World War 1 and The Aftermath.
The Excitement versus the reality of the War.
At the beginning of World War I, the majority of soldiers and local citizens were overwhelmed by the fact that they were convinced it was a suitable course for the country. The feeling of patriotism was mutual across the country in the early 19th century. From their perspective, this War was a higher purpose; the dedication and enthusiasm were for the greatness of the nation(Vansant, Wayne, and Erich Maria Remarque).
In August of 1914, the first set of soldiers departed to fight for their country. On the ground, though, things were tenser than expected. The majority of these soldiers underwent severe torture during the War, some of them succumbed to cold in the network of broad trenches, but some survived. Few survivors expressed the horror of the warfare, including a famous novelist Erick Maria in his book All Quiet on the Western Front.
Before the outbreak of the War, people around the globe had experienced nearly a half-century of peace. Soldiers going to the battlefield and most of the people at that moment had just heard heroic stories of War or used stories and paintings to create scenarios of the past in their heads. To them, it was just a simple errand for the great nation where they would be back for Christmas to narrate their own heroic stories. As a result of misinterpretation and lack of preparation, these young men sang and rejoiced in the trains as they headed for the man-slaughter blood bath that would be remembered for centuries.
In the book All Quiet on the Western Front, Remarque brought about the scenario as it was during the War, perhaps to prevent the same mistake. He explains how difficult it was to be woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of explosions while at the same time being in the receiving end of heavy fire from all sides. Soldiers were crouching into corners to avoid the falling layers of concrete and hide from flying bullets. That being just one of many nights, by morning, the recruits were vomiting and painted green from head to toe. To the surprise of many, steel helmets would emerge from all sides of the trench, clear evidence of hundreds of men all buried in the trenches. Hello, good morning, the day was beginning, a short distance from the hideout, a machine gun was already set and spitting bullets, on their direction of course. Now the attacks start.
From a distance, the base was surrounded by wire-entanglements used as obstacles towards their military ground. These men watched as the wires got torn apart by deadly weapons used by opponents, troops then start approaching as you stand still, surrounded and panicking knowing what it all meant. As they approached the remnants of the barbed wire, they had also suffered a great deal. Dead bodies were lying on the ground, and one could recognize the distorted faces and the smooth helmets, which were French. Erich saw one of the victims; he had fallen into a wire cradle with the head facing upwards. His body had collapsed while the hands remain suspended in a manner symbolizing prayer. Suddenly his body drops, separating with the arms which were left hanging on the wire (Waterhouse, Robert, et al.). Well, that would be a good painting for future reference.
Works Cited
Vansant, Wayne, and Erich Maria Remarque. All Quiet on the Western Front. Annapolis, Md, Dead Reckoning, 2019.
Waterhouse, Robert, et al. All Quiet on the Western Front. New York, N.Y., Dramatists Play Service, 2019.