TimmyBoy
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I have been reading several of Erich Remarque's books "All Quiet on the Western Front" and "The Road Back." One pertaining to the war and the other book pertaining to the re-adjustment of the veterans who fought in the war, after war, while they are back home. Most people and the history books do not give a complete and full, accurate picture of just how horrific World War I really was. Remarque's books bring the accurate details back to life of the second most destructive war in mankind's history into our present day where all of the World War I vets are died off and so their experiences are only written on paper and some in the history books. The accurate picture of World War I is not known in today's society but Remarque's books offer a gateway back into time for that era.
Reading over some of the history of World War I, I remember reading how British troops sufferred 60,000 killed in action in just the first two hours of a failed offensive, the number of wounded in those first two hours is unknown. Or the battle of Verdun, a french city were the French lost 350,000 troops and the Germans 280,000, that was only one battle. I remember how appalled I was at the massive destruction of Bosnia and how that country lost 250,000 people with 1.5 million left homeless. I never thought it could get worse than what I saw over their, but looking at the statistics of World War I, that war and the devestation along with the consequences had to be far worse. But then again, the casualties and destruction where I was at were concentrated in a much smaller area. I also read about how just before launching a major offensive, enemy troops would be bombarded constantly, heavily and ferociously for 3 months straight, non-stop, before the actual offensive was launched. The bombardments would take a heavy mental toll on the bombarded enemy troops and when the offensive finally came, the troops on the offensive would get raked and cut down by machine gun fire in wave after wave. The artillery fire did little to stop enemy defensive capabilities while dug in the trenches. Some fighting ended up in the trenches where the troops would stick each other with their bayonets. It was a very bloody, dirty war. Europe learned a very hard lesson from all this and the war was so devestating and left such a searing imprint on the European psyche that huge social change and upheaval took place. Veterans demanded more of a say in their government and women's rights were pushed forward. Monarchies were overthrown, new countries formed. However, World War I was absolutely senseless and it solved absolutely nothing. No justice came out of the war. Remarque referred to his generation as the "lost generation" a generation "ruined by the war." Because no justice came out of World War I and because of the unjust Treaty of Versailles, the stage was set for Adolf Hitler and the beginning of World War II.
Reading over some of the history of World War I, I remember reading how British troops sufferred 60,000 killed in action in just the first two hours of a failed offensive, the number of wounded in those first two hours is unknown. Or the battle of Verdun, a french city were the French lost 350,000 troops and the Germans 280,000, that was only one battle. I remember how appalled I was at the massive destruction of Bosnia and how that country lost 250,000 people with 1.5 million left homeless. I never thought it could get worse than what I saw over their, but looking at the statistics of World War I, that war and the devestation along with the consequences had to be far worse. But then again, the casualties and destruction where I was at were concentrated in a much smaller area. I also read about how just before launching a major offensive, enemy troops would be bombarded constantly, heavily and ferociously for 3 months straight, non-stop, before the actual offensive was launched. The bombardments would take a heavy mental toll on the bombarded enemy troops and when the offensive finally came, the troops on the offensive would get raked and cut down by machine gun fire in wave after wave. The artillery fire did little to stop enemy defensive capabilities while dug in the trenches. Some fighting ended up in the trenches where the troops would stick each other with their bayonets. It was a very bloody, dirty war. Europe learned a very hard lesson from all this and the war was so devestating and left such a searing imprint on the European psyche that huge social change and upheaval took place. Veterans demanded more of a say in their government and women's rights were pushed forward. Monarchies were overthrown, new countries formed. However, World War I was absolutely senseless and it solved absolutely nothing. No justice came out of the war. Remarque referred to his generation as the "lost generation" a generation "ruined by the war." Because no justice came out of World War I and because of the unjust Treaty of Versailles, the stage was set for Adolf Hitler and the beginning of World War II.
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