Many people believe that World War 2 is the most devastating war, along with there being people that state that World War 1 is the most devastating war. This researcher believes that World War 1 was more devastating than World War 2. During Both wars, there were casualties, military tactics being used, different transportation, and a soldier’s lifestyle. World War 1 is more devastating than World War 2 because of the start of the war, war style transportation, and weapons.
Analyzing what started each war plays a big part when deciding which is more devastating. The first war started due to Archduke Franz Ferdinand being assassinated by Gavrilo Princip. The assassination started a series of events that lead up to the beginning of World War
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1. Austria sought out to fight with Serbia, however they had Russia who was defending them and would not allow them to start a war. Austria used the assassination as a means to begin a battle with Serbia, and Russia could not say anything about it (World War 1 history, 2017). Overall this war began due to a chain of events happening, Which all led up to Austria starting the war with Serbia. World War 2 began when France and Britain declared war against Germany because Germany tried to send an invasion through Poland. Even though that is what began the war, there were more events that led up to the war. Germany was angry towards the United States because the United States forced Germany to pay for the damages that were caused during World War 1 under the Treaty of Versailles. Germany did not have the financial stability to hold up the treaty, causing Hitler to become angry towards the United States. Hitler wanted to take the element of surprise when starting a battle with Britain and Europe because he knew that they were reluctant to start another war (World War Two - Causes, 2017). Overall, there are points that show that World War 2 was a lot more hurtful for the citizens of Germany but this researcher believes World War 1 began in a more devastating way. World War 1 was the cause of World War 2, so if there was never a World War 1 there is a chance that World War 2 would not have ever happened. This researcher believes the start of World War 1 shows more devastation because it led up to the first time the citizens seeing a separation between other countries, and the countries beginning a big war. The European powers collapsed within the first week of the War beginning (World War 1 history, 2017). The styles that the soldiers used in the wars are the exact opposite.
World War 1 played with focusing on trench warfare. While World War 2 played with a focus of Blitzkrieg, which was invented to avoid trench warfare. The soldiers had a rough time while being in the trenches. The trenches were smelly, dirty, and full of diseases. Trenches were used to be able to hide in the ground during the battles, that way the soldiers were not out in the open. The most devastating battle for World War 1 was the no man's land. this was an area that had trenches in it that the soldiers had a tough time advancing towards the enemy (Life in the trenches, 2012). This shows to be devastating because a lot of soldiers were killed while trying to advance towards the next …show more content…
trench. The style that was used to fight in World War 2 was the Blitzkrieg. It was an idea thought up to avoid having to go through trench warfare again. The style was the use of more vehicles in fighting so that they could go around the trenches. This style was a lot better for the soldiers because they did not have to sit in the trenches, and they were able to win the battle very fast (Blitzkrieg, 2017). This shows that trench warfare is a more devastating war style to go by. The soldiers had to live with the diseases rather than just be able to avoid all of the trenches. In World War 1 the vehicles that were used were mostly artillery weapons that the country would use and move around to try and fire a shell far towards the enemy. There was also small tanks that they would use to move forward on the battlefield. The reason they had a big part during the war is that the tanks did not come in until later in the war. Germany was outdone by the allies because they were able to use the tanks (WW1 Tanks, Vehicles, and Artillery (1914-1918), n.d.). The reason that vehicles was a devastating point for the war is because of the mass production the citizens had to go through to create vehicles and weapons for the soldiers. In World War 2 the allies could not surprise the Germans with the tanks because they had already known about them due to World War 1. They had armored vehicles so that they could drive around without having to worry about being shot and dying. They used to transport vehicles to be able to drive around to transport troops from one side to another side. The main reason why they used tanks during World War 2 is that they wanted to avoid having to go through trench warfare again. (World War II vehicles, 2004) This all shows to be a larger devastation because the tanks were more effective during the first war due to the germans not being prepared for such an attack. During the wars, there were separate battles that were happening during the war. In World War 1 the type of battles that were taking place was trench warfare which is where they fought while having to stay in a trench. One of the main trench warfare battles was no man's land. No man's land is where there was a big distance between the trenches and nobody wanted to advance forward because it was hard to push up because of all the sticky mud (Life in the trenches, 2012). This caused to be devastating because the soldiers had the command to push forward, but they knew that there was a high chance that they would die. In World War 2 one of the battles that were fought was the battle of the Aleutian islands. The battle was between the United States and Japan. They were fought on islands owned by the United States that were west of Alaska. Japan had taken over the islands which