World War I: A Turning Point In World History

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“Material prosperity and a fervid belief in scientific and technological progress had convinced many people that the world stood on the verge of creating the utopia that humans had dreamed of for centuries.” (William J. Duiker and Jackson J. Spielvogel, World History, vol. 2, 663). What “many believed to have been an age of progress” (Duiker, World History, 663) was soon going to experience a turning point in history. Strange since the beginning, World War I truly demonstrated to be a different kind of war compared to any previous war fought prior to 1914. This Great War as referred by “[many] contemporaries” (Duiker, World History, 662), introduced a new form of warfare which resulted in new weapons, skills, and casualties throughout the entire …show more content…

Moreover, World War I, also saw the first involvement of major countries which caused to be even longer, and influential across the globe. To continue, the Industrial Revolution experienced during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries not only opened the doors to a vast number conflicts, but it also revolutionized the world in a positive way. By transforming agrarian and handicraft-centered economies into economies distinguished by industry and machine manufacture, it was just a matter of time that technological advancements would reach a whole new level of improvement. In the case of World War I, a new kind of warfare would emerge and changed the way in which wars would be fought, and unprecedented outcomes would occur. “The unexpected development of trench warfare on the western front baffled military leaders, who had been trained to fight wars of movement and maneuver.” (William J. Duiker and Jackson J. Spielvogel, World History, vol. 2, 667). This new trench warfare soon led to the radical need for technological developments, new defensive tactics, and stalemate. As a result, new weapons and skills were introduced to the battlefield.

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