Question

How was total war different from any other wars before WWI?

Answer 1

Hint:Total war was warfare which includes all civilian-associated resources and infrastructure as targets by the military and they urge all of the resources of society to get involved in the war. This approach of the warfare involves non-combatant needs. Total war is classified as a separate class of warfare by modern scholars.

Complete answer:
The term “total war" was possibly originated in the 1935 publication of German general Erich Ludendorff's World War I memoir known as Der totale Krieg ("The total war"). World War I was categorized as a ‘total war’ because it involved multiple governments, economies and populations of the nations who were participating in the war rather than it being a complete military strike. This was never the case of earlier wars. to an extent never seen before in history. Old conflicts like the Crimean War and the colonial wars were based on national effort but they did not affect the population at large.
Soon after the declaration of war, Westminster made the Realm Act which authorised the government to mobilise for war. Under Defence of the Realm provisions, the government was able to put censorship, for all forms of media and arrest any suspected enemy agents without trial. The government also formed departments to coordinate other areas of the economy, including food, labour and maritime transport. As the after effect of the war, the economy collapsed and the loss of lives and infrastructure were massive in amount. All these indications make WWI a total war.

Note:In the modern era, Total War is defined as;"Total war is warfare that includes any and all civilian-associated resources and infrastructure as legitimate military targets, mobilizes all of the resources of society to fight the war, and gives priority to warfare over non-combatant needs. The American-English Dictionary defines total war as "war that is unrestricted in terms of the weapons used, the territory or combatants involved, or the objectives pursued, especially one in which the laws of war are disregarded."