lead the United States to push back to take the islands from the Japanese. The reason why Japan believed it was a good idea to take the islands is that they believed that they would be able to avoid having the United States invade Japan (Battle of the Aleutian Islands, 2017). This battle showed to be devastating because it was the only land that the U.S had lost during the war, so the people of the United States were in a panic. The type of weaponry that was used during the wars are key points because they show how a soldier most likely died. Weapons that were used in World War 1 were: Rifles, machine guns, flamethrowers, artillery, poison gas, mortars, and tanks. These weapons played a key role in helping decide the winner. The allies had tanks before the axis power did so they were given the advantage to win (Weapons of World War 1, 2017). The poison gas was a terrible way for a soldier to die. This shows devastation through the poison gas killing the soldiers in a horrible way. In World War 2 they were not allowed to have poison gas. The weapons that were used during World War 2 are pistols, rifles, submachine guns, hand grenades, machine guns, and flamethrowers. These weapons were pretty much the same that were used in World War 1, except that there was no poison gas in the war. The flamethrower was introduced from the Germans during World War 1 (World War 2 weapons part 1, n.d.).This researcher believes that World War 1 was more devastating with the topic of weapons. Since the poison gas was allowed during World War 1, it shows that it is more devastating because the poison gas was a terrible way for the soldiers to die a slow death. The outcome of World War 1 was the cause of a lot of different outcomes that were bad for the world. Some of the outcomes that the first World War caused are The depression, World War 2, the Holocaust, and the creation of the atomic bomb. The war caused the economy to fall for the European powers and the United States. Nobody expected the war to last as long as it did, so no one was prepared for it economically and mentally (The Global Effect of World War I, n.d.). This researcher believes these are important to talk about because the whole reason of why World War 2 started is because of World War 1. The outcome of World War 2 first started off with a peace treaty was set up in Germany. The countries that were fighting alongside Germany against the allies had to give up land to pay towards the countries that fought with the allies. A big task to accomplish was to rebuild Europe up to where they were before the war had occurred (Results and aftermath of World War 2, n.d.). The war did not help the world economy because a lot of money went into the war, and also a lot of it went into rebuilding the countries that fought in the war. This researcher believes that the outcome of World War 1 was more devastating because it caused a lot more bad outcomes that were a big hit for the world. Some points that were found that try and show that World War 1 is more devastating than World War 2 was how Germany used the Schlieffen plan to try and take on the European powers.
The Schlieffen plan was to rush France with an attack because Russia would not have time to send a lot of soldiers down to be able to help, so the key point of the plan was to do it fast. If Germany could get France out of the picture, then Russia and Britain would be unwilling to continue the fight. The Germans plan to rush France and catch them off guard was a failure, and Germany's plans for an easy victory was lost. This showed to be a devastating loss towards the German army, due to Germany losing a lot of men during the battles (Simkin,
2017). The military tactic used during World War 2 was called Blitzkrieg. It was used so there would not be a lot of deadlocks like there was in World War 1. The tactic was a huge success, it showed a lot of potentials since it took Germany 6 weeks to crush 4 nations while using it. The reason Germany used blitzkrieg was that it “disorganization among enemy forces through the use of mobile forces and locally concentrated firepower” (Blitzkrieg, 2017). Even though the Blitzkrieg plan was a success and showed to be a devastation for the nations that the plan was used against, the plan was a created to avoid the deadlock of trench warfare. So without trench warfare happening in World War 1, then the Blitzkrieg plan would not have been created. The casualties that happened during the wars can play a huge part in the country’s morale. The second World War had a total of thirty-seven million casualties, there were fifteen million in the central powers, and there were twenty-two million casualties within the allies (Truman, 2015). This shows to be devastating because the number of casualties that were sustained in this war had a huge impact on the countries that were involved in the war. Even though there were also casualties in World War 1, the World War 2 casualties were a superb amount compared to World War 1. World War 1 had a small number of casualties compared to World War 2. World War 1 had a grand total of only around 73 million casualties (World War 2 Statistics, n.d.). During wars, it is good to keep the casualties number to a minimum, but when comparing which War is more devastating this shows that in casualty wise that World War 2 is more devastating. Even though the topic of casualties shows to have World War 2 in the lead with devastation, the way that the soldiers were killed was a lot more horrendous in World War 1. In World War 1 the soldiers had a chance to die to the poison gas, and encounter a tank that they did not know existed at the time. Overall, this researcher stands on the ground that World War 1 was more devastating than World War 2. Even though World War 2 does have points where it is more devastating than World War 1, World War 1 also has more points where it shows to be devastating. A major point that this researcher believes put World War 2 after World War 1 in devastation, is how World War 1 in a long effect was the cause World War 2.
