what is total war?
Total war is a form of warfare where a state commits all available resources—military, economic, and civilian—to achieving complete victory, and where normal limits on how war is fought are greatly reduced or ignored.
What is “total war”?
In political and military history, “total war” means:
- The whole society is mobilized for war: industry, agriculture, science, media, and civilians all become part of the war effort.
- The distinction between soldiers and civilians becomes blurred, because civilian infrastructure, factories, and even morale become legitimate targets.
- There are few or no limits on weapons, targets, or objectives—leaders aim at unconditional or “complete” victory rather than narrow or limited goals.
- Governments often impose rationing, conscription (the draft), propaganda campaigns, and strict economic controls to sustain the conflict.
A simple way to think of it:
In total war, a country doesn’t just send its army to fight; it turns the entire nation into a war machine.
Key features at a glance
- Full mobilization of resources
- Entire economy directed toward war production.
* Massive use of factories, raw materials, and labor for military needs.
- Civilian involvement and targeting
- Civilians drafted into the military or into war-related industries.
* Civilian infrastructure (cities, railways, factories) attacked to break the enemy’s capacity and will to fight.
- Relaxed limits on conduct of war
- Fewer restraints on weapons and tactics; traditional “laws of war” may be ignored.
* War aims tend to be absolute, like regime change or total surrender, rather than limited territorial or policy concessions.
- Psychological and ideological dimension
- Often linked to ideological or existential struggles (e.g., revolutions, civil wars, major world conflicts).
* Governments use propaganda heavily to maintain public support and demonize the enemy.
Historical examples (brief)
- World War I
- Major powers conscripted millions of soldiers, redirected industry to arms production, and used rationing and propaganda.
* Civilian shipping and infrastructure were targeted, for example through submarine warfare and blockades.
- World War II
- Often considered the clearest example of total war, with entire economies on a permanent war footing.
* Strategic bombing of cities, genocide, and the use of atomic weapons illustrated the extreme erosion of limits on targets and methods.
- American Civil War (late phase)
- Campaigns such as General Sherman’s March to the Sea aimed to destroy not just enemy armies, but also economic infrastructure and civilian morale.
* This approach influenced later thinking about total war as targeting the enemy’s overall capacity to fight, not only its troops on the battlefield.
“Total war” vs. “limited war”
Here is a compact comparison:
| Aspect | Total war | Limited war |
|---|---|---|
| War aims | Complete victory, unconditional surrender, regime change. | [9][1]Specific, narrow goals (e.g., a border adjustment, policy change). | [9]
| Resource use | Entire economy and population mobilized for war. | [7][5][1]Only part of the state’s resources engaged; civilian life more normal. | [9]
| Targets | Both military and civilian targets, including infrastructure and morale. | [3][5][1]Mainly military forces and closely related facilities. | [9]
| Rules and constraints | Traditional limits and laws of war are often weakened or disregarded. | [1][3]More respect for laws of war and political constraints. | [9]
| Societal impact | Daily life transformed by rationing, conscription, propaganda. | [7][1]Daily life affected but not entirely reshaped by the conflict. | [9]
How people discuss “total war” today
- In academic and legal debates , total war is often used as a warning concept: many argue that truly total war today would violate modern international law and humanitarian norms.
- In history education (like AP U.S. History or AP World), “total war” is a key term used to explain why conflicts like the World Wars were so destructive and why they changed societies so deeply.
- Online, the phrase also appears in gaming communities , especially around the “Total War” strategy game series, but in that context it refers to the game franchise and not necessarily to the strict historical-military concept.
TL;DR: Total war is warfare in which a country throws its entire society and economy into the fight, attacks both military and civilian targets, and seeks absolute victory with few limits on how the war is conducted.
Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.