{"id":1016,"date":"2015-09-22T07:01:48","date_gmt":"2015-09-22T07:01:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/?p=1016"},"modified":"2026-04-22T19:21:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T19:21:19","slug":"home-front-of-world-war-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/home-front-of-world-war-i\/","title":{"rendered":"Home Front of World War I: A Detailed Summary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The home front was a major aspect of\u00a0World War I<\/a>\u00a0and played a key role in the history and significance of the war.\u00a0 The home front involved the societies for the different nations involved and the issues faced by the citizens who did not fight in the front lines of World War I.\u00a0 For instance, all of the countries involved in World War I were impacted on the home front in different ways.\u00a0 With that said, there were some similar issues faced by all of the nations involved.\u200b\u00a0 This article focuses on the similar issues faced by most countries on the home front during World War I.\u00a0 Click on the list of links below to read more specific details about individual countries and their home fronts during the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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HOME FRONT OF WORLD WAR I – CIVILIAN DEATHS<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First and foremost, despite World War I being devastating for the soldiers on the front lines, it was also terrible for the civilians on the home front.\u00a0 For instance, historians estimate that as many as 7 million civilians died as a result of the events of World War I<\/a>.\u00a0 This large death toll was the result of a few different factors.\u00a0 First, civilians suffered due to battles that affected cities and towns across the battlefields of Europe.\u00a0 For example, the trenches<\/a> of the\u00a0Western Front<\/a>\u00a0stretched through areas across Belgium and northeastern France, including through farms, towns and cities.\u00a0 This displaced numerous people in the region and led to casualties among the civilian populations of Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Australia
Australian soldiers during the Third Battle of Ypres in 1917. Note the destroyed landscape of northern France. (Colorized by historycrunch.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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HOME FRONT OF WORLD WAR I – ROLE OF WOMEN<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u200bAnother common impact of the home fronts of World War I was the impacts for women<\/a>. World War I is considered to be an example of a total war, which involves all aspects of society being used towards the war effort.\u00a0 For example, during World War I many men volunteered for war while agriculture and factories on the home front were all producing to further the cause of war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since many of the men in these societies were gone to the front lines, World War I saw women enter the workforce in large numbers for the first time.  These women took jobs in factories that produced the weapons of war.  As well, they worked in in office buildings and other positions.  This new role for women occurred at the same time as popular feminist and suffrage movements across North America and Europe wherein women fought for and won the right to vote in general elections.  This was a transformative event in the history of these countries and seriously affected the home fronts of many countries involved in World War I.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Women
American women working in an ordnance shop in Pennsylvania in 1918. (Colorized by historycrunch.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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HOME FRONT OF WORLD WAR I – RESOURCES<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Another issue for civilian populations was the lack of resources.\u00a0 For instance, the German home front went through a period of hardship during the course of the war.\u00a0 The period from 1916 until 1917 is referred to as the \u2018Turnip Winter\u2019 in Germany due to the lack of food choices for the German citizens.\u00a0 Instead, citizens were left to eat turnips, which were most often used to feed livestock.\u00a0 Furthermore, historians estimate that as many as 474,000 German citizens died as a result of malnutrition.\u00a0 Finally, the home front was impact by the events of the\u00a0Flu Pandemic of 1918 (Spanish Flu)<\/a>.\u00a0 This pandemic hit the home fronts of World War I near the end of the war, but devastated the lives for both soldiers and civilians.\u00a0 As such, these factors combined to create a terrible situation for civilians on the home front.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related to total war, governments across North America and Europe controlled the production and use of resources to ensure that as many resources were being put towards the war effort as possible.\u00a0 For example, citizens on the home front were required to ration food items and other resources in order to make them for use on the frontlines.\u00a0 It was the belief of military generals that well fed soldiers would help overcome the enemy and bring about an end to the war.\u00a0 The rationing of food included items such as: sugar, butter, meat and bread.\u00a0 For Britain<\/a>, an island nation, the rationing was even more important because German submarines<\/a> in the North Atlantic sunk merchant ships and slowed the supply of trade to and from the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Home
‘Food Don’t Waste It’ World War I Poster – US Food Administration (Library of Congress)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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HOME FRONT OF WORLD WAR I – PROPAGANDA<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In order to promote rationing and other initiatives, the governments of the time used propaganda<\/a> to convince citizens of certain messages.\u00a0\u00a0Propaganda\u00a0is a form of political messaging that promotes certain initiatives and other government sponsored goals.\u00a0 For example, governments issued propaganda that worked to recruit soldiers for the war, ration certain items and to demonize the enemy.\u00a0 Citizens on the home front were subjected to constant messaging to ensure they supported the war effort and to maintain the push towards victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Australia
Australia World War I Propaganda (Imperial War Museum)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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HOME FRONT OF WORLD WAR I – CONSCRIPTION<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Finally, citizens on the home front were impacted when their governments decided to draft or conscript soldiers for war.  This means that the government had passed laws making military service mandatory.  Countries did this in order to increase numbers in the armed service in the hopes of making the final advance towards victory and to bring an end to the fighting in World War I.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Canada
Protest against conscriptrion in 1917 at Victoria Square, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Colorized by historycrunch.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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SIGNIFICANCE OF THE HOME FRONT OF WORLD WAR I<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In all, life on the home front changed dramatically during the course of World War I, and the civilians on the home front faced many different challenges.  While all of the nations of World War I experienced similar challenges on the home front, there were also many differences, which were unique to each individual country.  As such, in order to understand the impact of World War I on the home front of each nation, it is important to learn about the history of each country during the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click on the links below to read more detailed information about the home front of the different major nations of World War I:<\/p>\n\n\n\n