The Hunger War: Food, Rations & Rationing 1914-1918

World War I introduced a lot of firsts to the world. It was the first war with global consequences. It was also the first war where high technology made it possible for truly staggering numbers of dead soldiers and civilians. Worst of all, this global war made possible truly dire consequences concerning the supply of food to all sides. In The Hunger War: Food, Rations & Rationing 1914-1918, Matthew Richardson offers an in-depth look at how this conflict led to famine, supply problems, and other maladies related to food shortages.

The first chapter is devoted to the primary fronts of the war, specifically to how the soldiers of these key fronts were fed and the challenges involved in doing so. Also covered is how civilians who were trapped behind the lines due to enemy advances were affected and what that had on their continued sustenance.

The second chapter covers the secondary fronts of the war. While some were tertiary and by no means essential to the victory of either side, they presented their own unique challenges in feeding troops.

The third chapter is dedicated to the involvement of Russia in the war and its challenges in feeding its troops and its own civilians. Special attention is given in this chapter to the civilian side, as the author is able to trace a fairly direct line to food distribution failures and the Russian Revolution of 1917 that eventually took Russia out of the war.

The fourth chapter is dedicated to the British home front. It's shown that the outbreak of war led to pronounced shortages and the measures taken by the British government to weather these crises. The effects of Germany's submarine warfare on food shipments are addressed in detail as well.

The fifth chapter changes perspective to Germany. Much like the British government, it too tried to address shortages. Initially, it even seemed that Germany had been better prepared for doing so. As the author reveals, however, in many ways the shortage of food became even more dire as the fortunes of war turned decidedly against Germany.

Italy and France are covered jointly in the sixth chapter. While both countries suffered from invading enemies, which cut off valuable sources of resupply, both countries had different challenges. France was somewhat better able to fend for herself in the most part, while Italy wound up requiring external assistance to maintain the health of her troops and people.

The seventh chapter is dedicated to the allies of Germany, the Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary. At the outset, both countries appeared to be somewhat prepared to deal with the challenges of war. It is quickly shown that due to poor infrastructure, inefficiency, and corruption both empires suffered on both the military and civilian fronts. Most importantly, a massive overestimation of their ability to deal with wide-scale food shortages led both empires to their dissolution.

The eighth chapter is devoted to the United States. While the author concedes the United States was generally the best off in terms of avoiding starvation, the US had its own problems. Being the breadbasket for the other Allies, this did lead to noticeable shortages of staple foods. While never to the point of causing mass civil unrest, there were some food riots due to rising costs caused by the war effort.

The final chapter covers the "major neutral nations". While these countries never officially declared war for either side, they had a delicate balancing act to play. Many were surrounded on many or all sides by belligerents, and they had to take care not to offend either side too greatly to avoid fatal losses of trade, especially in food.

The epilogue is a simple summary of the author's conclusions based on the evidence laid out in prior chapters.

Overall, I recommend this book. It's straightforward, has lavish records and personal accounts to round out the narrative, and would be of value to anyone studying World War I. It can be purchased in Kindle or Hardback on Amazon.