Scale, duration, destruction and death were orders of magnitude larger than anything the western world had ever known. Absolutely nobody was prepared for it.
WWI can be seen as a step child of the American Civil War which is widely considered the first “modern” war unique in terms of the industrialization of war capacity, the civilian mobilization into war efforts (in the North), the use of asymmetrical warfare on civilian populations (mostly on the South) and the rapid technical advancement of science to create ever more deadly and effective weapons.
But while WWI was more modern in many respects — with devastating weaponry against infantry — it was simultaneously steeped in outdated concepts of pre 1800’s battle tactics which the Civil War had shown to be ineffective 50+ years before.
WWI was conducted by European generals using outdated Medieval battle concepts in a rigid class based command structure far from the battlefield which favored chivalry towards civilian non combatants in major population centers.
For the soldier, this combination of arcane battle strategies mixed with rapidly evolving and lethal weaponry became a surreal hell on earth.
For most civilians though, with the exception of those in Belgium who faced mass starvation, the war was conducted far outside their scope of daily experience. This ensured WWI went on far longer than it should have. To win a modern war, non combatants and their vital infrastructure and support must be fair game.
In the Civil War, William Tecumseh Sherman marched to Savannah and looted the Souths vital economic output and disrupt their sense of detachment from a war they supported and believed they were winning. He needed to crush the Southern population morale.
He succeeded.
Far from supply lines, Sherman’s army stole what they needed along the way using speed, resourcefulness and ruthlessness with great effectiveness.
Sherman’s march is widely considered to be the first modern strategy used to win a war by bringing the conflict to a civilian population that actively supports the war effort either directly or indirectly.
It was also a risky maneuver that eschewed typical battlefield resupply and logistical considerations instead favoring a “wing it” approach choosing speed and shock tactics to psychologically limit their opponents ability to resist.
The lessons were clear, to win a modern war civilian support and infrastructure had to be crushed and military advancements often had to be quick, bold and risky at key moments to disrupt the enemies morale. This favored on the ground leadership with the autonomy and overall support to make split second decisions in real time without having to get authorization from a distant central general command structure.
Sadly European generals didn’t learn from these lessons.
Instead they slugged it out sending wave after wave of frontal assault infantry charges into heavily fortified defensive positions that would not break. They didn’t allow battlefield commanders much autonomy or initiative either.
They didn’t bring the war footing to the population centers of their respective enemies. While population centers experienced some economic hardships, deaths of family members in combat, failing governments and social instability they were largely removed from the brutal machinery of warfare and its morale destroying consequences.
Generals were also far too conservative in their battlefield tactics.
For soldiers this meant WWI was a highly confined existence in a 24/7 meat grinder wielded by aging generals miles from the battlefield using outdated tactics and existing in outdated modalities and having complete lack of understanding regarding modern warfare.
In truth soldiers were slaughtered needlessly by their governments with a casual disregard.
Soldiers suffered so much that after the war they returned home and mobilized politically against their governments all across Europe. The strategic lethargy of the upper echelon of military command created perfect tinder for motivated revolutionary action post WWI.
At the very least, the veterans of WWI demanded that their governments change/improve their domestic situations or they would and could mobilize against those governments very quickly and effectively destabilize them.
The New Deal was FDR’s response to the internal threat posed by millions of highly trained former WWI veterans armed to the teeth amid the economic devastation of The Great Depression. FDR understood clearly that the rise of fascism and communism in Germany, Italy and Russia could happen in the United States as well.
Central to Enlightenment thought were the use and celebration of reason, the power by which humans understand the universe and improve their own condition. The goals of rational humanity were considered to be knowledge, freedom, and happiness.
Although the industrial revolution and the scientific revolution represented a giant leap forward in human development, the Age of Enlightenment delivered the greatest influence for the future and planted the way for cultural and humanistic enrichment. New concepts were raised concerning education, democracy, and human freedom. The new humanistic philosophy promoted ideas about reasoning, religious tolerance, and human equality to the formation of human beings with a wide intellectual capacity that would participate in the future democratic processes in a rational and responsibly manner.
In other words, mankind finally had its act together and the future was rosy and anything was possible.
Then came WWI with all its horrors. It was clear that the hopeful optimism that was prevalent was a lie. People were crushed, all that they believed in had come to naught. It was the major tragedy of those who were alive at that time.
Indeed, every modern concept of a states obligation to its veterans is a direct result of WWI and its horrible battlefield conditions and utter disregard for their safety as combatants at that time.
French infantry marched out of Paris to meet the Germans with flowers in their rifles. Those who couldn’t make it to the departure party actually took taxis to the front. Everybody expected to be home by Christmas. Sure, it was scary, but it was honorable and up until that point wasn’t that bad. Wars happened, people regularly went home during the winter and for the first year or so the very idea of destroying logistics to prevent food from reaching the enemy was unthinkable. So was killing retreating forces.
The sizes of the armies was mind boggling. Up until then Napoleon had led the biggest military machine Europe had ever seen. His Grand Armée was almost 600,000 strong. The French alone sent 8,400,000 to fight in WWI. The Russians sent 12,000,000, the British almost 9,000,000, the Italians 5,600,000, the US 4,250,000, Germany 11,000,000, Austria-Hungary 7,800,000, Turkey 2,800,000, Bulgaria 1,500,000 and seven other countries sent a combined total of about 5,000,000. Japan had 800,000 in the fighting. Japan sent more people to fight than Napoleon had when he invaded Russia. Japan!
Nobody knew what to do. That’s why they ended up in trenches. It was a human traffic jam made even worse by millions of dead bodies and people parts on the ground they slowed down advancing troops.
The forces of both sides created huge underground complexes complete with barracks and kitchens to reduce exposure to ceaseless artillery fire and eventually extending them under enemy positions where they filled the cave with explosives and completely altered the landscapes. Some of the coordinated mine detonations killed over 10,000 and created 11,000 casualties. The Lochnagar mine (crater below) was the largest man made combat explosion in history (at the time).
Even the sky wasn’t safe. Airplanes dropped everything from bricks to grenades on the enemy and they directed artillery fire that made it vastly more effective. Chemical weapons poisoned the wind, blinding troops and burning their lungs. Rats bit people regularly and the resulting infections killed many and led to countless amputations. It was the biggest horror show mankind ever created.
All the restrictions governing warfare were thrown away. Until then how you killed the enemy was important. There was a right and a wrong way to do it. Not anymore. WWI scared people so badly that WWII happened. Nobody was going to let that happen again.
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