It seemed this movie was saying both the German and the British were morally equivalent in the war, that it didn't matter who won the war, that it was all meaningless, random slaughter. I'm not familiar with the issues of WW1, but if I SERIOUSLY felt that way I would go to prison as a conscientious objector rather than participate in meaningless bloodshed. I know in WW2, it would have been a horror if the Nazis ruled the world!
shareWell, WWI was basically worthless. There was no point to it. The latest Sherlock Holmes movie is a good descriptor for that war. Moriarity points out that the war will happen whether he does anything about it or not. And, from a certain point of view he was correct. The nations of Europe were basically put on a path to total war by the ideas created during the reign of Napoleon. Strong nationalism married to fragile alliances. To me, there was no right position to be on in this war. Austria was spoiling for a fight against Slovenia for no real defendable reason. Since Austria was allied with Germany, Germany had to fight. Since Slovenia was allied with Russia, Russia had to fight. Since Russia was allied with France, Germany had to fight France. Since England was nominally allied to France, England had to fight.
This is a very cursory explanation of the start of the war, but to sum up... it was inevitable, but also worthless. You can see this in what happens after the first big push the Germans make into France. Once they are stopped at the Marne river, the Germans don't really know what to do, so they dig in. The French and English are not capable of dislodging the Germans, so they dig in too. This then begins 4 years of trench warfare, where land is exchanged in yards, not miles. On the Russian side, things are a little more fluid, until 1917, when the Revolution happens and Russia pulls out of the war.
Sorry for the long post... history is a passion of mine.
This movie is similar to All Quiet on the Western Front. It is told from the German perspective, where the only time you see one of the allied troops is during a battle, yet it is a compassionate story showing the worthlessness of war.
"Hitler! C'mon, I'll buy you a glass of lemonade."
Didn't the assignation of Arch Duke Ferdinand spark the outbreak of WW1?
A group of Bosnian Serbs,known as The Black Hand were responsible-the objective was to form Yugoslavia -the outbreak was known as Young Bosnia-from what I remember from High SchoolThe bullet fired by Gavrilo Princip, sometimes referred to as "the bullet that started World War I"
Yes, something like that. It just grew and grew, into all-out war. A sad commentary on human imperfection.
The Maltese Falcon: https://youtu.be/hp7130Bjec4
The Great War was motivated by many things. Among them was Great Britain's desire to solidify it's positions in Mesopotamia and to gain Constantinople as a British port. It was the empire's desire to link the Eastern British Empire (Hindustan and Persia) to the Mediterranean. In may ways it was a continuation of the Crimean War and was supposed to be the answer to "The Eastern Question." An excellent examination of this is David Fromkin's A Peace To End All Peace.
The war in Europe was to force territorial concessions outside of Europe.
I'm open to the possibility it's possible.
Is your mind open to the possibility it's impossible?
I can't recall where I heard it, but on both sides the pilots were expected to take out the enemy planes, but not necessarily the enemy pilots. a kind of camaraderie among aviators.
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