What is Total War Definitions and Examples

Total war is a strategy in which militaries use any means necessary to win, including those considered morally or ethically wrong in the context of warfare. The goal is not only to decimate but to demoralize the enemy beyond recovery so that they are unable to continue fighting. Key Takeaways Total war is a war fought without limitations on targets or weapons.Ideological or religious conflicts are more likely to give rise to total war.Total wars have occurred throughout history and include the third Punic War, the Mongol Invasions, the Crusades and the two World Wars. Definition of Total War Total war is mainly characterized by the lack of distinction between fighting lawful combatants and civilians. The purpose is to destroy the other contender’s resources so that they are unable to continue to wage war. This might include targeting major infrastructure and blocking access to water, internet, or imports (often through blockades). Additionally, in total war, there is no limit on the type of weapons used and biological, chemical, nuclear, and other weapons of mass destruction may be unleashed. While state-sponsored imperialist wars tend to have the greatest numbers of casualties, it is not the number of casualties alone that defines a total war. Smaller conflicts across the globe, such as tribal wars, incorporate aspects of total war by kidnapping, enslaving, and killing civilians. This deliberate targeting of civilians elevates less expansive wars to the level of total war. A nation waging total war may also impact its own citizens through a mandatory draft, rationing, propaganda, or other efforts deemed necessary to support the war on the home front. History of Total War Total war began in the Middle Ages and continued through the two World Wars. While there have long been cultural, religious and political norms expressing who should and should not be targeted in war, there was no international ordinance describing the laws of war until the Geneva Conventions, which created the International Humanitarian Law (IHL). Total War in the Middle Ages Some of the earliest and most significant examples of total war occurred in the Middle Ages, during the Crusades, a series of holy wars fought in the 11th century. During this period, it is estimated that over one million people were killed. Soldiers sacked and burned countless villages in the name of preserving their respective religions. The population of entire cities was slain in an attempt to completely destroy the basis of their adversaries’ support. Genghis Khan, the 13th-century Mongolian conqueror, followed a strategy of total war. He founded the Mongol Empire, which grew as he and his troops spread across Northeast Asia, seizing cities, and slaughtering large portions of their populations. This prevented uprisings in the defeated cities, as they did not have the human or material resources to rebel. One of the best examples of Khan’s use of this type of warfare is his largest invasion, which was against the Khwarazmian Empire. He sent hundreds of thousands of troops across the empire to kill the citizens without discrimination and enslave others to be used as human shields in later battles. This scorched earth policy holds that the best way to win a war is to ensure that the opposition cannot mount a second attack. Total War in the 18th and 19th Centuries During the French Revolution, the Revolutionary Tribunal engaged in acts of total war, nicknamed â€Å"The Terror.† During this period, the Tribunal executed anyone who did not show fervent and undying support of the Revolution. Thousands of people also died in prison awaiting trial. During the Napoleonic Wars that followed the revolution, it is estimated that approximately five million people died over the twenty-year period. During this time, Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte became known for his savagery. People March Thru Georgia Following Sherman. Bettmann Archive / Getty Images Another famous example of total war occurred during the American Civil War with Sherman’s March to the Sea. After successfully capturing Atlanta, Georgia, the Union Major General William T. Sherman marched his troops toward Savannah to the Atlantic Ocean. Along this route, General Sherman and Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant burned and sacked smaller towns in order to destroy the South’s economic basis—the plantations. This strategy was intended to demoralize the Confederates and destroy their infrastructure so that neither the soldiers nor the civilians had the supplies to mobilize for the war effort. The World Wars: Total War and the Home Front Nations in World War I mobilized their own civilians for the war effort through forced conscription, military propaganda, and rationing, all of which can all be aspects of total war. People who had not consented were made to sacrifice food, supplies, time, and money to aid the war. When it comes to the conflict itself, the United States initiated the four-year Blockade of Germany which starved citizens and soldiers alike and debilitated the nation’s access to resources. In addition to blocking food and agriculture supplies, the blockade also restricted their access to foreign weapon imports. During World War II, much like the previous World War, both the Allies and the Axis powers utilized conscription and civilian mobilization on all fronts. Propaganda and rationing continued, and civilians were expected to work longer hours to compensate for human capital lost during the war. Much like World War I, the Allies targeted German citizens to hasten the end of the conflict. The British and American forces firebombed the German city of Dresden because it was one of Germany’s industrial capitals. The bombing destroyed the nation’s railways system, aircraft factories, and other resources. Atomic Bombs: Mutually Assured Destruction The practice of total war, however, largely ended with World War II, as nuclear war assured mutually assured destruction. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States showed the apocalyptic possibilities of total nuclear war. Five years after this event, the International Humanitarian Law outlawed any weapons that were indiscriminate (and though nuclear weapons are not explicitly mentioned, many agree they are prohibited under this clause). Total war impacts civilians as well as combatants. A little girl carries jerrycans after she filled them up with clean water from a charity pump during a continuing clean water crisis on July 24, 2018 in Sanaa, Yemen. Mohammed Hamoud / Getty Images Conclusion While the IHL helped curb total war by making the deliberate targeting of civilians illegal, it did not end the use of certain strategies, such as mandatory military service in Israel, South Korea, Armenia (and many others), or the destruction of civilian homes, such as in the Syrian Civil War, or the deliberate targeting of civilians in the war in Yemen. Sources Ansart, Guillaume. The Invention of Modern State Terrorism during the French Revolution. University of Indiana, 2011.Saint-Amour, Paul K. â€Å"On the Partiality of Total War.†Ã‚  Critical Inquiry, vol. 40, no. 2, 2014, pp. 420–449.  JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/674121.Haines, Amy R. â€Å"Total War and the American Civil War: An Exploration of the Applicability of the Label Total War  to the Conflict of 1861-1865. Undergraduate Research Journal at UCCS. Volume 3.2 (2010):12-24.

