“No twentieth century war could be called a limited war.” To what extent do you agree with this assertion? (e.g. May 2006)
Introduction – Definition of key terms
1. Using the “Total War” column to help you, complete the “Limited War” column.
Political
Economic
Social
Cultural
Military
Total War
Coalition governments
No elections
More power to army, less to politicians
Factories – Nationalisation, centralisation
Food - Rationing
Women - Into the workforce / the front
Men – Conscripted
Children - Evacuated
Propaganda, Censorship
Guerrilla Warfare
Weapons of Mass Destruction / Terror
Limited War
Main body of essay
2.
a. Complete the following table. Focus on the yellow cells first.
b. Then, aim to “tidy up” your points so that each cell is organised logically (e.g. social, political, military…) rather than just a series of bullet points (this
will make it much easier to revise).
c. Use the student essay on “Why did Germany lose WW1?” to develop the first column.
Concluding
Observations
Limited War
Total War
World War One
 DORA
 Conscription
 Pals Batallions
 Allied Blockade of
German Ports
 Women - Land
Army / Canaries /
Nurses at Front
 Civilians - Zeppelin
Raids
 Germany failed to
mobilise her economy
/ political system to
“total war” (see your
“Causes for
Germany’s Defeat”
notes).
 The British / French
governments thrust
themselves more into
“total war” in an
organisational sense;
the German
experience of “total
war” was limited to
civilian suffering due
to the government’s
failure to do the
same.
Russian Civil War
(HL)
Chinese Civil War
(SL)
Spanish Civil War
(SL)
Arab-Israeli Wars
(SL)
d
World War Two
Korean War
Vietnam War
 “War of
Annihilation” (Hitler)
 Racial - Holocaust
 Blitzkrieg
 Barbarossa
 Siege of Leningrad
 “Scorched Earth” USSR
 Atomic Bombs –
Hiroshima, Nagasaki
 V1 / V2 /
Baedecker Raids
(Dresden)
 Conscription in UK;
 “Phoney War”
1939/40
 Large number of
countries indirectly
involved (USSR / China,
USA)
 Massive civilian
casualties
 Threat of nuclear war
with China
USA:
 Draft in USA
 Ali – “No
Vietcong never
called me Nigger”;
stripped of title
 Kent State
University
Vietnam:
 Guerilla warfare
 Mai Lai
Massacre
 USA never declared
war – it was a UN “Police
Action”
 WW2 turning point
for military total
warfare. Never again
would nuclear
weapons be used. In
that sense following
the bombing of
Hiroshima and
Nagasaki, all wars
conducted by
America or any other
nuclear country were
militarily limited.
 Korea showed the
point made to the left to
be true – Truman sacks
Douglas MacArthur after
he wanted to use nuclear
weapons against the
Chinese.
 USA never
declared war
 The media
became
increasingly
critical of the
conduct of the war
 Woodstock
festival – protest
songs
 Vietnam showed
how the idea of
“limited war” was
flawed; the
civilians of
Vietnam were
caught in the
crossfire, the USA
could not make a
decisive impact;
US civilian
population openly
critical.
2. Complete the “notes from 2011” based on your findings.
Thoughts from this year – focus on RCW/SCW/CCW/Arab-Israeli
Thoughts from class of 2008 – focus on WW1/WW2/Korea/Vietnam
 “Total War” is appropriate for the first half of the century (WW1 / WW2) in terms of large numbers of countries formally involved. In terms of socio-economic impact on
civilians, the picture is more mixed; WW1 was more “total” than anything experienced up to this point, but WW2 moved into a different league altogether – Germany
learned the lesson of WW1 and unleashed Blitzkrieg and racial annihilation that was only ended with atomic assaults on Japan.
 “Limited War” is appropriate for the second half of the century (Korea / Vietnam) in terms of countries being keen to keep conflicts at “arms length” in the nuclear age
by acting through the UN / sending “military assistance” but ironically this approach makes civilian suffering even more “total” – intense, localised, guerrilla warfare
campaigns create monumental suffering for those caught in the crossfire. warfare and so dragged in civilians making it a total war for them, even if it was limited for the
superpowers.
 In conclusion, in terms of being a total geographical and military war perhaps WW2 is the only total war ever. Total warfare needs redefining, and perhaps we are
being too anachronistic – WW1 was total war for people living then but for us living now. In this way the term total is relative.
Points to think about
 “In war, we have to meet force with maximum counterforce…there is no substitute for victory” (MacArthur) – Do you agree?
 “The history of the 20th Century demonstrates that there are no winners in war” – Discuss
 “Wars are won not by tactics, weaponry and resources, but by the side which wins the battle for hearts and minds” – Discuss.