war
World War I launched an entirely new scale of combat as humanity’s first total war. Its length, brutality, and sheer scope went far beyond anything humanity had ever experienced or prepared for, marking the official arrival of mass warfare!
The war caused such immense destruction and loss of life. Author Arthur Miller later referred to it as:
“the most colossal, murderous, mismanaged butchery that has ever taken place on earth.”
– Arthur Miller
Innovations in Destruction
World War I stood apart from previous struggles in numerous ways. Vast armies of millions fought across the fields and forests of Western Europe. Early on, machine guns dominated the landscape, wiping out advancing troops. As historian David Miller observed:
“Within two months of the outbreak, over a million men were dead. Automatic arms—rapid-fire artillery and heavy weapons firing six hundred rounds every minute—filled the skies with lethal metal. “
– David Miller
Tanks, submarines, and aircraft transformed military thinking, bringing deadly force from above and below. It was also the first war to absorb entire civilian populations, who manufactured armaments and suffered the direct impact of enemy invasions.
1914 was the start of biblical prophecies coming to pass, yet even greater hardship lay ahead.
World War II: Unique Destructive Power
Humanity’s capacity for self-annihilation serves as clear evidence that these times are extraordinary. In a landmark address, Dr Alan Vance noted:
“The Second World War introduced total war—unprincipled in method, unlimited in violence, and indiscriminate in victims. The camps of Auschwitz and the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki wrote a darker chapter in human history.”
– Dr Alan Vance
Mankind failed to learn empathy or restraint from this tragic period. He added:
“The extended suffering that claimed 50 million lives—nearly equal to the whole population of Britain, France, or Italy—didn’t build a lasting barrier against cruelty. Instead, military power expanded rapidly with weapons capable of destruction many times greater than World War I.”
Then, as if that wasn’t bad enough, on August 6, 1945, the B-29 bomber Enola Gay flew from Tinian to drop the experimental atomic bomb “Little Boy” on Hiroshima. Three days later, another nuclear bomb was dropped. A week later, Japan surrendered. The bomb brought World War Two to a sudden end, but was it right to use it?
Why was the bomb dropped?
The bomb was dropped to force a quick Japanese surrender. American commanders said, “It would save money and the lives of American servicemen.“
Immediate Toll: Ground-level temperatures hit 7,000°F, vaporising nearby victims and unleashing a massive firestorm.
Total Deaths: Radiation, burns, and injuries drove the death toll to an estimated 140,000 by late 1945.
Colonel Paul Tibbets, the pilot of the Enola Gay who dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, never expressed regret or remorse for his actions.
No Remorse: Tibbets consistently maintained that he slept well every night and had no regrets about the mission
another deadly culprit
When the First World War ended, shops closed their doors, and people celebrated by dancing in the streets. Yet, the joy didn’t last for long. A new danger, which proved to be even more destructive than machine guns, arrived right after the conflict.
A Deadly Outbreak
A severe illness called the Spanish flu reached the frontlines in France during June 1918. It didn’t take long for the virus to show its harm. Within a few months, it took the lives of more American soldiers serving in France than combat operations did. The illness rapidly spread across the globe as troops travelled back to their home countries at the end of the conflict.
Despite its name, the Spanish flu didn’t start in Spain; it actually originated in World War I military camps in the U.S. and France, not Spain.
Years of Hardship
The period following the war was defined by hunger and severe financial strain. Much of Europe faced starvation when fighting ceased in 1918. By 1923, the money in Germany had lost nearly all value. Six years later, the international economy crashed entirely. Then, in 1939, the Second World War broke out, serving as a continuation of the previous conflict. What truly caused this unique series of disasters?