The War To End All Wars

   It was 100 years ago tomorrow, August 4, 1914, World War 1 started. Germany invaded Belgium, with a view to knocking out France. Britain (and with it the British Empire including Canada) declared war on Germany.
   The event that actually triggered the war happened June 28, 1914, in Sarajevo, Serbia (see my blog of June 27th), with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie by Gavrilo Princip.
   By the time of the armistice on November 11, 1918, some 11 million military personel, including at least 60 thousand Canadians, had been killed.

   What made this war so brutal was technology. New developments in weapons like the machine gun made it possible for a squad of men to devastate a large number of advancing troops. That was the other reason for the high casualty count. The weapons had outstripped the military thinking of the time, where massed troops were marched straight toward the enemy. Machine guns simply tore through those ranks.
   Another reason for the large number of deaths was how the war evolved, or rather didn't. It was mainly fought in the trenches, with stretches of "no man's land" in between. And while trenches did provide a measure of safety for troops, they were vulnerable to shelling from the opposite side. In fact, it's been said the majority of casualties in the war were from shelling, rather than direct contact with the enemy.
   The war also saw the development of the aircraft from a simple observation tool to a combat platform. It saw the development of tanks, designed to roll into and through trenches.
   As mentioned, some 60 thousand Canadians died in the fighting. They are buried in cemeteries across France and Belgium, including Tyne Cot in Belgium

   It's the sacrifice these men, and many of their sons in World War 2, made which should be remembered, especially on November 11th each year.

TTFN