Dangerous Social Forces - 1185 Words

Social forces always come along with behaviors, whether they’re good or bad. They create who people are and can even help identify who we are. Those forces can even help with identifying others too. But they can become dangerous and they shape who a person will grow up to be. If theyre influenced to do amazing things or horrible things, help others in need or ignore them. Social forces are beyond our control. Nothing can change them. Social forces influence identities and become dangerous. Gender, race, time and place are just three social forces. All can have negative effects associated with them, the stereotyping of gender, saying that a girl has to dress nice, or cook in the kitchen, race and being discriminated against for not being†¦show more content†¦His racial identity was enough to be unfair. It gets dangerous when people get mistreated because of their race. It wasn’t uncommon for people, even kids, to call Tom a â€Å"nigger†. Name calling is used to make someone less human. Race and name calling go together. And no matter what race you are, there will be a word that people will associate your identity. In the Bruce Janu Race forum, it wasn’t unheard of to hear about a racial lynching. That just because a person is black, they dont deserve to live. A persons identity would decide if that person would die or not. When a persons identity is associated with death, its dangerous. In the article, â€Å"America is Still A Deeply Racist Country† the author Chris Arnade said how he was sitting at a bar and overheard someone say, â€Å"Well if a nigger can be president, then I can have another drink.† (Arnade 1) A president is a president, and when a person adds his identity, thats where the hate starts. â€Å"...my childhood was defined by race. It was why our car was shot at, why threats were made to burn our house down, why some neighbors forbid me to play on their lawn.† (Arnade 1) A persons identi ty changes peoples respective on you. 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Lessons learnt from failure Free Essays

Failure, it comes to everyone in different measures but only a handful of them gain from it. I also experienced a heart breaking failure which had a great impact on my life. At the age of seven I was introduced to chess. We will write a custom essay sample on Lessons learnt from failure or any similar topic only for you Order Now Though I did not have any Inclination towards the game my parents wanting me to stay occupied enrolled me in a chess academy where I learnt to play chess. I took to chess very quickly and surprisingly In a week’s time I started playing better than most of the guys my age. I started winning trophies and certificates and playing lots of tournaments and inning most of them. I gained recognition and became famous In my town as a chess champion. I even won the state level championship which proved I was better than thousands of players In my state. All this at the tender age of ten made me an overconfident boy with a â€Å"greater than thou attitude However as a child I did not realize the amount of hard work and practice that I would have to put In to reach the national levels. I started taking things for granted, those early wins had gone to my head and though my parents encouraged me to practice I was reluctant as there was to much challenge for me in my small town. Hence I started playing chess on the computer and soon I reached the level with the highest difficulty, but very soon I got bored of it. The happiness that I would get from defeating a real person eluded me when played in front of a machine, which resulted in me getting disinterested in practicing chess, failing to realize that without practice I would never reach my goal of becoming a national champion. My parents persuaded me a lot but I was stubborn and did not realize that I would soon lose the mastery I developed with so much effort. Though I had stopped playing chess I never lost my overconfident attitude. Ultimately the time came for me to play the qualifying rounds for the national level tournament, as expected I went there overconfident of victory and played such an important tournament without any practice. The results were obvious, I was defeated in the very first round and at that moment I experienced the worst failure in my life. At that time I realized my game had degraded and my skills as a chess player had deteriorated. I lost my confidence and became utterly dejected and devastated and eve up on chess. This was the biggest mistake of my life as I let depression get the better of me. I was deeply hurt and ashamed and withdrew into my shell for quite some time. After a couple of years one of my female competitor went on to become a grand master in chess , lots was being written about her In the news papers along with displays of photographs, making me feel all the more ashamed of myself. That ‘s when learnt the most valuable lessons which will stay with me for the rest of my life. First one was that never ever give up on your dream come what may, In other words resistance Is paramount and second one was that nothing can be gained without hard work. Now as my academics also require attention I have resumed playing chess just as my hobby, at the same time I have firmly resolved to give my best to whatever I decide to do in life and steer the ship of my life to the shores of success. I am a totally different person after tasting failure and I feel I am more mature and more committed as an individual and am sure that I will bring value as a person to which ever institution I get admission to. Seasons learnt from failure By Garn-Ideas inclination towards the game my parents wanting me to stay occupied enrolled me in surprisingly in a weeks time I started playing better than most of the guys my age. I winning most of them. I gained recognition and became famous in my town as a than thousands of players in my state. All this at the tender age often made me an overcon fident boy with a â€Å"greater than thou attitude â€Å". However as a child I did not realize the amount of hard work and practice that I would have to put in to reach the when I played in front of a machine, which resulted in me getting disinterested in Ultimately the time came for me to play the qualifying rounds for the national level grand master in chess , lots was being written about her in the news papers along with displays of photographs, making me feel all the more ashamed of myself. That’s when I learnt the most valuable lessons which will stay with me for the rest of my life. First one was that never ever give up on your dream come what may, in other words persistence is paramount and second one was that nothing can be gained without chess Just as my hobby, at the same time I have firmly resolved to give my best to How to cite Lessons learnt from failure, Papers

