How was the Great War the war to end all wars?

Answer 1

Answer: In terms of fulfilling its purpose (ending all wars), it sucked. In terms of creating the biggest problem known to mankind in terms of casualties, it was GREAT.

The war to end all wars was World War I, and its casualties numbered 36-37 million (16 million deaths, 20 million wounded). It destroyed entire regions, cultural monuments, and killed a large chunk of an entire generation. It also impacted future literature/culture for a time, since the casualties were highest in history at the time and embittered many, creating the so called "lost generation". For years, many literature became despondent, while societies worldwide became increasingly peace-focused (in sharp contrast to the pro-war sentiments before WWI)

World War I was called "the war to end all wars" because it involved all of the world's major powers due to strategic (and entangling) alliances; a mistake that nations vowed to never repeat again. They made numerous treaties to ensure safety, the most significant being the Treaty of Versailles (1918). To shorten the length of this answer, the treaty should theoretically bring about permanent peace. It was a total failure.

Its treaties literally bashed Germany as the root cause of the war (in reality, it was the result of the egos of ALL of major European powers). The treaty enforced unreasonable debts on Germany (it had to pay for everyone's debt in the war), restricted Germany's army significantly, and forced Germany to give away territories. In essence, Germany was the spoils of the war. This directly led to the Nazi Party, because Adolf Hitler began his plans for a retributive war due to the bad treatment of Germany and practically all Germans reserved a certain spot of HATRED against other nations (especially France). In 1939, Germany invaded Poland, starting off WWII and a campaign of extreme revenge.

In conclusion? For destruction, the war to end all wars was great. For effectiveness, it just sucked. a lot.