Wwi-Comparison Of German+French Soldiers Experiences
The first World War was a horrible experience for all sides involved. No
one was immune to the effects of this global conflict and each country was
affected in various ways. However, one area of relative comparison can be
noted in the experiences of the French and German soldiers. In gaining a
better understanding of the French experience, Wilfred Owen's Dulce et
Decorum Est was particularly useful. Regarding the German soldier's
experience, various selections from Erice Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the
Western Front proved to be a valuable source of insight. A analysis of the
above mentioned sources, one can note various similarities between the
German and French armies during World War I in the areas of trench warfare,
ill-fated troops, and military technology.
Trench warfare was totally unbiased. The trench did not
discriminate between cultures. This "new warfare" was unlike anything the
world had seen before, millions of people died during a war that was
supposed to be over in time for the holidays. Each side entrenched
themselves in makeshift bunkers that attempted to provide protection from
the incoming shells and brave soldiers. After receiving an order to
overtake the enemies bunker, soldiers trounced their way through the land
between the opposing armies that was referred to as "no man's land." The
direness of the war was exemplified in a quotation taken from Remarque's
All Quiet on the Western Front, "Attacks alternate with counter-attacks and
slowly the dead pile up in the field of craters between the trenches. We
are able to bring in most of the wounded that do not lie too far off. But
many have long to wait and we listen to them dying." (382) After years of
this trench warfare, corpses of both German and French soldiers began to
pile up and soldiers and civilians began to realize the futility of trench
warfare.
However, it was many years before any major thrusts were made along
the Western front. As...
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