Total War and the Civilian Population, 1917–18

Abstract

The prolongation of hostilities into a third and fourth winter naturally entailed an intensification of local economic activity. ‘Grenoble’, wrote Chastenet in February 1917, ‘has become a veritable industrial centre thanks to the tremendous efforts of our industrialists, merchants and workers.’¹ By January 1917 there were ninety-three factories in the Isère working full time on direct munitions production (not counting sub-contractors), employing a total of 13 517 people. By mid-1918 the number of private and State-owned munitions establishments had increased to 157.²