WWI

Keegan provides us with a description of the blunders, insults and perceived insults that led to World War I. The war was stupidly fought in general, and while the Allies won it was at a staggering cost with little lasting value. Basically the war planted the seeds of World War II because of the enmity, humiliation and demand for vengeance it left in its wake across a devastated Europe. Keegan also argues that advanced technology with respect to transportation and military weaponry, combined with flawed policy like the Schlieffen Plan were responsible for the enormous toll taken by the war. In his prologue entitled A European Tragedy, Keegan writes:

The First World War was a tragic and unnecessary conflict. Unnecessary because the train of events that led to its outbreak might have been broken at any point dur

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its outset claims the author. When German General von Kluck chose the east to approach Paris, he made a move that would bring the war to a stalemate for four years. Failed diplomacy after the assassination of Ferdinand also played a role in promoting a war that might have been averted. Despite numerous opportunities to avert the war, the belief that any military action would be swift and victorious by all parties involved prevented them from being realized. As Keegan writes, “When [the Kaiser] alone might have put brakes to the inexorable progression of the Schlieffen Plan, [the Kaiser] found he did not understand the machinery he was supposed to control, panicked and let a piece of paper determine events” (74). Failed diplomacy and flawed policies were not the only causes behind the devastating impact of World War I. Keegan also argues that the war occurred during a tragically inauspicious time in the history of technology. The “Great War” and “The War to End All Wars” changed the nature of military combat itself. The evolution of tanks, submarines, battleships, poison gas and the elements of trench warfare combined to take a much heavier toll on human lives than anyone ever imagined. As Keegan writes: “The simple truth
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Approximate Word count = 1218
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)

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