Often, World War II overshadows World War I when it comes to discussing total war, because World War I can be considered a limited war. A limited war has specific objectives while a total war involves the entire nation and its destruction. An examination of events before 1914 and events between 1914 and 1918 reveals the extent to which World War I was a total war. Before the war began, the dominant nations of Europe were preoccupied with their own dramatic internal circumstances. France was witnessing a major murder trial. Britain had problems with Ireland. Russia was trying to rebuild itself after the destruction of previous wars. German society was worried about the fate of the socialists. In Austria, it was the Czechs against the Germans and in Hungary, it was the Magyars against the Romanians. The Serbian civilian government did not get along with its army. Each of these internal conflicts weakened the countries in which they took place, as citizens were divided among themselves and took sides. This allowed for a less unified nation. Time, resources and money were spent on internal conflicts. Above all, everyone's attention was diverted to national issues rather than international issues. World War I was somewhat unexpected since everyone was focused on their own country's affairs and assumed that the conflict between Austria-Hungary and Serbia would remain localized. If the surrounding countries had been more interested in the relations of Austria-Hungary, Serbia and Germany, they could have mounted an intervention, serving as mediators and deterring a hostile Serbia from attacking the Austro-Hungarian monarchy ; and prevented the monarchy from retaliating and war from its government. Germany and its citizens continued to be punished when peace negotiations took place. The peace negotiations forced Germany to accept full responsibility for the war and required it to pay large sums of money in reparations. These negotiations were important because the Allied Powers knew that the demands would be difficult for Germany to meet. It shows how, even off the battlefield, the Allied powers were determined to destroy Germany. The analysis of events before 1914 and those between 1914 and 1918 is important because it explains why World War I was a total war. Starting as a regional war and turning into a global war, affecting nations that were both directly and indirectly involved in the fighting and resulting in the devastation of Germany are all ways in which World War I was a total war..