WWI Notes 7: Total War and the

HomefrontWorld WarsMs. Hamer

March 2-3, 2010

Definitions

• Total War: When the entire population is working for the war, whether as a soldier or on the homefront

• Homefront: NOT A BATTLEFIELD; home country where civilians and the government are working to help the war effort

Total War

Growth of the War State

• Neither side had planned for the economic impact of the war

• Shell shortages occurred very quickly after the start of the war

• New model of state power to allow total war and victory– Different from the idea of a limited state

that had come before– Large state that had more control would

come out of WWI

Managing People

• The War State was brought on by the need to provision HUGE armies

• Homefront would become important– Needed workers to make war goods– Had to provide for those who lost providers in

the war• Separation Allowance: stipend or

subsidy for those who had lost the bread winner in the family to maintain economic livelihood

Unions

• In Europe, unions were brought into the war effort – Unions would pledge not to strike and

in exchange would be given a voice in planning

• In America unions would pledge not to strike for the duration of the war

Daylight Savings Time

• Germany - 1916• England – 1917• United States –

1918• Would make sunset

later in the summer to allow for more work and energy efficiency

Different Models of Total War

Germany - Economic Control

• Economically unprepared for the war• Coordinated by the War Raw Materials Board– All the way down to the Imperial Potato Office!

• Smaller businesses were pushed aside in favor of “more efficient” larger businesses

• Hindenburg Plan (1916): all men 17-60 were drafted for jobs important to the war– Also used forced labor from Belgium and Poland

Germany – State Control• Military commanders

given control over regions

• Led to “Silent Dictatorship” of Hindenburg and Ludendorff after 1916

• Tried for centralized control, but was not always effective or efficient and civilian needs were often cast aside

Great Britain – Economic and State Control• Theory was that business as

usual would continue, but it really needed to be reorganized

• July 1915 Ministry of Munitions established under David Lloyd George (the Welsh Wizard) and would reorganize the British war effort– Staff of 65,000– Pub closing times were instated

to make sure workers weren’t out too late

David Lloyd George would become Prime Minister of England in 1916

Great Britain – Economic and State Control II

• Defense of the Realm Act (DORA) August 8, 1914: British government could suppress public criticism, imprison without trial, and commandeer economic resources

• Rationing of sugar and meat began in January 1918 to ensure supply and prevent panic – No reduced consumption levels

occurred in England in WWI

• Women were encouraged to become agricultural workers to keep up the supply of food

Great Britain – Military Control

• Shaped by liberal traditions – no draft initially

• Lord Horatio Kitchener was made Secretary of State for War

• Kitchener made the New Army to replace the BEF (which had been crushed in the first battles)– Created the Pal’s Battalions to

encourage friends to join together

• Conscription began January 1916

France – Economic Issues

• Less successful in industrial expansion than other war countries, but France was spared the food shortages– Because the Germans had occupied

France’s industrial area• After occupation France lost 75% of coal

production and 80% of steel making

• Agriculture stayed strong and fed the population and military

France – Military and Political Control

• In the first 16 months of the war, France experienced half of its wartime casualties with more than 600,000 killed

• Civil and military officials struggled over who would control the war effort

• French army mutinies in 1917 caused extensive reorganization under civilian leadership under the new premier Georges Clemenceau (similar to David Lloyd George in England)

America – Military and Political Control• George Creel -

Committee on Public Information–Managed propaganda –

posters, newsreels, 4-minute men

• Opposition to the war was suppressed by government agencies and private vigilante groups like the American Protective League

America – Economic and Social Changes

• Some women moved into factory work• Requested conservation instead of

rationing:–Wheatless Mondays, Meatless Tuesdays,

and Gasless Sundays • Great Migration:– 1.3 million African Americans moved out

of the South into the North, Midwest, and West from 1910-1930

– Inspired by the opening of service jobs during WWI

• Halt to most immigration during this time

Less Successful Cases of War Reorganization

Often because they were more authoritative and conservative

governments and less industrialized countries

Russia• Could only arm about ¼ of their

troops– Other soldiers would have to wait until

the armed die and then pick up guns

• Tsar Nicholas II took over military command in 1915 – Mistake because he was personally

responsible

• 1917 – 76% of Russia's industrial base was devoted to war production, but this still wasn't enough

• Russia also faced the burden of the refugees from Western Russia

Austria-Hungary• Emperor Franz Joseph died in

November 1916 – succeeded by his grandson, Emperor Karl I– Hard for Austria Hungary to

bear the loss of this leader• Emperor Karl I reconvened

the previously closed parliament– This didn’t work because

parliament immediately fell to renewed ethnic conflicts

• Austria Hungary could not hold itself together or work to support its war effort

Effects of Total War

Liabilities of War Economy

• Massive Inflation• War Loan Drives were a way to soak up

extra currency• The combination of inflation and the

changing valuation of jobs created social anxiety

• Illegal black market developed for food–Weakened people’s trust in the government

Outcomes of Total War• Used to be that countries like England

and France had a liberal, non-interfering government

• Now government was supposed to be involved in the running of the state

• Increased prestige for ideas of collectivism and of states providing for society at large

• Democratic states were more efficient in this practice

Propaganda

Use of Propaganda in Total War

• One of the most effective ways that countries encouraged their citizens to support the war was through propaganda.– Kitchener (England) and Creel (USA) were some

of the most effective masters of propaganda, but all countries used forms of it to help the war effort

• Propaganda is a type of message aimed at influencing the opinions or behavior of people

• Propaganda is not always factual, but uses people’s emotions to convince them to do things

Types of Wartime Propaganda

• Our country is the best – be patriotic

• The enemy is evil – let’s get them!• Enlist to fight• Work in war production• Buy liberty bonds• Support the war in some other way

Our country is the best – be patriotic

• Allied recruitment poster about the “plucky four”

• Faith in Canada – for victory bonds

The enemy is evil – let’s get them!

• French propaganda poster from 1915:– Kaiser Wilhelm

eating the world

Enlist to fight

• England’s famous 1914 Kitchener enlistment poster

Work in war production

• Russian war bond poster about women factory workers

• British poster about needing soldiers and workers

Buy liberty bonds

• American war bond poster

Support the war in some other way• USA grow your own

food propaganda• British sugar rations

Squirrels Rule!