WW2 a total war essay help

[caliefleurette]

So I have an essay to do on WW2 (900 words) but i'm not sure if my structure is good. I'm not finished yet but Could anyone give me tips ?

In what ways, and to what extent, was the Second World War "total war"?

A total war is a conflict where nearly all the resources of a society are employed to defeat an opponent. The Second World War can be considered as the quintessential modern total war both by its physical and ideological scale. This essay will discuss the different ways by which the 1939-1942 war can be qualified as a total war.

The Second World War was, above all, a war of ideas. The countries involved majorly used political relations and economical redirection in order to win the war.

An example of major political action is the Alliance system established before the conflict started. All the countries in the war were attached to two main “political clans”: the alliance and the axis. The political agreements within the two groups allowed the coordination of military and economical plans. Without the alliance system many military operation would have failed: the invasion of Normandy in 1944 would most probably not have been successful if the British and American governments didn’t join forces, considering the strength of the German military plans.

The fighting countries were forced to redirect their industries to the military in order to be successful in the war. In Germany, from 1936 to 1939, two thirds of the industrial production was directed to war. Workers had longer days, French workers were imported to improve the rate of production and women were called to fulfil their husband’s jobs despite the Mother role they were assigned by Nazi ideology. Ration tickets were reintroduced in multiple European countries and Japan, where even cloth was rationed (most was used for the military). In the US, no cars were produced from 1943 to 1944 and the fridge production was completely stopped throughout the war. This was because the government directed the industries to produce cars and scientifically advanced weapons, such as the atomic bomb.

Like in all total wars, the military was intensely used in air, land and sea. All countries directed their economy and research departments to the army: Generals and scientists worked to create the most destructive weapons. The German Blietzkreig was the military tactic used to conquer Poland and expand the Nazi lebenstraum. The tactic used air bombing followed by tanks and troops armed with the newest weaponry of the time. The battle of the Atlantic was the concentration of the most elaborate technology with the development of radars and submarines. The last example we can use is the development of the Manhattan project. The $2 billion project was destined to destroy Hitler’s forces and was used even after the test proved the massive destruction it could cause.

However, what truly makes the Second World War a ‘total war’ is the importance attached to citizens, their social and cultural order.

Because a main par of the conflict was a war of perspective, the population was deeply engaged and manipulated by ideas. Propaganda was used in all countries to gain the support of its population. The Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda in Nazi Germany generated messages by radio, posters, rallies, books and films. The Nazi ideology was spread everywhere and the Gestapo watched for ones who wouldn’t listen and respect it. New laws were made so that the German people would follow the Fuhrer all the way or be executed.

Even thought it was at a smaller scale, the French Resistance emitted pirate radios and spread ideas secretly in order to counter the German one and was physically fighting in France. This proves how the two “groups of ideas” were powerful in both alliances.

Above all, civilian population was the main target militarily. The Blitz, bombing of German cities by the British and American combat planes, lead to thousands of deaths and the eradication of entire cities such as Hamburg and Dresden.

=>POW

My conclusion here

[bex]

You use a lot examples but you should remember to analyze the significance of these examples. You've done this in the first paragraph, with 'no alliance system -> failure of military operations' but try do this for each piece of evidence you introduce.

I think you need to clarify (probably in your introduction) what you (or others) define as a total war. This should pave the way for the rest of your essay. Then, analyze each aspect of your criteria in the body paragraphs. Finally, conclude with a statement that answers the 'to what extent...' question.

Hope this helps!

Edited May 4, 2014 by bex

[caliefleurette]

Thanks so much!

so I tried again:

In what ways, and to what extent, was the Second World War "total war"?

A total war is defined as a conflict where nearly all the resources of a society are employed to defeat an opponent. The Second World War can be considered as the quintessential modern total war both by its physical and ideological scale. This essay will explore the different ways by which the 1939-1942 war can be qualified as a definite total war.

The Second World War was, above all, a war of ideas. In fact, the countries involved majorly used political relations and economical redirection in order to win the war.

An example of major political action is the Alliance system established before the conflict started. All the countries in the war were attached to two main “political clans”: the alliance and the axis. The political agreements within the two groups allowed the coordination of military and economical plans. Without the alliance system many military operation would have failed: the invasion of Normandy in 1944 would most probably not have been successful if the British and American governments didn’t join forces, considering the strength of the German military plans on the French coast.

