World War I is considered a total war because entire societies—not just armies—were mobilized and drawn into the conflict on an unprecedented scale.

What “total war” means

Historians use total war to describe conflicts where:

  • States mobilize all major resources: people, industry, food, and finance.
  • The line between soldier and civilian becomes blurred.
  • Governments reject compromise peace and aim for complete victory over the enemy.
  • Authorities extend tight control over society, economy, and information.

1. Whole economies turned to war

Industrial powers retooled their factories and economies to serve the front lines.

  • Civilian industries shifted to producing shells, guns, ships, and uniforms.
  • Governments directed production, labor, and raw materials, deciding what factories made and who worked where.
  • Trade blockades and submarine warfare targeted the enemy’s ability to feed and supply itself, not just its armies.

Example: Britain used its navy to blockade Germany, cutting off imports and causing severe shortages that hit civilians as much as soldiers.

2. Everyone became part of the war effort

The war reached deep into everyday life.

  • Mass conscription meant millions of ordinary men became soldiers.
  • Women and older men took up roles in factories, transport, agriculture, and offices to keep economies running.
  • Civilians endured rationing, air raids in some regions, and strict rules about behavior and information.

In Britain, laws like the Defence of the Realm Act gave the government wide powers over people’s lives, tightening control of speech, work, and movement.

3. Blurred line between front and home

Total war meant the home front was no longer safe or separate.

  • Long-range artillery, naval blockades, and later air attacks hit cities and infrastructure, not just battlefield troops.
  • Hunger, inflation, disease, and displacement became part of civilian life across Europe.
  • Propaganda campaigns demanded loyalty, sacrifice, and hatred of the enemy, making psychological pressure part of warfare.

This blurring is a key reason people at the time began talking about World War I as a new kind of war.

4. No easy compromise peace

Total war also refers to the mindset of fighting until the enemy is thoroughly defeated.

  • Leaders increasingly rejected negotiated peace, insisting on victory and punishment instead.
  • War aims expanded: beyond borders or colonies, they included reshaping political systems and punishing “aggressor” states.
  • Propaganda portrayed compromise as betrayal of the dead, making it harder to end the war early.

Historian Tait Keller and others note that strategy often embraced deliberate devastation—destroying fields, flooding land, and wrecking infrastructure to cripple the enemy’s ability to fight and survive.

5. Tight government control and “total” states

To sustain this kind of conflict, governments moved toward more total control.

  • They censored the press, restricted civil liberties, and punished dissent.
  • They managed prices, wages, and food distribution, often using emergency powers.
  • Ideologies of “national unity” demanded that individuals put the state and war effort above personal interests.

Some scholars argue that the political systems created to fight World War I—especially in places like Germany—helped lay the groundwork for later “total” regimes.

Putting it all together

World War I is seen as a total war because:

  1. Entire economies were reorganized to fight.
  2. Civilians and soldiers were both deeply involved and affected.
  3. The home front became a battlefield in economic, psychological, and sometimes physical ways.
  4. Leaders aimed at outright victory rather than compromise.
  5. Governments exercised far-reaching control over society to keep the war going.

In other words, it was not just armies fighting at the front; it was whole societies at war. Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.