World War I: The Deadliest War In Human History

World War I Student Name Course Date World War I Introduction World War 1 turned out to be one of the deadliest wars in human history. When the war began, many observers indicated that the war would not last believing that it would most likely be “over by Christmas.” However, this was the not the case because the war dragged on for more than four years with a lot of bloodshed and suffering in the battlefields. Many historians have tried to explain why the war lasted for so long when it was predicted it would be relatively short. The answer to this question is multifaceted and historians have proposed various contributing factors to this scenario. For this reason, it is important to examine the World War 1 lasted for so long because of factors such as that it was a war of attrition, there was stalemate-deadlock, innovation in battlefield, and also the ambitions and aims for both sides kept increasing. One main reason why World War I lasted for so long is because it was a war of attrition. According to, the war main players were industrial powers who possessed large economies and populations. In this way, they could afford to lose battles, suffer severe loses in terms of life, and fire tons of ammunition but still have the capability to continue the war because they had the resources. For example, Russia suffered immense loses in almost every battle that it fought against Germany but the country still remained in the war and only withdrew almost three years later. Ultimately, when examined closely, the war dragged on for so long and each because each country wanted to reduce the power of the others. In fact, the Allies won in the end because they managed to access superior overall resources that gave them the power to destroy their enemies. All the same, it still took them a long time even after the United States joined them with millions of people dead before they were able to finish Germany and Austria-Hungary. It is also believed that the war lasted longer than was expected because of stalemate-deadlock. Johnsonargues that during World War 1, the development of the new “trench warfare” technique became extensively used. This technique involved both sides having trenches dug up that resulted in significance deaths on both sides but limited significance advancement to the other side. This occurred because this was a defensive tactic and not offensive, which means that no side was making any headway. For example, German began using the trench but shortly after, the Russians also dug trenches and while they could defend themselves, they could not make any decisive attack. The troops would have things such as barbed wire that ensured their defense but limited their ability to make any significance offensive move. Johnson says that this stalemate caused the war to drag on as opposed to how it was expected to end after a sho...