To view this media, you will require Adobe Flash 9 or higher and must have Javascript enabled.

Duration 00:57:04

Total war

This talk focuses on the concept of total war, what it means, and what it has meant over the past 200 years, with particular reference to the First and Second World Wars, the Boer War, the American Civil War and the French Revolution.

This talk was given as part of The National Archives’ Transatlantic Teachers program, delivered in partnership with the University of Virginia.

Professor Gary Sheffield is Chair of War Studies and Director of Military History at the University of Birmingham.