The Great War was a tragedy

If you want to discuss The Great War (World War One) then discuss it here. All things said, it is quite obvious (I feel) that no one wanted that war, and by no one I mean the "powers that be".

Der Kaiser Wilhelm II wrote to Tzar Nicolas just before the war broke out, imploring Russia to stop mobilizing and even called the Tzar "Cousin Nicky" which is a big deal.

France pulled their troops from their front line defenses by over a mile as a gesture of good faith (but it was too late by then German troops were already mobilized and on the trains and psychologically Molenke if that's his name...I'll have to look it up...just couldn't stop his order).

It was a huge waste. A stupid conflict that set the seeds for an even deadlier and uglier conflict, WW 2.

It was all about a bunch of European Monarchs acting like twats and flexing their muscles and bringing out old ethnic and political hatred to light. It was a war that could have been avoided with diplomacy and calm, rational heads.

There are many ways that the Cold War could have turned into World War 3.

Good example of this is a russian submarine operator declined the order to fire on a US naval unit. This occured during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Again it was the world leaders; Kruschev and Kennedy flexing their muscles. Kennedy had ordered a naval blockade of Cuba. A Russian submarine was attacked by charage detonators placed underwater, but refused to open fire on US naval unit.

WW1 was a great tragedy and believe it or not the reason for it was oil and the industrialisation of Europe. The western front was an industrial slaughter house where many men never got the chance to fire a shot but we shelled to death, a complete and utter waste of hummanity, and even worse we keep repeting it.

Each time I go over to France I visit the sites where my relatives fought and died, for many of them they have no final resting place but are remembered in name only. The strangest thing of all is the battle sites have not changed, its still open country, rolling hills and flat plain's, just as it was in their time. The ground is richly fertilaised by the bodies of millions and the sites are strangely quite as if nature itself is paying respect to the fallen. One can only feel sadness in these places, that so many died for the few. And even today we the people, the great multitude are still fighting for the rich, greedy and powerful, when are we goining to learn to say no.