The Concept Of Total War Essay Research

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Total War The Concept of total Warfare developed in the early nineteenth century due to the economic development and political ideology. Factors that constitute total war 1) The percentage of the population that identifies itself with the war of its nation. i.e the citizens feeling about the conflict, a just war. 2) The percentage of the population and resources that participate in the conflict, in terms of industrial, agricultural and military terms. 3) The percentage of people affected by the conflict, in economic, social and military terms. 4) Common objective pursued by the conflict. Prior to the development of the modern state system, conflict was limited The war of total populations. In the age of total warfare, mass identify themselves fully with the nation’s conflict Morally- the righteousness of the conflict in the interest of the nation Empirical – The character of conflict since the Napoleonic period. In the period of limited war, a state or a sovereign has the right to declare war in terms of ethics and law, against those who did not have the moral and legal right to take up arms. Yet one must keep in mind that all just war in the period of limited warfare was ambiguous and was discarded in the nineteenth century as leaders realized conflict to be a instrument of national/ dynastic policy. Conflict was often limited to outmaneuvering the enemy. Prior to the Napoleonic war it was common for a sovereign to use foreign troop’s and mercenaries in conflict. e.g British use of German troops in the American war of independence. Even in the Napoleonic wars it was common to see foreign troops to used in conflict. In this period desertion was common not only among individual solders but of entire fighting formations. The French were the fist use conscription in 1793. To safeguard the newly created The First Republic, universal military service was used as a vehicle of nationalism. This was to be a character of modern war. French in the revolutionary war’s Prussian and Italian wars of liberation and unifications War by total populations. Conflict in the twentieth century differed from that of the nineteenth century. National liberation and unification to national universalism, the increase in the percentage of the population participation in conflict was enlarged due to the economic changers of the previous decades. Not only did able bodied man had to participate in conflict women,children and the old now had to be used for the purpose of warfare. Agricultural, industrial and auxiliary services that required the total participation of the population. The economic chargers that the industrial revolution had bought about increase in size of military force and mechanization of warfare. 16th to the 18th century; ten’s of thousand of strong military forces, less than 1% of the population of a given state. Napoleonic wars; several hundred thousand under arms. First World War;14% of population more that one million men under arms. Second World War; 10% of population with several million men under arms, with Germany, Russia and the US having over ten million men under arms. The increase in the number of combatant have resulted in the total civilian population having to supply weapons, transportation, communication, clothing and nourishment for the fighting population. 12 civilians need to keep 1 personal combat ready ( in material terms). Thus conflict has today become war of total population. War Against Total Population The fact that in modern conflict the whole population play’s a active role has resulted in a increased number of death’s in the civilian population. French civilian casualties in conflict 1630-1919. 1630 -1789 Between 0.01% to 0.58% of population. 1789-1815 Between 1.19% to 1.54% of the population. !914-1918 15% of the French population. the reason for the increased death in civilian population is in partial due to the use of new weaponry; Artillery, Machine Guns, Tanks, Bombers, Biological agents. The other is the use of new weaponry against industrial and civilian targets. Which since the Napoleonic time period has become vital for the continuation of conflict. The mechanization of Warfare. Conflict since fourteenth century had two main characters 1) The use of a single weapon for multiple target. 2) The increase in distance from which actual fighting took place. These two characters of conflict took place due to the use of gunpowder and artillery. These two characters further developed in the late nineteenth century with the revolution in the technology of war. The Mechanization of Weapons. The accuracy, range and the rate of fire for weaponry has been constantly improving. During the First World War a plane could fly and attack at a distance of about one hundred miles. At the end of the Second World War it had increased to 1,500 mile to the preset day of 6,000 miles. Hand held cannons Early muskets Rifle Machine Gun Assault rifle Sub-machine gun Infantry weapon system The Soviet Union and the United States have the ability to strike any where in the world. The Mechanization of Transportation and Communication. The development of railroads, steam boats, automobile, aircrafts, telegraphs and telephone have made in possiable for faster troop movement, logistic supplies and better command and control.