Why Honoring Those Who Fought in the ‘Great War’ Remains Important

Time has taken all those who actually fought in World War I, as well as almost all the people who lived through it. We now examine that war as history, just as we examine other conflicts that have broken out over the years. And yet there’s still a unique quality to the observations of that long ago conflict – especially in Europe.

From watching British television one immediately notices that without exception everyone in the country is wearing a stylized “Remembrance Day” poppy. Absolute silence was observed for a full minute before football (soccer) kickoffs.

In France ceremonies are held today in every city, town and village with a Memorial to the ‘Great War,’ as the conflict is usually called here. Other European countries hold similar solemn observances on the anniversary of the war’s end.

Does it still make sense to commemorate such a long ago event? Is there any real reason to drag out the grainy newsreels of marching men and exploding shells, as French TV has been doing for most of the past week? Why does this war remain fixed in the collective European memory, even more than the one that succeeded it, which was even more destructive?

There are reasons that the anniversary should be commemorated and not just historic ones. More than 10 million men and women perished in that war. Europe never really recovered from that loss, as an entire generation – the future leaders of their respective countries – ceased to exist.

On November 11, 1918 European hegemony over large portions of the world began its slow and inexorable decline. Only the United States and Japan gained anything from that war. In the 18+ months that the U.S. actively participated in the war, over 50,000 U.S. soldiers died in battle, over 60,000 thousand died from accidents and disease and more than 200,000 were wounded- i.e. the gains were very costly.

After the Armistice the U.S. was viewed as a savior by Europeans – at least the ones who were on the winning side. President Woodrow Wilson was feted by Europe’s leaders as no American President had ever been before (or since for that matter). And yet the U.S. did not join the League of Nations, which probably doomed its efforts to maintain the peace. Europe fragmented into warring camps once again, and no one seemed to be able to stop the inevitable slide towards another war.

Europeans soon forgot the most important lesson of the First World War, even while they were building memorials to those who fought and died in it. The message has finally gotten through, however. War is a terrible and destructive activity that should be avoided at all costs. Given the destructive power of modern weapons, it is no longer, as Carl von Clausewitz described it – “nothing but the continuation of state policy with other means.”

Those means, including atomic weapons, have become so destructive that war should be unleashed only under the most extreme conditions, such as freeing countries overrun by Hitler and the Nazis. Europeans have learned from bitter experience that, while war may sometimes be necessary, it is never an easy choice, and should be employed only when all else fails.

For the U.S., as the world’s only superpower, the lesson has been very hard to swallow. But after Vietnam – a total and costly failure; Iraq I – a war that was imposed on the U.S. and others by a brutal dictator; Iraq II, a war that never should have happened; and now Afghanistan and all the turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa, even the U.S. has come to the realization that trying to impose its will across the globe by military means is a task that simply cannot be accomplished.

Solutions to problems, even the most intractable ones, come from seeking answers, rather than unleashing military power. Asking about the origins of the First World War, as the 100th anniversary of August 1914 approaches, is a good place to start. An examination of that war and the horrors that flowed from it might just shed some light on how to settle some of our present day hostilities.

So, yes we need to remember the end of the Great War, and yes, we need to ask ourselves and those around us, how the leaders of the ‘Great Powers’ got themselves into a position which ultimately resulted in their “assured mutual destruction.” If we find answers, we may also find solutions. Those millions who died in that long ago conflict will perhaps rest easier if we do.

Topics USA Europe