What would be a good maxim or saying that sums up what WWI teaches?

Answer 1

There's no such thing as balance of power. There is such a thing as balance of terror.

Answer 2

There are a couple of lessons to learn from WWI. The first is that the loser needs to know and agree that they in fact lost and did so because the victor won. What I mean is that the German people did not believe that the allies beat them but rather their own military let them down. (they started to mutiny etc) The second is that victors must treat the losers with respect and dignity once the war has ended. Hitler came to power based on what the German people felt was a royal shafting that they recieved by the allies. The way WWI ended and the treatment of Germany by the allies directly led to WWI. The lesson was learned and the allies treated Germany and Japan with respect and dignity after WWII. For instance both recieved massive amounts of aid to rebuild while after WWI Germany was the one expected to pay everyone else. A third lesson is about how alliances/treaties can pull so many nations into a war over something as miniscule and irrelevent as the assassination of an unpopular figure like the Archduke.

Answer 3

Never get involved in a land war in Asia.