Total War Dbq Analysis

Total war is using all available resources to support the war effort and to cause harm to civilians and infrastructure. Tactics are also used that do damage that have lasting effects years after the war. World War I was a total war because resources for civilians were depleted and were used for the war, land was destroyed, and country's workforces were weakened. Since the war affected civilian's lives in significant ways, World War I can be considered a total war. A large factor that made WWI a total war was the taking of resources from civilians to be used in the war. As countries became more and more engulfed in the war, more resources were needed. This can be seen in Pr. Donald Frasier's diary entry (Doc. 1) where he writes, "The traffic …show more content…
By doing this, young men were taken from the towns and families. Where they could have done something with their lives rather than getting killed. Charlotte Kellogg writes in Women of Belgium: Turning Tragedy to Triumph (Doc. 5) how "every day from 2,500 to 3,000 men and women would line up... to receive the ration of soup and bread." The need to ration food is a direct result of the need to feed all the soldiers. Families could no longer buy all the groceries they wanted, and many fell into poverty. The photograph of the Royal Air Force Sopwith Camel military airplane (Doc 7) depicts how civilian technology was used for the war. The airplane's first purpose was a faster mean of transportation. By strapping a …show more content…
Young men were taken from their homes during the war, and many of them that returned could not meet the requirements to work. The painting "Gassed" by John Singer Sargent (Doc 2) depicts the blinding side effect of a poisonous gas attack This disability would follow these soldiers after the war, preventing them from easily finding a job. The British poster by Alfred Lee (Doc 3) shows the propaganda tactics to recruit every able body to become a soldier. While it may seem logical to do this, it shrinks the amount of men back home that can work in the factories or on farms. Henri Barbusse writes in Under Fire: The Story of a Squad (Doc 6) how many soldiers he encountered came from different occupations. From farmers, to performers, to land owners, they are all brought together to do nothing but wait. Instead of working, these men are waiting in the trenches. Even though World War I only lasted four years, the fighting was gruesome and required many resources. The all out effort needed is what made World War I a total war because the consequences went past the battlefield and the soldiers. Civilian's lives and the infrastructure of the countries were harmed due to the