The Great War As Total War

Total War: All of society, including military forces as well as civilians, was encouraged to participate in the idea of total war. This is a tactic used when all restrictions are neglected as far as weaponry and territory. Usually, the economy takes the hit the hardest because it becomes second to the government with regards to importance. For example, during the time period of 1943-1944 in the U.S., car factories switched gears and instead used their time to construct tanks and other machines to be used in the war. The U.S. was not the only country that quickly became accustomed to adaptation. In Britain, some fruits were basically not seen for a few years because the space they would have taken up was needed for space on the merchant ships. The involvement in the automobile and weaponry industries creates larger more invasive government. Children are expected to help in some way; if it means

World War I was a great loss both physically and emotionally. It was a conflict between the Allies and the Central Powers from 1914 to 1918. More than 15 million people were killed in battled, making it one of the most deadly conflicts in history. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria- Hungary was seen as the trigger of the war. The war was described as a world war, a total war, and a modern war. A world war because it involved the whole world. A total war because people used maximum resources for the purpose of the war. A modern war because the people used technological and industrial mobilization.

A total war is a conflict which involves bringing together resources; this includes both industrial and military resources aiming at having an output that the enemy will not overcome at all (Castellano, 2016). The biggest difference that exists between a total war and a normal war is that there is really zero difference between those fighting in the same war and the civilians in this period; all these people are considered an enemy.

When the war began, it was being fought by the Americans to address their grievances toward the British. This seemed like a justifiable cause for a war, however not all of the citizens shared the same sense of unity about

The Great War , or as it is known now, World War One was a global conflict fought between the Allied Powers ; Great Britain, France, Russia, and the United States along will other smaller nations and the Central Powers ; Germany, Austria – Hungary, Turkey/Ottoman Empire and other small nations from 1914 to 1918. World War One began from a series of tumultuous events, that in turn affected the balance of alliances that had been made between countries at that time in the world.

Basically according to the oxford dictionary, there are several elements which link to total war, which are unrestricted weapons used, territory or combatants involved, objective

Total war is the idea that there are no restrictions on weapons used, territory or people involved, and the laws of war are generally disregarded. In total war, “there [is] no difference between civilian and soldiers” (118). Many people believed that since, “It was war and we had to expect it” (117) and by it they meant the worst.

At the outset of the war was that all of the people were excited, they wanted action therefore praising the army, the people were very nationalistic. The war was caused by a buildup of nationalist ideas and growing tensions between countries. The people were bored and nationalism inspired the people to start wars.

There were many underlying causes of the Great War, one of the primary reasons was the creation of alliances between countries. Another reason, which was helped by the alliances, was the fact that Serbia killed the Austria-Hungary archduke, causing the two of them to go to war. Altogether many people in the world were excited to go to war, wanting to prove how strong their country is and thinking it would be a quick war.

The Great War is remembered in history as one of the most gruesome and bloody wars in history. Millions of people died for their countries on foreign fields of battle, all the while in their homelands their fellow citizens suffered the effects of total war. Citizens of the warring nations entered the Great War unprepared and unrealistic. They truly believed that the war would be a way to lift off steam for all countries and that the death count would remain low. They believed that the war would be over in a few months, in time for Christmas. Fueled by nationalism and military exuberance millions of troops marched into battle against their foes and eight million troops lost their lives to the brutality. Total war broke out on both the battle

The Great War, or World War I as it came to be known, dealt a devastating blow to the optimism and self-confidence of Western civilization (Foner 733). In fact, when war occurred in the year 1914, President Wilson proclaimed American neutrality. However, as in the years leading up to the War of 1812, naval warfare which was in Europe made its way into the United States (Foner 734). In addition to this, Britain declared a naval blockade of Germany and started to stop American merchant vessels (Foner 734). Moreover, Germany made the decision to commence submarine warfare on ships seen entering and leaving British ports. What is more, is that in May of 1915, the British liner Lusitania (which was transporting an excessive amount of weapons such as firearms) was sank by a German submarine off of the coast of Ireland, this resulted in the death of 1,198 passengers, 124 of which were Americans (Foner 734).

The end of the war was a time for rejoicing for the Americans proved that they could stand up for themselves and are a nation of their own. They no longer needed any one to rule over them, they were able to rule over themselves. From this war the Americans created many laws and documents pertaining to their independence and laws to help them better their nation. America is what it is today due to this war!

Evidently, total war has explicitly affected all aspects of society and has even influenced the way people lived their lives. Firstly, total war was embedded into the education system, as “The Canada War Book” was given to students in New Brunswick. The book itself teaches children to save because there isn't an abundance of money in Canada and additionally, the book includes more propaganda, as it portrays going to war as a soldier or nurse to be very desirable. Secondly, there were books published to specifically feed one hundred soldiers, thus impacting the food aspect of society. The recipes found in the book are economical and precise, as the recipes avoid the use of seasonings to make the meals cheaper and specific weights are

Arguably the bloodiest war in American history, the Civil War introduced a new type of warfare—total war. In total war, all resources are poured into military power, and any beneficial facilities are used by the military, including transportation and communication. This new type of warfare would prove to be very effective and unforgiving in the battles to come. With the invention of new types of troop and supply transports, as well as the invention of the telegraph, the war faced a new era of modern combat.

The comprehension of the term ‘total war’ has had great significance towards the understanding as to how wars are fought, affect society and differ from other conflicts. The main issue that arises is conclusively defining total war and is continually differing between both historians and military combatants alike. Roger Chickering defines states “total war is distinguished by its intensity and extent. Theatres of operation span the globe; the scale of the battle is practically limitless” all the while adding “total war requires the mobilisation not only of armed forced but also of whole populations” This definition, while not quintessential is a good starting point for a definition due to its broadness and acceptance of the idea of the incapability to fully mobilise a society’s entire resource. David A. Bell states that it is often defined as ‘a war involving the complete mobilization of a society’s resources to achieve the absolute destruction of an enemy, with all distinction erased between combatants and non-combatants’ . However, he notes the limitations of such an idea including the inability for societies to meet such criterion, in particular, the ability for a society to completely utilise its resources towards the war effort. Ultimately, Jeremey black, while not giving a conclusive definition for the term, total war, does acknowledge different definitions by various individuals distilling many of their arguments and consequently outlining main characteristics of