During World War I, many different countries were involved in the fighting. Some countries were involved by the choice of their rulers and others were forced because they were colonies. Their experiences may seem different but the similarities are unignorable. On page 22 of The First World War: A Brief History with Documents, it gives an example of how soldiers were being treated, especially colonial soldiers. The British Military used troops from India, but they did not use all Indian soldiers in the same manner. Some were classified as being from a ‘martial race’ and were fit for fighting, while others were not fit to serve in battle. This simple act of classifying them served to make the Indian’s feel unwanted unless they could perform great …show more content…
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 …show more content…
Even though both Document 15 and 16 are soldiers describing the Battle of Somme, they both have different views on how they were being treated. For example, in Document 15 Christian Carver states, “Presently one saw great clouds of gas sweeping across and I must say I felt we were looking into hell indeed.” This is a clear description of how the soldiers in the Battle of Somme were being treated. However, not all the soldiers saw it that way. In Document 16, Karl Gorzel had more of a less dramatic view of the Battle. He states, “Anyone who reaches our line is at once polished off in a hand-to-hand bayonet fight, and now our bombs fly with redoubled force into the enemy’s ranks.” This quote seemed like he was the one who was doing the killing where in Document 15 Carver describes the Battle as if he was the one being shot
World War One started in 1914 and ended in 1918. There were a variety of underlying causes of World War One. Starting with the assassination of Archduke was a cause of the war. Also the alliance system caused many problems in the long run of the war. Another cause that was big was that the people started to believe that war was everything in life (DBQ Project Essay Background). Another big cause of the war was, countries building up their armies and navies, so they could be ready to attack at any given moment (DBQ Project Doc 7).
Don’t leave me here alone.’ The narrator simply shakes him off and moves on. The soldiers have been trained like beasts and they have been dehumanised; they have been taught that no life is to be spared. Death is now the norm and they have been desensitized to it. The narrator relates an incident where he volunteers for a raid on the German trenches. He experiences much trauma; he kills a soldier, Karl. Karl’s death is terrible- the bayonet is trapped in Karl and eventually the narrator has to shoot him. When he returns to the trenches with two German prisoners he tries to suppress what has happened: ‘It is better not to think’. The narrator knows that he would indubitably go insane if he thinks about his action. Karl’s death epitomizes the fact that soldiers on both sides are killed in horrific way for no discernible reason. There is definitely nothing glorious or heroic about war.
World War I, or “The Great War”, began in 1914 and ended in 1918. The devastation witnessed in those four years alone, caused nearly 9 million people to die and millions more crippled, grief stricken, maimed, or psychologically scarred. Considered by some to be the first man-made catastrophe of the twentieth century, many scholars still debate over the main underlying causes of World War I. Many things contributed to the war, changing the lives of many people, many of them still evident today. Beginning only as a European conflict, gradually it developed into a world war.
World War I was the result of leaders' aggression towards other countries which was supported by the rising nationalism of the European nations. Economic and imperial competition and fear of war prompted military alliances and an arms race, which further escalated the tension contributing to the outbreak of war. One cause of the World War was militarism, which is a policy in which military preparedness is of primary significance to a situation. Another cause of the World War was nationalism. Nationalism is the pride and devotion form one towards his/her country. It played a great part in the causes of World War 1 because citizens wanted to stand up for their country, and fight for them. The third
It can be stated and proved that World War II was one of the most terrific times in history, with its persecution of normal civilians for not looking “perfect” or for their religion, and the genocide of all those groups. But how did this all happen?
Before World War 1, the US experienced significant changes. As a result of the Spanish American War, the US gained much territory and began expanding into the Pacific Islands in a small amount of time. American expansionism in the late 19th and early 18th centuries was a continuation of past American expansionism because of the idea of 'Manifest Destiny', spreading US ideas, and acquiring territory for economic gain but it fostered change in the way the land was acquired and the location of acquired lands. One was American expansionism fostered continuity was the extension belief in 'Manifest Destiny'. The US wanted to acquire territory because it was the 'fittest' of all nations as seen in Document 2.
