption : for this war was to be a total war which demanded total commitment of civilian population to the struggle, even the sacrifice of their lives. This new battlefield needed a name. It was called the Home Front.
Death opened the British Home Front in Scarborough and Hartlepool on 16 December 1914. A German naval force bombarded the two towns and killed some 130 civilians, injuring around 600. Before the year was out, German aeroplanes had raided East Anglia, and assault by aeroplanes was to build up in intensity over the War years until in 1918 a force of almost 50 bombers would be sent against London.