The Hunger War. Food, Rations and Rationing 1914 - 1918

The supply of food to civilians became as significant a factor in the final victory in the war as success or defeat on the battlefields. Never before had the civilian populations of the combatant countries lived under what were often siege like conditions. This is often overlooked as a decisive element in the outcome of the conflict. This is an original, comparative study which looks at the supply situation on the British, French, Russian, Italian and German home fronts, as well as on the battlefields themselves.