Another terrible problem was the rats. There were literally millions of rats running around the trenches. They fed on the dead remains of the soldiers and could grow to the size of a rat. These rats carried many diseases that killed many of the men there as well. Lice were another dilemma in the trenches.
Another disease soldiers caught during World War 1 is dysentery. Dysentery is an infection of the intestines marked by severe diarrhoea, caused by poor water supply, water cleanliness and no proper toilets for the soldiers to use. Dirty drinking water caused a lot of problems during World War 1, mainly because it contains all sorts of illnesses and diseases, which once you have in your system, cause you to get ill. Cholera was cause by dirty water, causing sickness, diarrhoea and even death it if was left untreated for long enough. Trench mouth was also common during World War 1. This is where you get an infection of the mouth, caused by poor oral hygiene and lack of important vitamins, due to a poor diet, smoking, tooth or mouth infections and stress.
The battle was fought in a heavily forested Ardennes region of eastern Belgium and northern Luxembourg The fact that the battle was fought in a heavy forested area, with the conditions of the fog made the battle more dangerous, because the sight was poor and there was no clue where the opposite army was hidden. The Battle of the Bulge was a very vicious battle that had taken place. The battle included 600,000 Germans, 500,000 Americans and 55,000 British. More than one million of the worlds' men fought in this battle. It claimed 100,000 German casualties, killed wounded or captured, 81,000 American casualties, including 23,554 captured and 19,000 killed, 1,400 British casualties and 200 killed.
This was terribly inconsiderate of the military as the other 82% of the nation was left to starve as the military was the government’s top priority. This led to extreme cases of hunger across Russia which soon became famine. Food shortages were at their worst in the towns and cities, Petrograd suffered particularly badly due to the remoteness from the food-producing regions. Secondly, transportation was a key pre- existing war condition; it was the disruption of the transport system rather than the decline in food production that was the major cause Russia’s wartime shortages. The attempt to transport millions of troops and masses of supplies to the war fronts created unbearable pressure on the Russian transport system, and it bucked under the pressure.
The country also felt threatened as its neighbouring country, Russia was part of the Triple Entente and was itself building up a vast army. Keeping a strong army was important to Germany because it helped to demonstrate to the rest of the world that they were a rising power. In addition, Germany was also in competition with Great Britain. At the time Britain had the largest navy; something Germany envied. Once Britain started introducing their new battleships, named the Dreadnoughts, Germany followed suit.
How important were the actions of officers rather than conditions in causing a high death toll in WW1. In World War One the amount of deaths were staggeringly high, this came down to many different reasons. Over the four years many men died from diseases, the conditions of the trenches and ‘no mans land’. However the most deaths came from within the army itself, it usually came from the poor actions that the officers made. Firstly, a main point that their actions were to blame would be that repetitive tactics and how they would refuse to change them.
When war was declared in 1914, much of the Russian population rallied behind the Tsar and the monarchy in a wave of patriotism. However, the war weariness in the face of 'Total War' soon gripped the country, as the war exacerbated the domestic difficulties of Russia and highlighted the governments structural issues. Losses such as the 'Brusilov offensive' demoralised the army, which in turn weakened the standing of the Tsar and the faith the public placed in him. Poor organisation lead to major casualties, as by Christmas of 1916, 1.6 million soldiers were dead and 3.9 million were wounded with 2.4 million taken prisoner. This lack of organisation also lead to food shortages and issues with transport.
Militarism is known as to maintain a strong military capability and increase in the number of armed forces. Germany and Great Britain were in a great competition. Both countries were increasing their naval spending. This arms race, or the build up of armies and navies, caused fear and suspicion and also led to a hostile relationship between these two countries. Imperialism, competition for trade and colonies, resulted in tense relationships between European nations.
In addition, the war caused severe damage to economy since their were less men to work for in the fields and more Raw material was needed for the War. Great War is said to be the worst war for the soldiers because although their were more fatalities in World War two but the conditions that the soldiers had to face in Great War were beyond belief. Since great weapons like the machine gun and the long range cannonballs were invented, the casualties were tremendous in numbers in both Africa and Ottoman empire. Also, trench warfare was really used and due to the horrific conditions the
Three Causes of World War I World War I was caused by a combination of many factors which turned a conflict into an international outbreak. World War I was reportedly started by the assignation of Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to the Austo-Hungarian throne, but there are deeper motives behind the dawn of World War I. These include but are not limited to, militarism, imperialism, and nationalism. The first reason for the outbreak of the war was militarism. “Militarism is the glorification of one’s military.