War is what keeps a nation from dying, it is the backbone of a country. This is the shown throughout the course of World War I, also known as “the war to end all wars.” World War I started in the summer of 1914. Archduke Francis Ferdinand, from the Austro – Hungarian Empire was visiting Bosnia. He was shot, along with his wife, Sofia, by a young man from the Black Hand, Gavrillo Princip. What were the three main factors that started World War I? There were three main underlying causes that started World War I: greed, nationalism, and militarism.
It was military plan for outlined to tackle with a threats of Russia and France if Russia declared war on Germany. Germany had fear because France was militarily stronger at that time. First, Germany would set up a defensive line of military on the Russia and German border to secure their eastern side. This plan involved German troops entering France through its more lightly defended northern borders—but most would instead invade via the small nations of Belgium, Luxemburg, and Netherlands. The plan was strategically important to play a defensive role in the
World War I, also known as the Great War, lasted from the summer of 1914 until the late fall of 1918. The war was fought between the Allies, which consisted mainly of the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire, and the Central Powers, which consisted mainly of the German Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria (Alliances - Entente and Central Powers). In total, it is estimated that twelve million civilians and nine million combatants died during this horrific and devastating war (DeGroot 1). When the war first began in 1914, many people thought that it would be a war of movement that would quickly be over. However, that changed when the Germans, who were trying to reach and capture the city of Paris in France, were forced to retreat during the Battle of the Marne in September 1914 (Ellis 10). German General von Falkenhayn, who felt that his troops must at all cost hold onto the parts of France and Belgium that they had overtaken, ordered his men to dig in and form defensive trench lines (Ellis 10). The Allies could not break through the enemies lines and were forced to create trenches of their own (Ellis 10). This was only the beginning of trench warfare. A war of movement had quickly come to a standstill on the Western Front. A massive trench line, 475 miles long, quickly spread and extended from the North Sea to the Swiss Frontier (Ellis 10). With neither side budging, soldiers were forced to live in the most miserable of conditions. Simply put, life in the trenches was a living hell. A lieutenant of the 2nd Scottish rifles wrote, “No one who was not there can fully appreciate the excruciating agonies and misery through which the men had to go [through] in those da...
The First World War saw a new form of warfare known as Trench warfare which involved trenches which were deep long dugouts made by the soldiers that lived in these trenches. The trenches proved useful as they protected the soldiers from artillery and bomb fire and were most likely situated in the eastern and western fronts of Europe. However the conditions of the trenches were far from exuberant but were in fact severely terrible. There was bad hygiene throughout the trenches, for example soldiers bathed probably only once a month and as such were prone to diseases such as trenches fever (which were due to the lice attracted by the bad hygiene). The weather was no exception as well, in the summer it would be too hot and in the winter it would be too cold and due to the nature of the trenches, when it rained the trenches would be filled with water, and due to such conditions welcomed the disease known as trench foot which was due to prolonged exposure to water and claimed the foots of many soldiers. There was also the constant danger of bomb fire and snipers would always be on the lookout for any movement. Latrines, which were toilets used in the trenches also sprouted fear as the enemy could see them in this area of the trenches and therefore were in constant danger of death. Soldiers also had to follow a strict code of conduct which was known as trench etiquette which ordered them to respect higher officers and they would have to be punished if the trench etiquette was ignored.
The Vietnam War was a rough time for many soldiers. Memories of home, loved ones, comfort, happiness, a normal life, everything was left behind to do their duties as soldiers. They carried with them many mementos of their life at home; that way they had some kind of life to hang onto to give them the hope and comfort they needed to keep themselves pushing forward. Though, many others have done the same and kept objects to hold onto to remind themselves that there is hope and that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Despite the Vietnam War and World War I taking place during different time periods, these two wars are extremely similar because of the way they are presented in history.
In August of 1914, the war to end all wars began. The First World War saw incredible amounts of casualties because of new fighting techniques and technology, among other reasons. While it is clear who the victors of the war were after the battles had been fought and the Peace of Paris signed, what is not clear is who started this war. Historians have debated this question since the very early stages of the war and it is one that still remains without one concrete answer. A common elementary history textbook will explain the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria as the sole cause for World War one, but further research seriously brings this statement into question. I feel as though it was not one single person, or even a single country who/that caused the war, but rather a series of events and situations which include the following: the allying of countries and preparing for war which preceded the fighting itself, the actions of the Black Hand as a message of Serbian nationalists, the persuasion of Austria-Hungary by Germany for a swift retribution for this act, and Russia's swift mobilization of troops along the Central Powers' eastern border in the early stages of the war.