The fighting countries were forced to redirect their industries to the military in order to be successful in the war. In Germany, from 1936 to 1939, two thirds of the industrial production was directed to war. Workers had longer days, French Vichy workers were imported to improve the rate of production and women were called to fulfil their husband’s jobs despite the Mother role they were assigned by Nazi ideology. Economically wise, the people’s need were not fully satisfied as in peace times so that so that government could afford their military development. Ration tickets were reintroduced in multiple European countries and Japan, where even cloth was rationed (most was used for the military). In the US, no cars were produced from 1943 to 1944 and the fridge production was completely stopped throughout the war. This shows that states directed the industry to produce scientifically and mechanically advanced artillery in order to win the war, desired success at which all production was directed to.

In this war, like in a total war, the military was intensely used and pushed to its best competence in air, land and sea. All countries directed their economies and research departments for the army: Generals and scientists worked to create the most destructive tactics and weapons. The German Blitzkrieg was the military tactic used to conquer Poland and expand the Nazi lebensraum. The tactic used air bombing of the areas to be conquered followed by tanks and troops armed with the newest and most efficient weaponry of the time. This tactic was the fastest and most destructive ever put in place in the 20^th century and required the best weapons and generals in order to succeed. Another example is the battle of the Atlantic was the concentration of the most elaborate technology with the development of radars and submarines. Finally, the development of the Manhattan project proves that countries redirected all their areas of development to victory. The $2 billion project was destined to destroy Hitler’s forces and was used in Hiroshima and Nagasaki: the development of the great scientific advancement of splitting an uranium atom, extremely difficult to achieve given the means of the time.

The efforts made to be the most efficient militarily, from researches in sciences and schools to the education future generals (Nazi Elite Schools), prove once again that all fields in battling countries were directed to the achievement of victory.

However what truly makes the Second World War a ‘total war’ is the importance opposing parties attached to citizens and their social and cultural order.

Because a main part of the conflict was the war of perspective, populations were deeply engaged and manipulated by ideas. The French Resistance emitted pirate radios and spread ideas secretly in order to counter the German propaganda and was physically fighting in France, driven by the ideas of the Alliance. Propaganda was used in all countries to gain the support of its population. The Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda in Nazi Germany generated messages by radio, posters, rallies, books and films. The Nazi ideology was spread everywhere and the Gestapo watched for ones who didn’t listen to it and respect it. New laws were made so that the German people would follow the Fuhrer all the way or be executed.

This proves how the two “groups of ideas” were powerful and dangerous in both alliances.

Above all, instead of focusing on the opponent’s army like in the First World War, the civilian populations were the main targets of the military. Rather than staying in the trenches like in the First World War, leaders use the threat of eradicating civilians, what they found more powerful than uniquely using their armies. The Blitz, bombing of German cities by the British and American combat planes, used the most efficient bombers and techniques of the time and aimed at cities more than supply lines at the end of the war. The bombings lead to thousands of deaths, more of homeless and the eradication of entire cities such as Hamburg and Dresden. This plan destabilized Germany and greatly helped to speed up the end of the war as Hitler’s Third Reich people starting loosing faith in their leaders.

This shows how that not only the soldiers were engaged in the war: the entire population was used, manipulated by parties and ideas.

The Second World War was fully a total war as all areas of growth of a participating country were turned to the conflict: the economy, the political and social sphere, the military and most predominantly the culture. Both the Alliance and the Axis relied heavily on the full involvement of a country to win the military and ideological war. The entire populations were part of an army: by being workers, ambassadors, soldiers, scientist part of a rebel group or simply by living in a particular place. Every part of a country was fighting for their nation or sometimes against it.

Thanks so much!

Edited May 5, 2014 by caliefleurette

[bex]

Nice! The last thing I would suggest is just looking over your paper to fix any grammatical or spelling errors. Try to make your essay flow and avoid listing. Right off the bat, I notice stuff like:

"Another example is the battle of the Atlantic was the concentration of the most elaborate technology with the development of radars and submarines. "

Which is a bit of a confusing sentence. Did you mean "Another example was the concentration of the most elaborate technology with the development of radars and submarines at the battle of the Atlantic" ?

But don't worry, these are only small fixes, and I would say the overall structure of the essay is good.

Best of luck!

Edited May 5, 2014 by bex

[caliefleurette]

Thanks so much! yes proof reading it i found mistakes :/ and yes that's what i meant...

I owe you one!

Best,