3. How did total war affect soldiers on the

battlefield?

Rationing occurred on the home fronts. One of the features of Total War in Britain was the use of propaganda posters to divert all attention to the War on the home front ... The effects of WW1 propaganda are still around today aiding many of the very strong opinions harbored by many.

We may think that for soldiers (of any country and any service) in WWI total war meant war 24/7. This simply mean that the soldier never really "disconnected" from the horror of the front being continuously under pressure from the traumatic experiences suffered on the front line (heavy bombing, machine gun massacres, poisonous gasses, torpedoing, snipers, filth, disease, vermin and in general ... horrible misery) even if resting far from it.

It is interesting to notice the huge numbers of reported cases of shock and paranoia induced by shelling (shellshock) or fatigue that affected many soldiers (before they were treated simply as cowards but during WWI the incredible number of soldiers affected led the authorities to recognize it as a real issue and a kind of disease).