Nothing has ever compared with the sheer carnage of WWI.
We were in a tiny village in northern Scotland, literally two streets and a square with a little church on one side. Off to one side of the square was a red sandstone memorial arch -- literally covered with hundreds of names of men from that tiny village that died in WWI. Down on the bottom at one side were 5-6 names of men who died in WWII.
Some towns in Scotland were almost wiped out.
According to one of my former professors who specializes in European history, World War I killed such a huge percentage of the cream of European “breeding stock” (pardon the phrase) that in following generations, the average height of Europeans dropped by more than two inches and their IQ’s fell by an average of 10 points.
My grandfather survived a mustard gas attack in WW I. He swore that his own and only son would not be sent off to the front lines in WW II. My dad served in the US Army during WWII in a medic unit.
Nothing has compared to the sheer stupidity of WW1, either. Generals in that war kept reinforcing failure, didn't change their plans to suit changing conditions, and insisted on sticking to those same plans (the Somme comes to mind) when it was clear it wasn't working.
In addition, they threw away so many soldiers' lives by refusing to reinforce successes and playing petty politics to enrich themselves that they all should have been shot.
Ironically, most of the lessons that were learned by the Europeans in WW1 should have been learned from the American Civil War. But the Europeans "knew better" and ordered men to charge the Maxim guns of the Germans.
Such a waste.
And a whole generation of Britons. I think the Great War damaged the British psyche beyond repair. They're still good chaps and all -- for the most part -- but their genes have mutated to include a strain of radical socialism that will never be expunged.
Not to minimize in any way the staggering, unbelievable carnage of WWI, but the Eastern Front in WWII is the record-holder for most savage and unfathomable casualties, probably approaching 30 million, with numerous entire town, villages, and even cities wiped out:
"The Eastern Front was by far the largest and bloodiest theatre of World War II. It is generally accepted as being the most costly conflict in human history with between 25-30 million dead as a result. It involved more land combat than all other World War II theatres combined. The Eastern Front resulted in staggering losses and disregard for human life...."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Front_(World_War_II)
So many gave so much. My great-grandfather survived the war. I wonder what the world would be like today if WWI had turned out differently. We are, now, so far removed from it that I don't think we can imagine the difference.
We were in a tiny village in northern Scotland, literally two streets and a square with a little church on one side. Off to one side of the square was a red sandstone memorial arch -- literally covered with hundreds of names of men from that tiny village that died in WWI. Down on the bottom at one side were 5-6 names of men who died in WWII.