The Hunger War
Food, Rations & Rationing 1914-1918
Published on 31. January 2020
272 pages
978-1-4738-7398-8 (ISBN)
Description
A fascinating study of the role that food-and the lack of it-played in the First World War, for both troops and civilians.
In the First World War, the supply of food to civilians became as significant a factor in final victory as success or defeat on the battlefields. Never before had the populations of entire countries lived under siege conditions, yet this extraordinary situation is often overlooked as a decisive factor in the outcome of the conflict.
Matthew Richardson, in this highly readable and original comparative study, looks at the food supply situation on the British, German, French, Russian, and Italian home fronts, as well as on the battlefields. His broad perspective contrasts with some narrower approaches to the subject, and brings a fresh insight into the course of the war on all the major fronts. He explores the causes of food shortages, as well as the ways in which both combatant and neutral nations attempted to overcome them. He also looks at widely differing attitudes towards alcohol during the war, the social impacts of food shortages, and the ways in which armies attempted to feed their troops in the field.
Includes photos
In the First World War, the supply of food to civilians became as significant a factor in final victory as success or defeat on the battlefields. Never before had the populations of entire countries lived under siege conditions, yet this extraordinary situation is often overlooked as a decisive factor in the outcome of the conflict.
Matthew Richardson, in this highly readable and original comparative study, looks at the food supply situation on the British, German, French, Russian, and Italian home fronts, as well as on the battlefields. His broad perspective contrasts with some narrower approaches to the subject, and brings a fresh insight into the course of the war on all the major fronts. He explores the causes of food shortages, as well as the ways in which both combatant and neutral nations attempted to overcome them. He also looks at widely differing attitudes towards alcohol during the war, the social impacts of food shortages, and the ways in which armies attempted to feed their troops in the field.
Includes photos
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Matthew Richardson
Hunger War: Food, Rations and Rationing 1914-1918
Food, Rations and Rationing 1914-1918
Book
02/2016
Pen & Sword Military
€42.00
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Person
Matthew Richardson is Curator of Social History at Manx National Heritage. He has a long term interest in military history, in particular the First and Second World Wars. This is his eleventh book for Pen & Sword, and is the culmination of many years of study and research into the role of the Isle of Man between 1939 and 1945\. He is fortunate enough to have met and spoken with many of the contributors whose words appear in this book.