During world war one there were many things the came to the start of it. Countries allied together, leaders were blamed for pushing their people to war. Armies went to action starting the wars and everyone blamed each other for it.The way people thought that war was good at the time. All these causes that could have lead to it. Many can argue that nationalism was the cause or alliances etc. However, Militarism was the underlying cause in World War 1.
There were many underlying causes of the Great War, one of the primary reasons was the creation of alliances between countries. Another reason, which was helped by the alliances, was the fact that Serbia killed the Austria-Hungary archduke, causing the two of them to go to war. Altogether many people in the world were excited to go to war, wanting to prove how strong their country is and thinking it would be a quick war.
Prior to World War 2, America was in a Great Depression that cause politicians to focus on domestic issues. At the start of another world war the United States declare neutrality, but it shows sympathy to democracies. When Japan bombed Pearl Harbor America stop being isolationist to combat external threats. The United States didn’t address the domestic issues that plague the country for years. However, Proxity wars, Truman’s policies, and rising tensions shaped the world and US. Therefore, the role of the US would change from managing the Americas to supporting democracies and governments around the world to stop the spread of communism.
In the early 20th century, the assasination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a Serbian, catapulted European powers into a string of events that led them to a World War. This war, known as the Great War, was caused by allied countries being sucked in one by one, and eventually, the United States had to make a decision: to join the war or to remain nuetral. Due to specific circumstances, such as the Zimmerman note and the sinking of US merchant ships, the United States government decided to enter the war on the side of the Triple Entente. This, however, stirred up controversy among the people of the United States, as some were pro-war and some were anti-war. The government, urging for the war, made arguments towards it through glorifying its political
World War I, the pointless war. World War I was a war that started with the assassination of an Austria-hungary prince by a Serbian man. Austria-Hungary ended up declaring war on Serbia, a Slavic country. After Russia declared war on Austria to help Serbia many countries joined in after with their alliances. What was the main cause of WWI?
Completely altering what a war was in every aspect of the term, World War I caused immense devastation and havoc. Excluding the American Civil War, it was the first war that took place lasting any longer than a few months. This was due to countless innovations made in both war strategy and weaponry. Involving 32 countries and causing the deaths of over 17 million soldiers and civilians, World War I was one of the largest and most destructive wars at that point in modern history. As a result of the abundance of militarism and nationalism throughout all European countries, most of the world was thrown into the chaos of World War I. Bringing about a competitive attitude between the major powers of Europe, militarism greatly increased the chances
he first world war is known by many names; The great war, the war to end all wars or even as simple as World war one. The war originated in Europe and was fought by the Allies and the Central powers. In Document A the Triple Alliance consisted of Germany, Austria Hungary and Italy while the Triple Entente powers were Russia,Great Britain and France .WWI was fought at the Eastern, Western and Italian fronts, but the biggest was the Western Front. The Western Front involved the area of Europe to the west of Germany, including France, Belgium and England. This is where trench warfare became very popular, which is what this war is so infamous for.
“This book is to be neither an accusation nor a confession… for death is not an adventure to those who stand face to face with it. It will try simply to tell of a generation of men who, even though they may have escaped shells, were destroyed by the war” (Remarque). The first statement of the book is stating that the men, who did in fact survive the war, are still damaged. So many soldiers died, for little purpose, in some cases. Life meant little as millions died in the war. Death did not mean victory or defeat for one side, as the war went on
When the action finally begins, there is a sense of tension and frustration among the men and the officers. Orders are never clear, and are usually contradictory and confusing. The battalions are constantly made to risk their lives on small outings and missions to capture trenches that have no real purpose. This generally results in needless fatalities and injuries. George and his fellow officers know they are frequently being forced to go on suicide missions, but they are powerless to do anything about it.They just accept that they are part of the war and have to play their role just like everyone else. It is fascinating how Sassoon portrays the almost fatalistic attitude of the men; for many there was no sense of anger at the position they