Total war is a war in which a belligerent engages in the complete mobilization of fully available resources and population.
In the mid-19th century, "total war" was identified by scholars as a separate class of warfare. In a total war, there is less differentiation between combatants and civilians than in other conflicts, and sometimes no such differentiation at all, as nearly every human resource, civilians and soldiers alike, can be considered to be part of the belligerent effort.
Playing a major part in main conflicts from the French Revolutionary Wars to the World War II, the employment of total war was replaced in the modern era for cheaper, quicker and more effective policies including Guerrilla warfare and the adoption of weapons of mass destruction.
Read more about Total War: Etymology
Famous quotes containing the words total and/or war:
“When I turned into a parent, I experienced a real and total personality change that slowly shifted back to the “normal” me, yet has not completely vanished. I believe the two levels are now superimposed, with an additional sprinkling of mortality intimations.”
—Sonia Taitz (20th century)
“As for charity, it is a matter in which the immediate effect on the persons directly concerned, and the ultimate consequence to the general good, are apt to be at complete war with one another.”
—John Stuart Mill (1806–1873)