The Most Precious Gems Of History

Men were living outside for days or weeks on end, with limited shelter from cold, wind, rain and snow in the winter or from the heat and sun in summer. Artillery destroyed the familiar landscape, reducing trees and buildings to desolate rubble and churning up endless mud in some areas. The incredible noise of artillery and machine gun fire, both enemy and friendly, was often incessant. Yet soldiers spent a great deal of time waiting around, and in some quiet sectors there was little real fighting and a kind of informal truce could develop between the two sides. Even in more active parts of the front, battle was rarely continuous and boredom was common among troops, with little of the heroism and excitement many had imagined before the war. The Italian infantry officer Emilio Lussu wrote that life in the trenches was ‘grim and monotonous’ and that ‘if there were no attacks, there was no war, only hard work’.[1] The order to attack – or news of an enemy assault – changed

The First World War took the world by storm; no person could have imagined the horrors and detriments the “Great War” would cause. Over a span of four years, millions of soldiers and civilians died. Children lost their parents, and wives, their husbands. So unprecedented was this type of vicious warfare that the countries involved were unprepared for one of the worst wars in history. Two books, The Guns of August and All Quiet on the Western Front address and highlight major themes of World War I. The books offer insight to the political and military strategies of France, England, and Germany during the first month of the war, as well as the emotions of a German soldier on the Western Front in the final days leading up to the German Armistice. Each book uniquely describes an aspect of war and creates a fresh and new experience for the reader to learn about World War I.

According to a study done by USA TODAY in 1999, World War I was ranked eighth in the top one hundred news stories of the twentieth century. The First World War was and still is one of the most historical wars to go down in history, changing the world forever. It was the first time there was a global conflict and with the introduction of new technology, millions of soldiers and civilians lost their lives. The Great War would haunt and alter the world for decades, becoming a catalyst to so many historical events to come after it. The four year long war did not end with the signing of the treaty of Versailles, it sent the world into shambles and lived on by affecting the world socially, politically, economically, psychologically and culturally. In the poems “A War Film” by Teresa Hooley, “Dulce Et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen, “Education” by Pauline Barrington, “They” by Siegfried Sassoon and “Disabled” by Wilfred Owen, these effects of World War I are explored.

Whitney, Craig R. “World War I Why It Still Matters.” New York Times Upfront 4 May 2009: 24-27. Print.

Since the majority of the Great War accounts for a vast network of resources on what the trenches ultimately provided this research will explore within and above trench lines. The failed plans of leaders halted what is known to be the most strategic play in physical versus intellectual attributes of warfare altogether. If it weren’t for the salient of trench warfare throughout the years of 1914-1918, indulged the importance of communication and its

Memoirs of war often reflect the positive or negative experiences endured throughout battle. Considered by many to be one of the best memoirs of World War I, Hervey Allen’s “Toward the Flame”, recalls his own experiences of battle. His recollection of events shows that he had a negative image of war and that there was nothing glorious about it. What started out looking like a man’s greatest adventure turned into a shell-shocking reality that war is actually horrible and trying. Allen’s experiences with consistent hunger, mustard gas, and artillery shellings led to his disillusionment with war, and left him with a permanent hatred of battle.

World War I changed the landscape of Europe, particularly France, like no war had ever before. The memoir, A Life of Her Own, depicts the experiences of Emilie Carles, a politically active French women. The memoir depicts the country’s history throughout, not only World War I, but most of the 20th century. Carles brother, Joseph, was caught in a German Prisoner of War camp for a good portion of the war. While there, he would write to the Carles and documented the horrors of war. The article A Republic of Letters: The Epistolary Tradition in France during World War I accurately demonstrates the letters exchanged between Joseph and his family throughout the duration of the war. The French economy needed an influx of workers to cope with the departure of abled bodied men while the war took place. For example, The Carles had to sacrifice any leisure time they had to deal with losing another worker on the family farm. These workers were replaced by immigrants. The impact of these new laborers is documented in Workers in France during World War I. The story of Emilie Carles and her family was just one of many examples of families that were dismantled emotionally and economically due to World War I.

