The Horrors of War

731 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The effect of war

Unending exchange of bullets coming from rifles of the soldiers, a mother lamenting for the death of her young boy who goes to war, and great toll of loss life both of the soldiers and civilians- all these are not enough to describe the horrors brought by the war, but, these are enough to illustrate the price, expensive price, paid in war.
The First World War that broke out in Europe on August, 1914 definitely created a lasting effect in the world. It was not just a war between two nations but a war of the world divided into two- the Central Powers and the Allies. Alliances, development of new weapons such as rapid fire machine guns, long range guns of explosive shells, tanks and aerial battles, and extreme nationalism added more flame in this fume. However, many thought that this will just be a short war, little did they know that an enormous shadow was casting all over Europe the moment it involved itself in the war.
Sir Edward Grey, Foreign Secretary of Britain, remarked on the 3rd of August, 1914, the night before Britain officially declared war against Germany that “The lamps are going out all over Europe; and we shall not see them lit again”. This statement coming from him, pictures how he foresees the devastating state of the world because of this war and indeed, he was right.
Unlike what most of the people were expecting, the war had horrible devastations. At least 10 million soldiers died in war while 21 million were wounded. Civilians faced dangers and hardships since the world experienced food shortages. Economies were neglected because every effort was directed towards the support for the war. Hunger, influenza pandemic and other diseases caused civilians to die not only in warring countries but even in neutral c...

... middle of paper ...

...ocent civilians are involved- true horrors of the war. At the same time we have to realize that the price we pay in war is so high that no powerful countries can ever afford it- lives of the people. Thus, if that was the result of war years ago, what more in this period when Weapons of Mass Destruction or Nuclear could be used? Can we afford the price? Are we prepared to face the true horrors of the war? No, definitely not.

Works Cited

Perry, M., Davis, D., Harris, J., Laue, T. V., & Warren, D. J. (1985). A history of the world (Revised Edition ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Effects of World War I. (n.d.). Effects of World War I. Retrieved December 8, 2013, from http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-war-i/effects.html

The human face of war. (n.d.). BBC News. Retrieved December 9, 2013, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/humanfaceofwar_gallery.shtml

Show More
Related

  • A Summary of Barbara W. Tuchman's The Guns of August

    2805 Words  | 6 Pages

    details the causes of the first World war and describes the first month of the war. The book clearly illustrates how a local war became an entire European struggle by a call to war against Russia. Soon after the war became a world issue.

    Read More

  • World War I Changed Combat Tactics

    1649 Words  | 4 Pages

    In 1914, with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife from Austro-Hungarian Empire caused an enormous war called World War I, that killed and injured about thirty million lives. It also destroyed the economy later on. World War I changed combat tactics in a whole new way, where people would die in a blink of an eye. Commanders and soldiers did not know about the capabilities of their new arsenals. The new industrialized developed weapons devastated the battlefield with blood, mountain of corpses, and small craters. Some of the weapons that were used were machine guns, poison gas, mortars, and tanks. Soldiers described the battlefield as a nightmare. This was the start of a new era arising through warfare. A very dangerous way to bring great change to the world but was not intended. World War I brought great changes to the world but, considering the countless deaths, it was the worst war ever, an inhumane war.

    Read More

  • The Awful Majesty That Is War Analysis

    791 Words  | 2 Pages

    Tim O’Brien states in his novel The Things They Carried, “The truths are contradictory. It can be argued, for instance, that war is grotesque. But in truth war is also beauty. For all its horror, you can’t help but gape at the awful majesty of combat” (77). This profound statement captures not only his perspective of war from his experience in Vietnam but a collective truth about war across the ages. It is not called the art of combat without reason: this truth transcends time and can be found in the art produced and poetry written during the years of World War I. George Trakl creates beautiful images of the war in his poem “Grodek” but juxtaposes them with the harsh realities of war. Paul Nash, a World War I artist, invokes similar images in his paintings We are Making a New World and The Ypres Salient at Night. Guilaume Apollinaire’s writes about the beautiful atrocity that is war in his poem “Gala.”

    Read More

  • Unseen Scars: The Psychological Cost of War

    1114 Words  | 3 Pages

    There you stand over the body of a fallen friend, a brother or sister in arms. You are asking yourself why them, why not you? What could have I done to save them? That is when you wake up, sweating, panting. It was just a night terror, yet it feels the same as the day they died, even though it has been ten years. This is just one of the many emotional scars soldiers of war face. Though why do we go to war when this is the cost? For many it is because they are unaware of the psychological cost of war, they are only aware of the monetary cost. Tim O 'Brien addresses the true cost of war in The Things They Carried. O 'Brien suggests that psychological trauma caused by war impedes daily life in young Americans drafted into the Vietnam war. He does

    Read More

  • Tensions Leading up to World War I

    525 Words  | 2 Pages

    Before the Great War, the continent of Europe was in a state of peace. Many countries did not have conflict building up between each other. Then unexpectedly, Great tensions arose, imperialism, alliances, and militarism. These all led up to the eruption of WWI.

