Total War

Otto Heidemann: Yes, I understand. But I don't agree with killing helpless men.
General Count von Klugermann: Otto, this is 1918. Things have changed. Unrestricted submarine warfare, bombing of civilians, poison gas. Ask your wife. She's a nurse. Ask Elfi about the mustard gas casualties.
Otto Heidemann: So you approve of this kind of ruthlessness?
General Count von Klugermann: We fight to win, Otto.
--The Blue Max

Article discusses the decisive German Spring Offensive of 1918 and its consequences. The offensive was the last great campaign of WWI. German leadership essentially bet the house on a massive assault on the Western Front that would end the trench warfare stalemate and win the war.

The author suggests that the German Spring Offensive was the product of a 'total war' idea that had infiltrated Germany over the course of time. Integrate the war effort with the economy by installing military heads in government seats, and cut deals with industry verticals to tilt economic output toward the military goods necessary for victory. Those who were not serving in the German military were essentially conscripted to produce output for military consumption.

The total war strategy is high risk. A country weakens as production veers away from satisfying everyday economic needs and toward a centrally planning focus on military victory. If that victory is not quickly achieved, then the feeble country is exposed to counter strikes by the enemy and, ultimately, conquest.

As we now know, that risk was realized when the German Spring Offensive failed. By the end of 1918, Germany had surrendered and the unfavorable terms of the Treaty of Versailles left the country broken and vulnerable to generations of economic and political distortion.

Unfortunately, the total war idea did not die when Germany 'went under.' In many ways, it has become the blue print for the prosecution of modern war both here and abroad.