Chapter 11 World War I Total War 1 Why was WWI different from previous wars 2 What impact did it have on soldiers at the front 3 How did it affect civilians at home 1 All other 19th century wars never involved all the great powers o WWI was long not short o Due to alliance all great powers were forced into war o First General War since 1815 Photo of German Soldier Attack shows the tactic of attacking on line with fixed bayonets prior to WWI o Industrial Revolution changed the way war was fought newer and better weapons Photo of British Soldier Attack shows new tactics of attacking Brits in small groups with trench cover using gas masks and more modern helmets 2 Initially soldiers were excited about the war however this wore off quickly due to the nature of the conflict The Story of a Squad explains how war had become almost inhumane and how bombs and machine guns lead to mass death All Quiet on the Western Front depicts the horrors of war and the state of complete and total despair by the men on the front They no longer cared about the outcome of the war they simply wanted it to end Wilfred Owen s Poem explains the horrors of poison gas used by the Germans and how civilians wouldn t support the war if they could see what was happening New Year s Eve Letter explains how at the front the war is not fought based on hatred for the opposing or for love of one s own country o Soldiers blamed their unskilled commanders for the horrors they experienced o Veterans were alienated from the civilians 3 Living conditions became extremely difficult for civilians at home o Lack of food and basic necessities for life German Wartime Civilian Rations explains how civilians calorie intake was estimated to have decreased to 1 3 of that before the war and that they mainly ate starches with little to no meat and dairy French Public Opinion Report explains how public opinion decreased due to lack of food and supplies not due to army s performance Civilians were tired of the inflation so they started to support the socialist movement o Needed lots of men to fight o Many women had to work to replace the men who were fighting the war British Women Wartime Employment shows how over 700k females had to replace males in Industry o Gov rationed consumer goods to provide for their armies o Gov took over privately owned production facilities in the name of war o Gov felt it couldn t keep fighting war if civilian morale broke A London Air Raid Record shows how civilians lost a lot of their family members and how the bombings on the cities really brought the reality of the war home to the civilians WWI permanently changed Europe and the world It was difficult for gov to survive politically after the war