World War One Essay

First World War Essay

World war one cannot emanate any war but itself; it yielded a drastic jump in the technological weaponry and tactics, had soldiers live day in and day out while scarifying the true horror of trench warfare, and had citizens being pressured by their government through propaganda. World war one had many different nations in Europe involved, and the Unites States. The war lasted for 5 years, as it started in 1914 and ended at 1919. On June 28, 1914, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, which triggered the First World War to erupt.

Numerous tactics and strategies were very effective at the time of the war as armies used new types of guns, bombs, trenches, and gas. In All Quiet in the Western Front, the words “shelling” and “bombardment” are used ever so often. The weaponry that were used to shoot and bomb were definitely effective, “the burst of flame shoots across the fog, the fragments howl and drone,” as said in All Quiet in the Western Front. The use of these weapons took the life of soldiers through shooting and bombing. Another tactic used in the war were trenches. Trenches were significantly in use as it was an intersection and a cover for the firepower from the opponent. This led as an important tactic for the soldiers as it helped increase the delivery of artilleries that harmed the opposing side. It also made war a ‘waiting game’. In All Quiet in the Western Front, a solider had said, “I tell you, I can feel it in my bones”. This represents that the use of trenches were also successful as it got soldiers to not know where their opponents were. Furthermore, gas was often used at war, as it was the most dreaded of all the chemical weapons. The Germans in Verdun first used it on June 22, 1916. These gases destroyed the respiratory organs of the soldiers and caused a slow, painful death. After a chlorine gas attack in the trenches, a nurse described the death of a solider who occurred in the attack as an utterly, horrible death. “He was sitting on the bed, fighting for breath, his lips plum colored.” In All Quiet in the Western Front, it had said, “I stare into the face of Kat, he has his mouth wide open and is yelling, and I hear nothing.” Gas was one of the easiest ways to get an opponent to loose his life. The final verdict is that the use of certain newly thought-of tactics and strategies made world war one successful, as it ended up as a bloodbath for many countries. A soldier’s life was nothing but a tough struggle to live, as they had to constantly deal with harsh conditions such as pests, sicknesses, and hunger. Firstly, soldiers had to deal with living with lice and rats. Lice would hide all over their clothes so they’d itch to death. As Harry Patch who was in world war one had said, “the lice were the size of grains of rice, each with its own bite, each with its own itch.” As for the rats, it was so unhygienic and dirty in the trenches that there would be countless of rats that were the sizes of cats. George Coppard, who was in the British army, had explained, "There was no proper system of waste disposal in trench life. Empty tins of all kinds were flung away over the top on both sides of the trench. Millions of tins were thus available for all the rats in France and Belgium in hundreds of miles of trenches. During brief moments of quiet at night, one could hear a continuous rattle of tins moving against each other.” Secondly, not only would soldiers die in war because of attacks from their opponents, but also because of the ghastly surroundings that they were forced to adapt to in the trenches. They had to stand for hours in waterlogged trenches without being able to remove their boots, which ended up to causing the sickness, trench foot. Their feet would slowly turn to utterly numb and their skin would turn red or blue. They dealt with only having up two pairs of socks and boots for over a couple of weeks. Lastly, they always lacked food. They’d only eat on a ratio of nine out of thirty days. Their ratios were extremely unfair to soldiers. Even worse, if they did get food, it was extremely cold, stale, or brittle. Harry Patch reported, “our rations – you were lucky if you got some bully beef and a biscuit. You couldn’t get your teeth into it.” In conclusion, being a soldier in world war one was a death experience or a horrifying time of their life, as they dealt with conditions that were to an extent of being inhumane and unbearable. A citizen’s life during world war one was full of pressure and lies, as their government made them either live with guilt (if they stayed at home) or face bullets (if they went to war). Citizens only had two paths to choose from. Governments did anything to get all the men to volunteer to become a soldier. They convinced, persuaded, and influenced a lot of citizens through propaganda. They would tell all their citizens that staying at home was worse because they could die of hunger or from explosions. Certain technics were used in these advertisements. For example, with the British, they used guilt in one of their advertisements, “it is far better to face the bullets than to be killed at home by a bomb”. In this ad, the British were trying to portray that there was a higher chance of being killed by an explosion, then actually facing bullets. In another British advertisement, it stated that, “The kitchen is the key to victory. Eat less bread.” British governments are saying that soldiers will suffer if all the citizens who aren’t at war eat all the bread, which shows the use of guilt. Another example is France, with their use of power to persuade citizens to join the war. Their propaganda was a picture of popular rugby team with famous players that citizens were sure to know. They use the fact that they are champions in rugby to depict that their army will also become champions. Kaiser, who was the German emperor, was the ball that they kicked in the picture. Furthermore, not only citizens were always pressured or put on a guilt trip, but they also were being boasted by false information about war. In April of 1915, the British had publisher in the newspaper, “the losses of the enemy were extremely high. At a single point, in the proximity of the canal, we counted more than six hundred Germans dead.” The article never started the fact that in Victoria station, there were carriages of wounded soldiers arriving back at London. The citizens were also purposely blinded to the eye about the sheer numbers lost in the battle with Germans. The governments in each country always tried to make war sound optimistic, patriotic, and them winning. They always hid the negative facts on the war such as the death toll, injuries, and attacks. Citizens’ lives’ during the First World War was tough; it was either to stay at home with guilt and no safety, or join war and fight for their country.

Overall, the First World War was a horrifying bloodbath to many, as the death toll was over 15 million people, while, over 20 million wounded. Although, it was a massive leap to new weaponry introduced and new-tactics that were thought of. Soldiers also faced a devastating experience as their lives were either lost or they were wounded after. Lastly, citizens were scarred by their government and lived with guilt if they had not joined the war. World War One was nothing but a chaotic 5 years filled with fear, death, and power.

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