Why was world war one/ ww1 called the great war?

Question

its a history project that i have to do so any info would be really great, thanks :]

Answer 1

Not only was the first time that all the European powers had gone to war simitaniously (well since 1815), fighting also occured all over the world - a war between the Allies (Russia France British-Empire Italy US Japan Rumania Serbia Belgium Greece Portugal Montenegro) and the Central Powers (Germany Austria-Hungary Turkey Bulgaria) from 1914 to 1918.

Thus it was a 'great' big war. It was also seen as the war to end all wars - nobody was in the mood to fight after this conflict, or so they thought at the time. For Austria-Hungary it was a war to save a decaying empire; for Germany, it was a chance to undo the legacy of Revolutionary France and the dominance of money-grabbing market forces in Britain and the USA; for France, it was a war for civilization; and for Britain for liberalism and the rights of small nations.

History can not be judged till after the event, and about thirty years after the event at that, so the name World War, started to creap into the popular vocabulary in the mid 1920's - when it became apparent that there may be another war. American Historians were arguing about the causes of the Great European War, - and the came to the conclusion that when American entrance into the conflict, it became the world war (Charles Seymour of Yale University and the popular historian Charles A. Beard).

However the idea of a "World War" was coined speculatively some years before the first World War broke out, probably as a literal translation of the German word 'Weltkrieg'

The Oxford English Dictionary cites the first known usage as being in April 1909, in the pages of the Westminster Gazette. They were commenting on the complex system of opposing alliances — was likely to lead to a global conflict in the event of war breaking out. The fact that the powers involved had large overseas empires virtually guaranteed that a conflict would be global, as the colonies' resources would be a crucial strategic factor.

Howere, again the specific term 'First World War' was actually coined in 1914. German biologist and philosopher Ernst Haeckel wrote this shortly after the start of the war:

“ There is no doubt the the course and character of the feared "European War"...will become the first world war the full sense of the word. Indianapolis Star September 20, 1914"

But it did not enter academic use until 1931.

Thus prior to 1939, the European war of 1914–1918 was usually called either the World War or the Great War. Only after the start of hostilities in 1939 did it become commonly known as the 'The First Great War'.

This is easily observed today when visiting the numerous First World War monuments and memorials to be found throughout the world. Such memorials, most of which were constructed in the 1920s plainly refer to the World War or Great War. Occasionally, a contemporary marker will indicate 1919 as the year the war ended (e.g., The World War, 1914–1919) which refers to the date of the Treaty of Versailles as the official end of the war rather than the Armistice in 1918 which in effect ended the actual hostilities.

WWII was original called the second great war, but it was dubbed WWII when Hitler invaded Russia - Operation Barbarossa on June 22, 1941, by the English press in an effort to make the Americans join in the conflict (they joined in after Pearl Harbour in 1942). Thus making the former 'great War, become WWI in conversation..

Answer 2

First, there is the vastness of how many areas were touched by the war. In France and Belgium was a line of trenches stretching from the English channel all the way to the Swiss border. In Russia and Poland from the Baltic to the Black Sea. Another front in the Italian Alps, a front in the Balkans, also in the middle East and the Gallipoli peninsula, not to mention in the lower African colonies.Never before had there been a war that involved as many countries as this,
It was considered a war that had made wars obsolete, the new technologies of war caused such stalemates and left over 10 million people dead, people thought a government would never be willing to go to war again.
After the war, leaders thought they had solved the reasons for war by giving sovereignty to the many ethnic groups that have always struggled for self rule. The war was also brought the end to many Empires, there was no more Hapsburg Austria - Hungarian Empire, no more Ottoman empire, The Tzar's empire in Russia had collapsed, The Kaiser abdicated and the British Empire allowed self rule in its colonies
There was also the new League of Nations for countries to talk out their issues instead of going to war, it was thought that the war made countries realize war had become obsolete.

Answer 3

Yes, I think because of the scale, and the transformative effect it had on those who fought in it. For example, France, the agressor country in the Napoleonic Wars which fought from Germany to Russia to Egypt, all across Europe and the Mediterranean, cost about 800,000 French lives (that is including illnesses as well as combat deaths) The Napoleonic wars were 12 years long. WW1 was 4 years long. 1.4 million French soldiers died. 10% of the population of active males. Germany lost 15%, and also a lot of civilians died as a result of the starvation caused by the British blockade. Sure this is peanuts compared to WW2. But Dan Carlin, the Hardcore History guy, once made a good point. Someone asked him once which war he thought was more traumatic for the countries of Europe, and he said the First. The reason is that when WW2 came around, everyone knew it was going to be horrible, since they had the experience of the First World War. But the wars before the First were nowhere near as pointless, bloody, and terrible for the soldiers and civilians. It was the First "Total War," where industrialized countries mobilize their entire country, populace, economy, and fight the enemy's whole country, including civilians. So WW1 was called the Great War, but that gave way to the more popular title "World War" and "First World War." The Napoleonic Wars, which were also international and huge in scale, were also called the "Great War," since the numbers involved in that were unprecedented. WW1 was also called "The War to End All Wars," which was wishful thinking, to say the least. As for why the casualties were so much higher in WW2, for one thing, other than France, the countries mobilized more men. (and women, in Russia's case) Another was the Nazi and Communist philosophy. Totalitarian regimes place very little value on the life of an individual, and Germany, Japan, and the USSR gave a truly terrible brutality to this war not seen since ancient times. One of the goals of the war was to depopulate the east so Germans could live there. Thus POWs, Civilians, Jews, Communists, Gypsies, Homosexuals, and random people were starved, frozen, shot, beaten, burned. There was a conscious effort to destroy Slavs and eastern peoples. And this violence begat violence. Germans also bombed London, and revenge was a *****. The British bombed Germany mercilessly, even in civilian areas. And Russia intended on making Germany suffer for its horrible violence in occupying the USSR. You have to understand that the Eastern Front, Poland, and the USSR, was the epicenter of the war. The overwhelming number of casualties, both military and civil took place on the map between Berlin to the west and Volgograd (fmly. Stalingrad) and Moscow to the East.

Answer 4

Well, until the second world war, there was not point in calling it the first world war. They didn't really think there could ever be a war as bad as the Great War again, it was just too huge. In this context Great does not mean good, it mean large, or on a grand scale.

Answer 5

At the time that many countries had never been involved in war at the same time. At that time in history WW1 was the most explosive thing to happen in the world

Answer 6

It didn't become World War I until World War II came along.

It was called the Great War because of the global spread of the countries taking part.

Answer 7

There have been some good answers already. I just wanted to add that it was only called WWI after there was a WWII. Just like today, the war we used to call The Gulf War we now call The First Gulf war.

Answer 8

It was the first war involving most of the worlds major countries and the first industrialised war. The word "great" merely refers to the scale of the war - huge - and does not imply that it was a "glorious" conflict.

Answer 9

A war to end all wars, sadly that did not happen

Answer 10

it was the 1st industrialised war on such a hugh scale, involving all of the major powers of the world and their provinces and colonies