The Great War Changed the Definition of War

War has always been an interest of man. He who has the strongest army tends to hold the power. In the feudal society, the lords had access to armies which resulted in their dominance over the common man. In imperialistic Britain, the British were the most powerful, and thus, the economically wealthy nation in the world. With a dominant army, came a correlation of a strong economy. People saw war as romantic because the most skilled warriors determined a victory. World War 1 turned these ideas around.

Howitzer artillery gun used in World War I

World War 1 introduced the first mass killing machines. The introduction of the machine gun changed warfare forever. No longer was a war dependant on who was a better-trained shot, because with a machine gun, a spray of bullets into the enemy did not require skill and it was much more efficient. Artillery meant shells could devastate large groups of enemies.

One's skill with a rifle or a sword no longer determined if they would win a fight. The machine gun was the great equalizer where the only thing that mattered was how strong a position was. Mortar shells no longer required soldiers to even have to see their enemy to kill them. For the first time, a war was turned from an art or skill to an extermination effort. Whoever could kill more in less time, wins the war. The devastation was unprecedented.

Today, war can often be performed from different sides of the world. Rarely are conflicts large outright invasions because death can be delivered on a scale that would make large masses too easy with too large of costs of lives. War is impersonal. It is disconnected. Killing enemies is closer related to exterminating pests with a drone strike screen and hunting high-profile leaders like rodents.

Image credit: Howitzer gun Turkey World War 1, by WikiImages. Licensed by Pixaby under CC 2.0