1st WW: 20th Century's Seminal Catastrophe - Essay Sample

Introduction

The First World War is considered the seminal catastrophe of the twentieth century by many scholars. This is because in the nineteenth-century technology had brought catastrophe upon the earth. For example, in the Nineteenth Century, many train accidents claimed the lives of many people. As such, the use of technology in the First World War was a seminal catastrophe of the twentieth century. For instance, there was extensive use of terrible guns, gas, tanks, and other artilleries. Due to the horrific instruments of war, about 10 million soldiers perished, 10 million military personnel died, 7 million civilians died, and about 20 million people were severely wounded (Bruendel & Estelmann, 2018). This paper will discuss facts that justify why the First World War is referred to as the seminal catastrophe of the twentieth century.

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The 22nd April of 1915 marked the begging of chemical weapons in war. There were two types of chemical weapons: gas cylinders and grenades. About 45 different types of gases were used, 130000 tons of gases were used wounding 1.2 million soldiers and killing 91000 soldiers (Mork, 2016). Moreover, the flame thrower was used to attack the enemy using poisonous smoke at a safe distance. The flame thrower killed several people by burning them alive.

The invention of the machine gun in 1914 revolutionized the First World War. It was a fully automatic firearm with the capacity to fire about 400-600 rounds per minute. The machine gun could destroy an enemy at a far distance. The airplane brought precision in the way war was conducted. However, it causes the death of 125,000 people. There were types of planes used during the war: bomber, fighter, and reconnaissance (Popp & Hannig, 2015). Due to mechanical problems, bad weather, and pilot errors, the airplane became a very destructive machine in the First World War.

The First World War led to the suffering and death of many people. Technological inventions such as the areophane, the machine gun, gas cylinders, and grenades claimed the lives of soldiers and other civilians. Millions of people died due to military inventions that the world had not experienced before. As such, the First World War can be termed as the seminal catastrophe of the twentieth century.

References

Bruendel, S., & Estelmann, F., (2018). Introduction: Disasters of War: Perceptions and Representations from 1914 to the Present. In Disasters of War (pp. 1-12). Wilhelm Fink Verlag. DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30965/9783846762905_002Mork, A., (2016). Constructing the house of European history. European Commemoration: Locating World War I, 218.Retrieved from: https://www.ssoar.info/

Popp, S., & Hannig, M., (2015). Popular history magazines as a source of intercultural, transnational, and media-critical history education. 1914-2014-Remembering the past to live the present and shape the future, 25.Retrieved from: http://www.dvv-international.de