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Y315: The Changing Nature of Warfare 1792–1945

The impact of factors directly related to the conduct of war: concept of ‘Total War’

  • 3 things to know
  • Unit group 3

Overview

Recall questions on the concept of Total War, the involvement of civilians, casualties.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Numbers

What was the drawback of relying on wartime volunteers, as Britain did in 1914–1916?

Evaluation

Define Total War.

Numbers

Explain what a strategy of attrition means and give one example of it.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Define Total War.

    Model answer

    Total War is war in which a state mobilises its whole society and economy, pursues unlimited aims, and treats the enemy's civilian population and economy as legitimate targets.

  2. 2

    What advantages did a long-service professional army have over a mass conscript army?

    Model answer

    Professional soldiers were better trained, more disciplined and steadier under fire, but they were few in number and very hard to replace once lost.

  3. 3

    What was the drawback of relying on wartime volunteers, as Britain did in 1914–1916?

    Model answer

    Enthusiasm was high but training, equipment and experienced officers were lacking, so the new formations took heavy losses when first committed to major battle.

  4. 4

    Explain what a strategy of attrition means and give one example of it.

    Model answer

    Attrition means wearing the enemy down by inflicting losses he cannot replace rather than seeking a single decisive victory; Falkenhayn's Verdun offensive of 1916 was designed on this principle.

  5. 5

    What was the strategy of annihilation associated with the Prussian and German armies?

    Model answer

    It was the pursuit of a single decisive battle of encirclement to destroy the enemy's main army outright, as at Sedan in 1870.

  6. 6

    How did Moltke the Elder change the practice of command?

    Model answer

    He gave subordinates the commander's intention rather than detailed orders, trusting them to act on their own initiative, and he used railways and the telegraph to move and direct armies far larger than one man could see.

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