The causes of World War One are extensively different from the ones of World War Two. Although, both wars were catastrophic, the causes of the first war were about the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the July Crisis, and alliances between the European nations. While, the Second World War’s cause was Germany’s expansionist aims and Hitler’s book, Mein Kampf, the failure of Collective security along with the failure of the League of Nations, and also one major cause would be appeasement. In WW1, the terrorist attack of a Serbian nationalist caused the ignition of flames that were set across Europe.
In 1914, Gavrilo Princip had assassinated Franz Ferdinand, The duke of Austria. The assassins had been put up by the Serbian government, soon the Austrian government found out and had decided to retaliate. This had been the tipping point that had caused World War 1. But this is not the only cause to World War 1. The other causes of World War 1 were MIlitarism which was strongest in Germany. Germany was allied with Austria-Hungary at the time which is also a cause, the alliances in 1914. A few main alliances were the Triple Entente, which makes Russia France and Britain watch and protect against the ever growing threat from Germany. There were alliances made all throughout Europe that bounded almost everyone to protect someone. Another cause was Nationalism, germany mostly. Germany because they were a fairly new country who wanted to prove themselves as a nation. The final cause was imperialism. which was happening all over the place and it made countries scared their land might be attacked. World War One was not only caused by an assassination but was caused by alliances made throughout Europe along with insane nationalism, extreme militarism and frantic imperialism.
World War I, also known as the Great War was one of the most revolutionary wars in modern history. The war started in 1914 and ended in 1919 and included many advancements such as tanks and mustard gas. The Great War was one of the most deadly and gruesome wars ever. There were many different pivotal things that led to the breakout of war in Europe and eventually the world. One could see alliances escalating the the amount of countries in the war, an extreme amount of nationalism, and tensions over colonies and technological advances. All of these ultimately led to commencement of World War I.
World War I is known as a war that occurred on extremely cruel terms; there were not many restrictions on what and when certain weapons could be used. Unfortunately, the Industrial Age brought with it many new ways to kill; the soldiers of World War I came in contact with many new weapons that they had never seen in combat.
The war of 1898 and 1917 were pivotal events in American foreign relations. Both wars shaped the way America is seen from a global lens and also offers insight into the foundation for how we respond to future crisis. Though these wars were drastically different in reasons and outcome, they share close similarities and obvious differences that help us to better understand the decision making process in America’s war efforts abroad.
Most of World War One’s fighting took place in trenches. According to www.wwi.lib.byu.edu, fighting trenches varied anywhere from thirty meters apart to a few hundred meters apart from each other. Trenches were used as protective barriers that covered soldiers and prevented them from being shoot. If a soldier were to come out of a
World War 1 World War 1 was called “The Great War”, “The war to end all wars”, and “The first modern war”. It has many causes and a few repercussions and I will describe them in detail. The most widely known reason for the start of World War 1 was the assassination of the Arch Duke Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary in the Serbian capital of Sarajevo. The ArchDuke was there to talk to the Serbian leaders about peace on the Balkan Peninsula. After a Serbian was arrested for the assassination, Austria-Hungary pulled out of the peace talks and declared war on Serbia.
The First World War introduced a new type of warfare. New weapons were combined with old strategies and tactics. Needless to say, the results were horrific. However, a new type of warfare was introduced: trench warfare. In the movie War Horse, the character that owned the horse originally while he worked on his farm, Albert Narracott, finally was old enough to join the army. His first sight of battle was the Battle of Somme which took place in France near the Somme River. During this battle, the British troops start out in trenches, which were pretty much tunnels dug strategically to avoid gunfire. The soldiers would wait until they were told to advance, and they would run from one trench to the next. Trenches and the area between trenches were muddy and the trenches themselves were poorly conditioned (http://www.pbs.org/greatwar/chapters/ch1_trench.html). Many of the soldiers who fought in trenches succumbed to a foot disease called trench foot and if not treated immediately, gangrene could infect the foot and an amputation would be necessary for survival. Commanding officers ordered one or t...
Ernest Hemingway describes the conditions during the World War 1. “A British major at the club told me that the Italians had lost one hundred and fifty thousand men…” (Hemingway) That was just Italy that whom it concerned. That also was just part of the war, but this gives you an idea of the destruction being caused during World War 1. The injuries that had happened during World War 1 were very severe. Some men who fought and were injured survived, although the majority did pass away due to their commitment to defend our country.