The Pain and Suffering of War

Twenty nine million casualties and eight and a half million deaths was the final tally for the four year conflict known as the Great War. Dubbed the First World War, the clash between the Allies and the Central Powers encompassed almost all regions of the globe. The war was triggered by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary. Because the perpetrators, a terrorist group called the Black Hand, were situated in the nearby country of Serbia, the Austrian-Hungarian monarchy sent the Serbs a list of uncompromising demands. The Serbians agreed to all but one, so Austria-Hungary, with blank check support from Germany, declared war on Serbia. Though each country that joined in thereafter were motivated by different causes, the soldiers who fought for each side suffered similarly. The life of a German soldier is recounted in the fictional novel All Quiet on the Western Front. Paul Baumer, an eighteen year old student, is persuaded to join the German forces by his teacher, Kantorek, along with the rest of his classmates. While in the trenches, Paul learns that life as a soldier is far more dangerous than any of the adults had mentioned, as they were constantly in danger of dying, even if they were in the hands of their medics. Millions of people suffered as a direct result of the Great War, yet there are few only a few reasons this conflict occurred. Although many countries joined World War I as a result of nationalism, alliances, and militarism, the sufferings the soldiers experienced, shown in Erich Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front, are not justified by the causes of this war.

The millions of casualties created during the battles of World War I were not justified by the general population’s desire to pro...

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...may have prompted the start of the Great War, but the high losses and sufferings of the soldiers, as seen in Erich Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front, will never be justified by the reasons for war. Conflicts between countries are an inevitable thing, as there are multitudes of differences between all cultures and nationalities. Even so, there are few causes where a country is justified in going to war over. If there is a dispute between countries, it is usually not important enough for multiple nations to wage total war against each other. War causes a huge loss of life, and no successful cause can fully justify the amount of ambition, memories, knowledge, and futures that may be lost in the process.

Works Cited

Remarque, Erich Maria. All Quiet on the Western Front. Trans. Arthur Wesley Wheen. 1958. New York: The Ballantine Publishing Group, 1982. Print.