FREE ESSAY ON TOTAL WAR: WORLD WAR ONE

TOTAL WAR: WORLD WAR ONE

"World War I: Total War"
Europe since pre-Roman times has been marked by conflict. Warring tribes often did battle
in small skirmishes and hand-to-hand combat. But as the civilizations grew and technology
improved the battles became larger and much more intense. With the Industrial revolution,
warfare would change forever. This can be best seen in World War One. The "war to end all
wars" gradually escalated to a global conflict, dragging the super powers into a four
year struggle. World War One brought many new and horrible inventions to the participants
both at the front, as well as at home.
There are many reasons why World War I was so much different than all the past conflicts.
For one thing, it was the first time in almost one hundred years that all the major super
powers were fighting. Not since Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo, had England, France,
Germany (Prussia at the time of Napoleon), and Russia been fighting at the same time.
This in turn made it a global conflict. With all the over sea possessions of these
countries, fighting was inevitable in their colonies. This was another first for World
War I. Another huge aspect that made this war the first truly "modern" war, has to do
with the Industrial Revolution. This revolution did change the nature of battle. No
longer was war considered to be one-on-one. With the improvement of the gun and invention
of the machine gun, almost anybody could become capable of killing many enemy soldiers.
Industrialization of the warring countries meant a better railroad system. In turn, this
meant that moving the supplies of war to the front line could be done relatively easily.
For the first time also, countries were able use the entire industrial resources to help
insure victory with industrial might. A final difference from this war from any other was
the use of science and war. It was during this time when science was looked upon to help
break the stalemate of the war. This can be seen in the use of poisonous gas. The Germans
looked for ways to gain the advantage, and their scientists developed a way to spread
Chlorine gas over the unprepared allies.
When war did break out in July, 1914, the belligerents had a high enthusiasm toward the
war. The past couple of wars had only lasted a few months at the most. With war between
Prussia and France only lasting about eighteen weeks, it was hard for anyone seeing this
conflict go any longer. Some of the poetry written during the beginning of the war
possesses a romantic flavor. They try to compare the duty of serving in the army as the
right thing to do. And dying for your country is the best possible way to die. Another
undertone present in the poetry is a deep hatred toward the other side. In Ernest
Lissauer's poem "Hymn of Hate" there is an obvious dislike toward the English (Wiesner,
Ruff, and Wheeler, 300). Lissauer repeatedly points out the English are the only one they
hate and Germans all hate them together. These attitudes of enthusiasm and hate added the
total disillusionment of all the people fighting and encouraging the war.
In examining sources about the soldiers fighting along the front, a common theme appears.
Often the situation describes death and destruction. This is evident in the writings on
the front-line by Henri Barbusse. Barbusse gives an excellent look about the true tales
of World War I. He describes the land around the fighting as hell; with twisted humans
and earth scattered all about. He goes on further explaining the futility of charging
towards the enemy's position. The confusion and loss of life running toward a storm of
bullets is best captured in these real life, trench stories. In Erich Maria Remarque's
book All Quiet on the Western Front, the German side of the trench life. All in all the
same type of death and destruction is evident. Remarque describes the awful conditions
facing the collapsing German Army. He tells of the doctors making wounded men go back and
fight along the front lines. He further goes on to tell of the starvation and sickness of
the soldiers still able to fight. Remarque still believes that his side is still strong
but they are simply being overwhelmed by more allies than Germany can counter against
(WRW, 306-310).
As the war dragged on and body count rose the soldiers on both sides started to wonder
about true goals of their country. No longer was there a strong patriotic feel their side
actions for a couple of reasons. One thing was the true horror of the war. Constant enemy
fire and pointless trench assaults can kill the moral of the best soldier. After three
years of these tactics, food and manpower started to run low. Soldiers began to lose the
need to die for their country. Another aspect that led to the downfall of patriotism was
the lost expectations from the beginning of the war. Most people believed that the war
would come to an end quickly. Yet by the end of 1916, a trench stretched from the English
Channel to the border of Switzerland. This four hundred-mile front had moved less than
thirty miles in either direction for almost a year. The soldiers began to wonder if there
would be a winner or even and end. These factors together eventually brought moral down
which in turn brought patriotism down with them.
A unique thing about World War I was the impact on the civilian population. For the first
time, all of the citizens of the country were needed to do their part. Every country
involved had to ration food, darken their cities at night for air raids, and called upon
for selective service. These all had a direct effect on the home front. No longer could
the people read that the fighting was going on away from home, they were feeling it
themselves. People had to give up certain privileges to help better the war effort. They
could no longer eat as much or what the wanted to, women had to go to work in the mills
to make up for the shortage of male fighting, and civilians were dying away from front
lines. For the first time countries deliberately attacked civilian population. Germany
would often send huge airships to bomb English and French cities. These brought a direct
threat and feel of war toward the once untouched towns.
In examining the cold facts of the war, it provides evidence of the huge impact the war
had on the warring countries. The first striking example is the figure on the loss of on
the loss of life. Over nine million men died on the battlefield. Out of the seventy
million mobilized for war almost one tenth would not make it to see the war end (WRW,
320). The sources describing the front line atrocities, based on this table, almost have
to be correct. A second example that the tables support, is the impact the war had on the
warring country's economy. According to table thirteen in WRW, over seven hundred
thousand females replaced male jobs in England alone (319). This increased women
workforce shows the need for civilians to take up the slack needed for a successful war
effort. Although some industries needed more help than others, all the industries had
increase of female workers. 
As a result from World War One, many changes would take place in European society. One
major effect was the urge for revenge by the losing powers. The Treaty of Versailles
1919, left the Germans as the single responsible party for the war. The allies were
especially harsh to insure that Germany remained so weak that conflicts on the mainland
would not resort to this intensity again. The allies made Germany pay whole the cost of
the war immediately. This in turn left Germany's economy in utter ruin. This would later
play into the hands of the radical Nazi Party, and the acquisition of power by Adolph
Hitler. The European map also changed dramatically. The powers in Europe, realizing that
Nationalism was one of the main causes the war, changed political boundaries to try to
create separate states for separate nationalisms. For the most part countries accepted
their new independence, but it is impossible to form a boundary around a specific type of
nationalism. A third and final change in European thought was that of the League of
Nations. Countries in Europe, as well as around the world, tried stop an aggressive
nation not by an armed conflict but by resolution. The League of Nations consisting
representatives from participating nations will meet to try and discuss a non-violent
solution to the conflict. In all of these steps set-up at the peace accords in
Versailles, the powers in Europe did not want to see another war like this happen again.