    Read More

  • Imperialism, Militarism And Alliances In World War I

    522 Words  | 2 Pages

    As international rivalries grew, more European countries believed it necessary to keep their armed forces stronger. Due to this belief armies grew larger, and World War I became a way of testing the new technologies out

    Read More

  • The Events that Led up to World War I

    1850 Words  | 4 Pages

    As the final days of World War One slowly drudged through the month of November, a war torn Europe left separated and waiting to be picked up and pasted back together. An astonishing number of thirty-eight million dead between the Allied Powers and the Central Powers during a war that took over four years to come to an end. The main players during 1914 - 1918 were Britain and Germany, however this rivalry did not begin simply because of World War One and all the logistics of those four years. This essay is not to address the events of World War One, but to however explain what caused them. The lead up to the world’s first “World War” is a story of Europe’s heavyweight title fight, in one corner the English, boasting a huge naval fleet and looking to be the face of Europe. In the other corner, Germany, led by Kaiser Wilhelm II was fueled and willing to go at whatever cost necessary to back up their Triple Alliance member Austria-Hungary. This was not the first time the English and Germans had become involved with one another. England’s first diplomatic relations with Germany began with an alliance between Ethelberht of Kent and Charibert I. These marriages between the two countries were sporadic, however this is where relations began. Enlgand had been on top of Europe for quite sometime,

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Long Fuse By Laurence Lafore

    832 Words  | 2 Pages

    Accurately titled The Long Fuse, this memoir, by Laurence Lafore, describes the lengthy chain of events that led to the First World War. He begins his work by thrusting the reader in the midst of 1870 Europe and her hopeful situation. Nations were developing nationalism at every turn and were vying for a better world. The Second Industrial Revolution was in full swing and was changing how the world, and war, operated. Education and literacy were taking root in average lives and, in turn, the idea of Liberty took off. Thus the foundation for greatness was set. If Europe was destined for greatness, then how did it end up in total war?

    Read More

  • Four Freedoms

    2334 Words  | 5 Pages

    An American History of the World. 4th ed. of the book. W.W. Norton, 2012, 591. 6.) Foner, Eric.

    Read More

  • The Impact the Bauhaus had on Art

    890 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ellis, Elizabeth Gaynor, and Anthony Esler. World History: The Modern Era. Boston: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007. Print.

    Read More

  • The Sorrow of War

    1310 Words  | 3 Pages

    It can be hard to fully comprehend the effects the Vietnam War had on not just the veterans, but the nation as a whole. The violent battles and acts of war became all too common during the long years of the conflict. The war warped the soldiers and civilians characters and desensitized their mentalities to the cruelty seen on the battlefield. Bao Ninh and Tim O’Brien, both veterans of the war, narrate their experiences of the war and use the loss of love as a metaphor for the detrimental effects of the years of fighting.

    Read More

  • Causes of Dictatorship in Russia

    1720 Words  | 4 Pages

    The First World War was expected to be short, with a quick triumph on either side. On the contrary, the war caused a giant massacre to all the countries involved, and lasted for four years. Also against the expectations of political leaders and military commanders new techniques of fighting were used, as well as new weapons (for example the chloric gas, tanks and aircrafts). Due to all this, 13 million people were killed, of which 2 million were Germans, 1.75 million Russians, 1.5 million Frenchmen, 1 million British and 0.5 million Italians. But death was just one of the worst consequences of the First World War.

    Read More

  • How Does War Affect Civilians

    973 Words  | 2 Pages

    During times of war everything is fair game. Houses are torn apart, building are knocked over, fires breaking out all over cities. The people who have to live through the destruction are the civilians. Their houses are being taken over by soldiers and being used as hideouts or for soldiers to take cover during a shootout. Having the carbon dioxide in the air from the fire is not good for civilians who have to live in these conditions everyday. Even after the war is over the civilians have to help rebuild these homes and build buildings back up. They weren’t the ones who caused all of the destruction but they are responsible for putting it back together. Having a house taken from you has to be one of the worst feelings in the world. The one place you can feel safe being taken away from you for soldiers to be violent. The civilians are kicked to the street where it is not safe because of the gunfire and explosions. After wars are over the civilians are left homeless in most areas and have to fight for themselves just to find a bed to sleep in. All as a result of a war that the civilians had nothing to do with. It is not right for civilians to have to live in these conditions during a war or after a war. They shouldn’t have to fear for their lives or lose their homes, children living in the streets during war is never something they should have to

    Read More

  • Justification of French Revolution

    1757 Words  | 4 Pages

    Beck, Roger B., Linda Black, Larry S. Krieger, Phillip C. Naylor, and Dahia I. Shabaka. World History: Patterns of Interaction. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 2009.

    Read More

  • Religion and Civilization

    1234 Words  | 3 Pages

    Duiker, William J. , and Jackson J. Spielvogel. World History . 6th. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Pub Co, 2010. print.

    Read More

More about The Horrors of War

Open Document