Woodrow Wilson’s famous dubbing of World War I as “the war to end all wars” would be disproved a few decades later when Nazi Germany invaded Poland to kick off the Second World War. I think a more appropriate name would be “the war to end all gentlemen’s wars.” Every time we discuss the idea of gentlemen’s warfare, I always think about the beginning of Gone With the Wind with all the plantation owners’ sons strutting in their Confederate officer uniforms, hoping for war and excited to get a chance to shoot some Yankees. World War I’s technological advances forced military leaders to have more than just social status, and actually understand strategy and tactics. World War II brought with it men like Patton and Rommel, who rose to their position through effective use of the technology they had at their disposal. This is even more the case in combat today, as the focus is on minimal human losses and a huge reliance on technology.
So the question now becomes, is warfare “better” now? With the gentlemen’s few rules replaced by the complex openness of combat today, there are definitely fewer casualties but the potential losses are far, far greater. Nuclear weapons, cruise missiles, and biological warfare are a far cry from the horses and primitive machine guns used in the trenches of France. I personally think military tactics are much better now, and wish we could fight all wars through unmanned aircraft and long-range weapons, but I’m also an American, which skews my perspective greatly. And even though we have made so many advances in weaponry, there is still the necessity of ground troops going door to door. And to those men, I am thankful.
On a lighter note, here is World War I awesomely explained in cartoon form.
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John, awesome cartoon! I think we should have looked at this in class. I agree that WWI changed warfare and turned it away from the old gentleman's type. As you said, the advances in technology have drastically changed the way we/everyone else fights, and in many ways it has been for the better. The loss numbers will testitfy to that point. I think that the "rules" followed by the gentlemen were good, but it would be too hard to put these rules to use now with the drastic changes that have been made.
ReplyDeleteI agree that technology and warfare today is better in that fewer lives are lost at war. However, with the advances in technology technically the room for mass destruction is greatly increased. I don't think that gentlemen's warfare has returned but I definitely think that the men and women who go to war can be proud of what they do.
ReplyDeleteI like your distinction between war and gentlemen's war. For many of the leaders of WWI, accepting the fundamental changes in warfare brought on by new technologies and massive drafts meant radically changing their world views. World War I meant the end of short, romantic wars ended by decisive victories and quick treaty negotiations. For many, World War I (or the Great War) remains the defining moment of the 20th century.
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