Editing First World War (section)

== Warfare and home fronts ==

The war depended on mass conscription and industrial production. Governments controlled rail transport and shipping. They also regulated the allocation of food. Rationing expanded as the war continued. Civilian factories were redirected toward weapons and ammunition, while women entered work previously performed mainly by mobilized men.

Artillery caused most battlefield casualties. Machine guns and barbed wire strengthened defensive positions. Poison gas was used from 1915. Tanks first appeared in combat in 1916 and were employed in larger numbers during the final Allied offensives. Aircraft developed from reconnaissance machines into fighters and bombers. Submarines became central to the naval campaign.

States used censorship and propaganda to maintain public support. Emergency laws restricted political activity and reporting. Shortages produced strikes and unrest in several countries during 1917 and 1918.

[[Oskar Dirlewanger]] joined the German Army on 1 October 1913 and served during the war as a machine gunner and officer. He fought on the Western Front, suffered several wounds and held the rank of lieutenant by the end of the conflict.