World War two as a total war

How and why was World War Two a Total War

        World War Two left the world in shock of what man could do to his equal. The total death toll was approximately of 40 million people, and a further 21 million were left homeless. Europe and Asia were left in ruin, only the United States can be considered to have come out strengthened from this conflict. The war was the first conflict involving all of the great powers at the time, it spread over the five continents and left the most devastating impact on world society, economy and balance. The Second World War is considered as a total war due to its unprecedented impact on the « Homefront », the different government use of destructive weaponry in order to achieve total victory and how the racial hatred in Europe and in the Eastern Asia led to the extermination of millions of people and the displacement of countless of others.

        The « Homefront » is a term used to describe the part of the country that is not directly impacted by the war, that is not near the fighting zone. The belligerents of the Second World War, unlike during the First World War introduce mass conscription as soon as war was declared. Mass conscription obliged every man from 18-21 to serve in the military. By the end of the war, more than 3.5 million men had served in the British army, men being forced to fight, they thad to be replaced in the farms and in the factories. Women, who had started working in the farms where allowed to work in the industry, such as ammunition or aviation factories, as workforce was needed. As the Second World War was an industrial war before anything else, the outcome of the war depended directly on the industrial capacity of the country. This is why, half to two-thirds of the workforce, and three-thirds of resources were directed to the war effort. Women would fill in for men who had gone to the war, their participation in the industries in the UK rose from 20% to 27% from 1940 to 1943. Even if women were paid less than men, they were still able to earn a high wage for the time, a women working in the factories would earn significantly more than one working in a farm. However more than 500 women perished in explosion due to to the mishandling explosives in the factories. Women’s importance in Society was significantly accelerated in part thanks to the Second World War as they were allowed a chance to prove that they were equal to men.

        The Homefront, being the source of all the war material was often used as a target by the enemy. The Axis and the Allies made use of Air Raids in order to try to dismantle the production line. These Air Raids were first used in order to destroy factories and aerodromes, however it was extended to try to break the moral of the country. Many of the belligerent believed it would be easier to win a war against a population who did not want to participate in it, therefore by attacking cities and towns with no industrial interest, the countries made it clear to the inhabitants that nowhere was safe. The allied used this tactic in Dresden, on13th of February 1945. Dresden was a city with no industries, and no military interest, however the Allies dropped 3 000 tons of bombs on the city, 1 600 of them were incendiary bombs. In three nights, more than 60 000 lives were lost. During the Second World War, unlike in any other, two thirds of the casualties were civilians, and Air raids were responsible alone for 300 to 400 thousand deaths in total.

        The Second World War also saw a vast improvement in the domain of weaponry. By 1939, most of the modern countries had made huge discoveries in the scientific domain following the First World War. Both the Axis and the Allies had developed their army both in terms of numbers but also in terms of innovation. The Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Luftwaffe competed for air supremacy during the Battle of Britain. The Luftwaffe however more numerous was unable to defeat the well trained pilots of the RAF. The RAF, unlike the Luftwaffe had an advantage, they were equipped with radar technology that allowed them to know where the enemy planes were situated, and therefore they were able to pursue them more easily. The radar was developed from 1920 to 1930 by the British but was dismissed as a useless invention by the Nazis. It showed its usefulness not only in locating the enemy planes while in combat but it also allowed the British to prevent certain city-bombings and therefore save countless lives. Another technological advancement that was massively used during the war was the tank. First used at the end of the Second World War to get out of the trenches, tanks were widely used during the Second World War. The german Panzer was extremely resistant and was in part to thank for the German victories from 1939 to 1942. These tanks who were fast, they could go up to the speed of 40 km/h, were protected by heavy armor and held machine guns and a big canon.The Wehrmacht contained more then 20 Panzerdivisionen. These different technological advancement allowed the war to be as deadly as it was.

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