world war 1?

Question

why was world war 1 so devastating, physically and psychologically?

Answer 1

There are many reasons why WWI was so physically and psycologically devastating for all involved. Heres a few:

1. It was a "total war" so that means that the war not only affected those where it was physcially going on but also those at home. Those 'at home' were expected to contribute to the war effort. All of the countries resources went into fighting the war. Women were even asked to join the workforce to help out.

2. All of the nations involved in the hostilities were industrialised nations. i.e. they all had manufacturing industries that helped to contribute to the war effort. Germany's rapid industrialisation and challenge to the british for control of the seas led to an arms race that was fuelled by the fact that both nations could produce quality warships in a shorter period of time than before. So in essence they could all build big shiny killing things (shells, warships, artillery, rifles) quite quickly. They could also get troops to the fronts quickly as well.

3. The war quickly denegrated into trench warfare that later led to stalemate. i.e. no one really went anywhere.

4. There were two fronts. Two major theatres of war that needed food, clothing, ammunition, fresh troops, supplies etc etc. This physically and economically stretched the great powers. For the allies It was often difficult to deliver supplies to the troops on the eastern front due to the german naval blockade. The german people had to sacrifice more and more to feed their troops on the front lines. In some instances this resulted in extended food shortages and starvation.

5. The massive number of men lost. This is largely a part of the attrition. The Somme raged for a month with countless men killed and little ground gained for the loss of human life. Gallipoli is also cited as another example of the large number of men lost for minimal gain.

6. This war was the first modern war. Many of those who survived it came back forever altered from their experiences. Many of those who fought in the trenches could identify with their enemy as disillusionment with the war set in amongst the troops.

7. Industrialisation led to the creation of toxic gasses to use in the trenches against the enemy. Mustard gas, chlorene and phosgene.

8. The war was economically crippiling after 1918 for all countries involved as basically a whole generation of young men were killed in the conflict. The workforce was naturally crippled after loosing such large sectors of the labour force.

9. The war was physically devastating to all those whos countryside was obliterated by the trenches running from dunkirk through to switzerland. French towns and farmlands were destroyed from the years of fighting and movement over the lands.

10. The war physically and psycologically drained all countries involved. WWI drained France of land, supplies, troops, money it drained Germany of troops, supplies, industry, money and Britain of Troops, supplies, money. At home it meant changes to the way that people went about their day to day life in many fundamental ways. This included rationing and women entering the workforce.

the fact that the russian revolution took place in the middle of the war and that russia withdrew from the eastern front would also have a significant affect on those troops serving.

although many saw WWI as relieving tension at the beginning of the century it soon became evident that the war to a certain point was unwinnable by conventional means.

So devastating were the effects of WWI world leaders were anxious to avoid conflict some twenty years later with Hitler's germany. This ofcourse leads into appeasement theory but none the less it is important to consider the ramifications some years down the track.

Answer 2

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World War I

Clockwise from top: Trenches on the Western Front; a British Mark IV tank crossing a trench; Royal Navy battleship HMS Irresistible sinking after striking a mine at the Battle of the Dardanelles; a Vickers machine gun crew with gas masks; and a Sopwith Camel biplane
Date 28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918
Location Europe, Africa and the Middle East (briefly in China and the Pacific Islands)
Result Allied victory. End of the German Empire, the Russian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and Austria-Hungary. Creation of many new countries in Eastern Europe.
Casus belli Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (28 June) followed by Austrian declaration of war on Serbia (28 July) and Russian mobilization against Austria-Hungary (29 July).
Combatants
Allied Powers:
France
Italy
Russia
Serbia
British Empire
United States
et al. Central Powers:
Austria-Hungary
Bulgaria
Germany
Ottoman Empire
Commanders
Ferdinand Foch
Georges Clemenceau
Victor Emmanuel III
Luigi Cadorna
Nicholas II
Aleksei Brusilov
Herbert Henry Asquith
Douglas Haig
John Jellicoe
Woodrow Wilson
John Pershing Wilhelm II
Paul von Hindenburg
Reinhard Scheer
Franz Josef I
Conrad von Hötzendorf
İsmail Enver
Ferdinand I
Casualties
Military dead:
5,520,000
Military wounded: 12,831,000
Military missing: 4,121,000[1]
Military dead:
4,386,000
Military wounded: 8,388,000
Military missing: 3,629,000[1]

World War I (abbreviated WWI), also known as the First World War, the Great War and "The War to End All Wars" was a global military conflict that took place mostly in Europe between 1914 and 1918. It was a total war which left millions dead and helped to shape the modern world.

The Allied Powers, led by France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and later Italy and the United States, defeated the Central Powers: Austria-Hungary, Germany, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire.

Much of the fighting in World War I took place along the Western Front, within a system of opposing manned trenches and fortifications (separated by a "no man's land") running from the North Sea to the border of Switzerland. On the Eastern Front, the vast eastern plains and limited rail network prevented a trench warfare stalemate from developing, although the scale of the conflict was just as large. Hostilities also occurred on and under the sea and — for the first time — from the air. More than nine million soldiers died on the various battlefields, and millions more civilians perished.

The war caused the disintegration of four empires: the Austro-Hungarian, German, Ottoman, and Russian. Germany lost its overseas empire, and states such as Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia were created, or recreated, as was the case with Poland.

World War I created a decisive break with the old world order that had emerged after the Napoleonic Wars, which was modified by the mid-19th century’s nationalistic revolutions. The results of World War I would be important factors in the development of World War II 21 years later.

Answer 3

it was the first industrialized war, countries were going through the industrial revolution and were building better technology and better ways to kill people. in reality they were all waiting for an excuse to war and that it would be over in a couple months.

Answer 4

http://histclo.com/essay/war/war-ww1.html This site has some really good insight into the why exactly this war became so devastating.

Answer 5

It was the first war fought on such a grand scale.

Answer 6

massive death and destruction ( for the first time on a worldwide - sorta - scale )

Answer 7

Please see my answer to this same question you asked prior to this one.

Same answer applies.

Thanks.