Barbara Tuchman's Pulitzer prize-winning book about the start of World War I is a fascinating and detailed work that delivers the thoughts and actions of the belligerents and their previously mysterious leaders to life on every page. This military history of the first month of the war is written in a way as to keep the reader interested because of the great detail. The author also manages to write about the events in such a manor as the reader sees them as they happened. Despite any previous knowledge about the historical events of the war, the book manages to keep you wondering if the Germans will succeed in its aims.

Each of the documents is either a letter or postcard from a soldier writing home to a loved one.They describe how each soldier were treating each other. In Document 13, for example, Julian Grenfell, a British Officer, is writing a letter back home to his parents and describes seeing many soldiers coming towards him. He states, “[...] I picked out one I thought was the officer, or sergeant. He stood facing the other way, and I had a steady shot at him behind the shoulder. He went down, and that was all I saw.” This shows that the fighting was not always fair. Grenfell picked out the leader, the person that was the most influential for the others, and shot him in the back. They were not necessarily engaged in a battle, but he took the opportunity anyway. In Document 18, Behari Lal, an Indian soldier, describes, “[The] cold was terrible, and it was raining hard; not being able to sleep on the ground in the open, I had to pass the whole night sitting on the outward lorry seats.” All soldiers went through similar experiences. They were cold, tired, and wet. No matter who you were fighting, war was not pleasant. Even though they fought on different sides, the treatment was the

Many people don’t comprehend how traumatic the life of a young fighter in World War I was. In my opinion, this book will especially help you understand this. The descriptive language describing the wounds and unpleasant content made me feel queasy at times, but also forced me to feel compassionate for the military troops. In this book, limbs are lost, animals such as horses are killed, starving soldiers dig through garbage for food, the troops are destroyed by poison gas, munitions, and bombs. The conditions the fighters went through in the war was dangerous and disturbing which makes me realize how fortunate my life is and causes me to feel compassion for the fighters because of what they had to struggle with.

Using firsthand accounts of people’s lives, such as letters and diaries, gives the reader the ability to experience the writer’s thoughts, feelings, hopes, and dreams. This tactic was used by two authors to use these firsthand accounts for differing outcomes. Author James McPherson provides a comprehensive analysis of the Civil War using over 25,000 letters and 250 private diaries in his book, For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War. McPherson in his book answers to age-old questions; who was the common soldier and why did soldiers fight – what was their motivation? While McPherson answers these questions, another author uses diaries and letters of Civil War soldiers to understand the physical side of war. Author Kathryn

* Discussion of the soldier’s experience, including but not limited to fighting in the trenches, the smell, boredom, lice, rats, food, common injuries, and battlefield engagement

World War I was in its concluding stages when President Woodrow Wilson sent American troops in 1918 to assist the Allied powers against the Central powers in France. The Allied powers consisted of France, Britain and Russia (124). The Central powers included Austria, Germany and Turkey (124). There are many sources with information about the war, but primary sources like personal diaries can aid us in understanding historical events such as this one. Wartime diaries in particular reveal personal, first-hand accounts of everyday life at war (129). The following diaries analyzed were written by American soldiers that had distinct occupations during the war. Captain Eugene Kennedy was an engineer,

World War I had a more profound effect on society than wars prior. With new deadly weapons, like poison gas, high death tolls, and the first occurrence of total war, shocked the world, tearing people between the modern and the tradition. Traditional society was torn down by the destruction of the war. As with most literary movements, writers reflect the world

The year is 1917, World War 1 has been ravaging Eastern Europe for three years now, and the threat against the United States has been minimal. That is, until British telegram operators intercepted the “Zimmerman telegram” in which Germany proposed a military alliance with Mexico. The telegram was a blatant attempt to bring The United States into World War 1 by Germany, and it succeeded. Once the United States entered the war, fresh young faces like eighteen-year-old Ernest Hemingway lined up to fight for their country. Sadly “An eye problem barred him from the army, so he joined the ambulance corps” which allowed him to aid in the war effort overseas (Levine 795). Less than a year later while attending to Italian soldiers, he was wounded