Argumentative Essay: The First World War

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World War I was a starting point to much of the chaos that ensues throughout 1914-1918, leaving many families in grief over a lost relative and pointlessly wasted lives. It was the kickoff to bloodshed between nations, different cultures, languages, and even commitment to country. This war caused pain and destruction that rivaled the infamous bubonic plague, aka the raging “Black Death.” People hoped that this nonstop crusade would not continue to operate uncontrolled. From our historians’ point of view, this struggle took a turn that made World War I take a “nose-dive” into the lengthy and unyielding conflict we recognize today. A considerable amount of time into the hostility could have been avoided and been managed to cease the pandemonium …show more content…

The bombardments throughout the war mainly served the purpose of bombing an area to take out adversaries within the blast range, leaving soldiers cornered in bomb shelters to protect themselves from the inferno. This also left officers mentally unwell, causing fear within them to try and escape their “tombs.” It also took long periods of time for a bombardment to fully complete, taking up to a full day to have a bomb run pass over. This also allowed the bombers opposition to either escape their fiery wrath, or take too long to take out an area to leave their allies waiting for hours to finally advance to their designated area of advance. Take this for example, the crown prince of Russia, Rupprecht, sent his chief of staff, Konrad Krafft von Dellmensingen, to take out a French trench on August 25th, 1914. After he was called to the task he began planning his way of attacking the heavily guarded Meurthe River, “He sent men from southern Germany against French trenches, supported by some of the heaviest artillery bombardments seen in more than a century. They made little headway”(Lorraine …show more content…

"The war that didn't end all wars: what started in 1914--and why it lasted so long." Foreign Affairs, Nov.-Dec. 2014. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Accessed 6 Feb. 2018.
“Lorraine: Was the 1914 German Offensive in Lorraine an Appropriate Response to Altered Circumstances on the Western Front?” History in Dispute, edited by Dennis Showalter, vol. 8: World War I: First Series, St. James Press, 2002, pp.179-185. World History in Context, Accessed 15 Feb. 2018.
“Public Opinion and Foreign Policy: Did the Tsarist Government Consider Public Opinion in Formulating Foreign Policy?” History in Dispute, edited by Paul du Quenoy, vol. 21: Revolutionary Russia, 1890-1930, St. James Press, 2005, pp. 107-112. World History in Context. Accessed 15 Feb. 2018.
Quenoy, Paul Du, and David L. Ruffley. “Tsar Nicholas II: Did the Decision of Tsar Nicholas II to Take Personal Command at the Front Accelerate the Fall of the Russian Empire?” History in Dispute, edited by Dennis Showalter, vol. 9: World War I: Second Series, St. James Press, 2002, pp. 237-244. World History in Context. Accessed 15 Feb. 2018.
Strachan, Hew. "The War to End All Wars?" Foreign Affairs, Jan.-Feb. 2003, p. 148. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Accessed 6 Feb.

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