History- World War I - Essay Example

Pre-requisites for a World War qualification The war that took place in 1914-1918 was a great part of the history of the world. Because of its magnitude it was referred to as the “Great War” and it was even thought to be “The War to End All Wars.” Results of the assessments proved, as historians and even the entire globe claimed the war was indeed worthy to be named as the First World War or World War I (WWI). Such qualification of an event requires it to have no match in history prior to its occurrence in terms of the vastness of the battlefield, the nations involved, the type of armaments and systems, and the cost to lives and properties.

Since we consider these aspects as the reasons why WWI is worthy to be called a world war let us examine what was recorded and evaluate them relative to other great wars. Foremost, WWI was fought in different areas and has involved, either directly or indirectly, more countries than any other wars in Europe, Asia, and other parts of the world. Main action of the war occurred in Europe but parallel events also occurred in Africa, Middle East, and the Pacific. The main actions of the war were in the Western Front which stretched in an unbroken line of trenches from the English Channel to the Swiss frontier.

The other side, the Eastern Front is fought between the Russians and German forces. Unlike any previous wars where only warring countries were involved, WWI included about sixteen countries with considerable armies mobilized to participate in the wars on either sides of the conflict. More than sixteen countries supported the Allied Forces lead by Britain, France, Italy, Russia, and the United States who joined the conflict later. In the other hand, the Central Powers included Germany, Turkey, Austria-Hungary, and Bulgaria.

The war unfolded during the height of the Industrial Revolution in the beginning of the 20th century and the contribution of the advancement in science and technology added up to the magnitude of the war. As Badsey stated in his article “The Western Front and the Birth of Total War” published in the BBC website the war made possible the mobilization of large troops due to the advancement of railways and steamships. The use of automatic machine guns, advanced explosives, and chemical warfare were unveiled for the first time.

The aircraft technology was also fully used for air raids and bombings. Unique to WWI is also the application of trench warfare for the first time, which was considered one of the reasons for greater war casualties since position and lines of forces were heavily fortified. The consequences of the war, which include the casualties, damage to properties, and other socio-economic impacts, were counted as among the major reasons why WWI was qualified as such. Brouwer’s “The First World War 1914-1918” summarizes the casualties and the cost of the war and breaks down this cost per participating countries.

The report showed about sixty million human casualties including more than thirteen million killed in action. The total cost estimates reached to more than 180 trillion US dollars far even greater than the estimated three trillion US dollars from the most recent Iraq war. In addition to these cost the trauma, the political and social effects of the war upon the world was also tremendous. As an aftermath the world’s view on autocracy and democracy was clearly defined with greater emphasis on democratic processes for peace.

International organizations were created as venue for peaceful resolutions of conflicts. New states were created while others were dissolved and merged after the war. The face of the world was affected. We have lived the lessons we learned from the past and WWI in particular. Whether the occurrence of another major world war after it, in World War II, has changed our perspective of the preceding war, history has already carved pages in our books that justify The Great War was indeed a world war.

Not only that it has a magnitude that was so significant but the changes it made to the social and political systems that followed were highly remarkable. These and the memories of the war remain forever and its character becomes a reference for use of humanity in dealing with the consequence of its actions.Literatures CitedBadsey, Stephen. “The Western Front and the Birth of Total War.” BBC.co.uk. September 3, 2008. Brouwer, Rene. “The First World War 1914-1918.” September 3, 2008.