War and Military Atlas

How Battles Were Fought
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme
Strategy and Doctrine

Total War

Modern

Citation Formats

General Reference

APA Style

BibTeX

Total war is a doctrine and mode of warfare in which a nation's entire economy, population and infrastructure are treated as legitimate instruments and targets of the war effort, erasing the older distinction between combatant and civilian effort. The term itself was popularized by the German general Erich Ludendorff's 1935 World War I memoir Der totale Krieg (The Total War).

Facts
Core Claim
A nation's entire economy, population and industry become legitimate instruments and targets of war, erasing the older distinction between combatant and civilian effort. 1
Origin Year
1935 1
Cross-Tradition Connections

Developed By

Sources
1. Wikipedia: Total War
Wikipedialead paragraph
Quote, lead paragraph
Total war is a type of warfare where a society's entire economy, population, and infrastructure are considered part of the war effort.
View the Source
1. Wikipedia: Total War
Wikipediaetymology section
Quote, etymology section
The phrase was popularised by the 1935 publication of German general Erich Ludendorff's World War I memoir, Der totale Krieg.
View the Source
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.

View At A Past Year

The atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.