Boys Lives Essay Example For Students

Boys Lives Essay As everyone knows, within the human race there are males and there are females. We all figure out what our gender identity is at a young age. For boys, male toys like building blocks and trucks and sports like baseball and soccer help a boy form into what society considers to be a man. Society believes that boys should grow up to be strong, dependant and bread winning in order to be a real man. These social standards that are expected from boys, can also be explained by social roles. We are cast into social roles at the moment we are born. These social roles construct boys to be a certain way and follow the set boy code. Boys are taught to stay clear from emotional openness, vulnerability, and dependance. We are also taught to not let others know when we feel scared , depressed or when we are happy and in love. The most important rule altogether for boys, is to stay away from anything that people think of as being feminine. Society has made it clear that in order to be a real man, yo u must be a leader, successful, in control, confident, decisive, independent, serious, and self-reliant. Naturally, families have a large influence on boys development, considering they are the people who the boy spends the most time with and also they are the ones who raise and shape him into who he becomes. The two main influences on the boys development are obviously the mother and the father. In a boys life it is commonly seen for the boy to be much closer to his mother. A mother is usually the one who boys can express their feelings more openly, opposed to the father who is more of just a male role model for the boy. The mother and sons relationship can serve as a drastic formation of the boys personality. If a boy is very close to his mother, then he will more likely be in touch with emotions and feelings. Mothers can help a boy express his feelings more, because he feels safer and more comfortable with his mother. When a boy is with his father he is going to act out the boy code more, in order to make his father happy because in is only natural to act the way the boys largest rol e model (his father) does. A boy would never go crying to his father with his problems because his father, because he wouldnt want his father to think he was a sissy. A father seems to be more interested in making the boy to be as masculine as possible, and punishing him for any feminine acts. Also most fathers are rasing there sons the same way that they were brought up. If the father in the family was brought up in a strict household, where his father ruled and made sure his son was tough and manly, then that he will grow up and do the same to his sons. When boys are growing up they are surrounded by mixed messages. They are taught by society, that in order to be a real man, you mustnt show your emotions, feelings, and you cant cry or do anything that a girl would do. However at the same time, in todays politically correct world, people are getting the message across that men should show their feminine side and be aloud to express their emotions. These mixed messages in society, t hrow an average boy into a world of confusion. Boys dont know how to behave in their everyday lives. This confusion causes many boys to have very low self-esteems and a large buildup of emotions. The boys dont express their true emotions over time and they build up, until the boys self-esteem is crushed. Another addition to the lowing of boys self-esteem, once again falls back on society. Society puts a lot of emphasis on how most boys are trouble makers in school and are the toughest to keep under control. In school, boys are looked at simply as interferences to the girls in the class, and keep them from learning. Since this is the way that teachers look at the boys in their class, it definitely places a large impact on how the boys act. The boys feel as if they have to fulfil the stereotypes that these adults have of them. This is the other reason why boys feel as if they have to live up to and fulfil the typical boy code society places on them. .ucb564bb21cfd934419bccb5def7f354d , .ucb564bb21cfd934419bccb5def7f354d .postImageUrl , .ucb564bb21cfd934419bccb5def7f354d .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ucb564bb21cfd934419bccb5def7f354d , .ucb564bb21cfd934419bccb5def7f354d:hover , .ucb564bb21cfd934419bccb5def7f354d:visited , .ucb564bb21cfd934419bccb5def7f354d:active { border:0!important; } .ucb564bb21cfd934419bccb5def7f354d .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ucb564bb21cfd934419bccb5def7f354d { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ucb564bb21cfd934419bccb5def7f354d:active , .ucb564bb21cfd934419bccb5def7f354d:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ucb564bb21cfd934419bccb5def7f354d .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ucb564bb21cfd934419bccb5def7f354d .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ucb564bb21cfd934419bccb5def7f354d .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ucb564bb21cfd934419bccb5def7f354d .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ucb564bb21cfd934419bccb5def7f354d:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ucb564bb21cfd934419bccb5def7f354d .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ucb564bb21cfd934419bccb5def7f354d .ucb564bb21cfd934419bccb5def7f354d-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ucb564bb21cfd934419bccb5def7f354d:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Sexual & AsexualBibliography:Pollack, William. Real Boys First Owl Books, New York, NY. 1999