Primarily what I'm asking is, how did Germany manage to create a continuous supply of ammunition (primarily to the artillery, as these I assume were most likely very expensive to make), especially with the naval blockades put in place by Britain and the fact that most of the working class men were either on the front lines, dead, or unable to work.
how did Germany manage to create a continuous supply of ammunition (primarily to the artillery, as these I assume were most likely very expensive to make), especially with the naval blockades put in place by Britain and the fact that most of the working class men were either on the front lines, dead, or unable to work.
For one thing, Germany was the leading producer of coal and steel in pre-WWI Europe, so they had access to their own resources, plus those of Austria-Hungary and occupied France and Belgium for making actual shell casings and artillery pieces. As for propellant, Fritz Haber had patented the Haber Process in 1913, allowing for Germany to produce it's own ammonia for explosives, propellants and fertilizer during the war.
As for the labour issue, after August 1916 the Hindenburg Programme was put in place, requiring every German male ages 16 to 60 to be involved in some form of 'vital war work.' Combined with increasing numbers of women in the work force, and the recall of c. 1 million troops from the western front to help with the harvest of 1916-17 and in industry, Germany was able to sustain and even increase production of artillery and shells. New factories were also built, but this ate into German coal reserves, while the hardships imposed on civilians increased along with the strain of the Blockade. In the end, the Hindenburg Programme allowed Germany to survive the second half of the war, but as historian Jack Sheldon put it, "designed to marshal all the resources of the German nation for total war, it became ultimately the catalyst for disaster and ruin."
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