What Are The Causes Of Fear During Ww1

World war one was one of the darkest times in our history. There were many horrors associated with world war one that weren’t associated with other wars due to advances in technology. Additionally, fear was also a major factor during the war, as people constantly feared for their lives. To make matters worse, the soldiers that fought in the war lacked the proper motivation after everything they have experienced. World war one was horrific, frightening, and unfortunate war that nobody wanted to fight.

The horrors of war during world war one were very real and extremely gruesome. During the Forbidden zone, several people suffered from gas gangrene that smelled awful and was extremely deadly (Borden 80). The author of then goes on to state
“Men were killed haphazard---maimed, torn to pieces, scattered by shell fire, plugged full of shrapnel, hit square sometimes by rifle bullets” (Borden 101). The horrors of war was clearly depicted by the author when she was standing along yards of broken flesh and blood, and further states that she was confused during that situation (Borden 152) In addition to the Forbidden zone, the backwash of war could attest to the former examples. The unfortunate story of a man named Antoine, whose son was sent to war and returned blind without any appendages or eyes, pleading for death (Motte 156). Furthermore, a patient named Marius also suffered from gas gangrene, bothering other patients with his stench, more so then the patient nearby who had been shot in the bladder and reeked of urine (Motte 98). Incidentally, the causes of gangrene were linked to the Germans using poisonous shells against the soldiers in the trenches (Motte 305). I believe that both stories strongly reinforce the fact that world war one was gruesome, painful, and sad experience, having to live during these times surrounded by all the suffering is something cannot even begin to imagine. The horrors of war was something everybody faced on a daily basis, in consequence people’s lives were constantly filled with fear.

Fear was a very common feeling during the war, everybody was afraid of getting hurt, or worse dying.
During the Backwash of War, a man named Rollin had been awarded in extremis for his heroic actions, but he feared the award because it indicated that he was dying (Motte 517). Afterwards, a father named Antoine had feared sending his son to war, only to have his fears realized when his son returned a stump with no arms, legs or eyes (Motte 156). Fear wasn’t only associated with death, some people had trivial fears of not being educated enough for their job, such as Fouquet who was a farmhand before becoming a nurse (Motte 295). In spite of this, fear of death was still the major thing that many soldiers feared. During the Forbidden zone, a man labeled as an apache was dying and was gravely afraid of the sins he had committed throughout his life that he would have to answer for after his death (Borden 73). Even more, solders would be so scared of death by the enemy that they would go as far as to kill themselves (Borden 102). Finally, there is the unfortunate story of a blind man who feared being alone now that he lived in a world of darkness, the nurse had lied to him and told the patient that she had been there beside him the whole time, after she had left to tend to other patients (Borden 162). I believe that fear in many shapes and forms were rampant throughout the war, and there was little anybody could do about it short of ending the war. A lack of motivation was a
major contributing factor as it was fear that drove the soldiers, not the former.

Lack of morale and motivation was rampant during world war one, its causes were broad, from the mundane tasks they did every day, to the death that surrounded them.
During the war a general had awarded so many people La Médaille militaire, and the ceremony was carried out perfunctory (Motte 697). There were also soldiers that belonged to a prison regiment, further lowering overall morale, that prisoners would be forced to go to war instead of prison (Motte966). Additionally, workers in the hospital were punished when they left during their time off to have fun and unwind, as in the case of Fouquet when he left to go to town and faced repercussions from the Medecin Chef (Motte265). During the beginning of the Forbidden zone, a regiment had marched into a town to perform a ceremony for officers and themselves weren’t acknowledged (Borden 44). As with the Backwash of war, the generals also described in the forbidden zone rushed through giving medals to people, making what should have been a gesture of appreciation, something similar to a mundane task that none of the patients really cared for
(
Borden 164). Finally, during the Forbidden zone, Belgium’s army had been forced to retreat to a small little town, but having done so were left with nowhere to go and nothing to do (Borden 8). Between all the mundane tasks, ceremonies, and everyday life that the soldiers deal with, it’s easy to understand why the soldiers lacked morale and motivation.
World war one simply described was an ugly war that struck fear into the hearts of its soldiers and stripped many of them of any morale they once had. There were many gruesome stories during the war that could have been avoided overall. Additionally, many people were living in constant fear because of the war and events associated with it. Finally, many soldiers just didn’t have the morale and motivation to do anything about it. World war one was a dark time in our history that we should have avoided, it is something we need to learn from so we may never repeat our mistakes.