2.2 Total War

Total War:
     Total War is seen when the entire country and its resources is dedicated to the war efforts. The social, economic, military and political aspects of the country are all involved in the war in one way or another.
Socially, a total war would include the civilians in a home front. They would have to work in factories to build weapons for the soldiers. Women would be recruited to work in male-dominated work places as most males would have gone to war. The government might use propaganda to recruit the people. Family members might be required to go to war as conscription increases.
Economically, all resources would go towards the war. Money would be spent on armaments or for food for the soldiers. Therefore, rationing of civilian goods will probably occur in order to provide those supplies for the soldiers. Industry would then shift from consumer goods to war goods. Generally, there might be inflation of prices and basic consumer goods such as food will be more expensive than usual.
Militarily, there would be large effects on the whole country. People will face destruction and many casualties within the city as well as in the war front.
Politically, the social, economic and military aspects will be controlled by the government. The government will control whether you have to go to war or not. They will decide how much food you get as they ration everything. Everything will be controlled by the government for the war effort.

World War 1:
The aims of both sides of the war showed that World War 1 was a total war. The Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance wanted total victory. Their governments used every possible resource in order to win, even using their universities to develop new weapons and technologies. Not only were university researchers part of the war effort, all civilians were also used. Enemies saw that both universities and civilians were integral parts of the war effort that provided resources for the soldiers. The nation formed a machine that required all parts in order to function. Both sides knew that attacking the civilians and cities of their enemies could also be useful.
The civilians were called to maintain the industry to keep up with the demands that war brought to society. In some countries, women were called to work in the empty positions left by men. These civilians were threatened by the enemies because they saw the significance of their production.  Civilian workers and factories were bombed with long distance guns as well as plane raids.
Total war can also be seen with the increase of government control over the nation. Power became centralized as the government began controlling most if not all aspects of every day life. The government and its effects can be seen in the economy and society. In World War 1, governments were allowed to interfere with people's lives in order to meet the demands of war. Censorship and propaganda were used to encourage civilians to join the war and to maintain morales within the workers. With the rise of conscription and casualties of both civilians and soldiers, it was important to maintain a positive homefront.

Governments used everything in order to win