Lloyd George's displacement of Asquith in December 1916 gave the nation hope that the war would be pursued on a more energetic and creative level. But the deficiency in manpower organization was one vital area of the war effort in which Lloyd George was dilatory in taking firm action. His interest in manpower came gradually, necessitated as it was by the new elements affecting traditional warfare. The massive casualties resulting from technological changes and the scale of land battles led the High Command to make inordinate demands for recruits to keep its divisions at full establishment. At the same time, the unprecedented demands for munitions, for ships to replace those lost at sea and for the creation of an aircraft industry required the retention of more and more men in vital war production. It was not until the end of 1917 that Lloyd George showed the resolve to devise a coherent manpower plan defining the interrelationship of military operations and industrial production. For almost a year he met the growing manpower crisis with a patchwork of ad hoc measures reminiscent of his predecessor.

At the outset of the war, the public's general opposition to conscription made it impossible for the government to devise a policy that would allocate manpower between military and civilian needs. As a rapid enlargement of a field force was the nation's highest priority, Kitchener achieved phenomenal success through the voluntary system, but at the cost of dislocating the economy.