The callousness with which Western Europe’s 1%ers threw away lives in WWI explains why that same territory was a relative sideshow to WWII; the local populations were so cynical they would never endure that again (most of the action was on the Eastern Front and in Asia). Allied troops landing in France in 1944 (particularly the British) were shocked at the relative comfort in which French civilians were living (in comparison to the rationing in Britain).
The civilian populations of those Western European countries most heavily impacted by WWI knew they were just pawns in a war between much larger forces.