Costs of World War One

Germany’s invention of new technologies and the policy of targeting innocent civilians caused an immense amount of death and destruction giving them blame for escalating the war. Germany invented multiple new technologies all of which cause a lot of destruction. Examples would include the Big Bertha, U-boats, Poison gas, and Gotha Bombers. Big Bertha was a howitzer that was first used by the German army to bombard Belgium and French forts during World War 1(Big Bertha Article). Poison gas became possibly the most important psychological weapon of the war(5 Technological Innovations of WW1). Gotha Bombers were used for concentrated bomber attacks on British cities which caused more damage than any Zeppelin Raid.

Germany had been bombing 2.4 million tons of shipping so far in 1917 in hopes of getting rid of the British (German Bombers over Britain Video). Militarism played a great role in fostering the arms race, which gave significant importance to the rise of new military technologies. The invention of new technologies leads to retaliation from other countries. Since Great Britain had a better navy than the Germans, the Germans counteracted this by building submarines, also known as U-boats. (Blockade of Germany) When one country builds a new and better weapon and uses it in battle, other countries feel threatened by this so they counteract by doing the same. The effect of this competitive nature between countries caused a lot of death and destruction. The number of kills in the British Empire was 8,904,467 people. For Germany, it was 11,000,000. For the United States, it was 4,355,000 (Costs of World War One). Germany also targeted civilians during World War 1. This was the first time civilians were targeted during the war.

The Germans used submarines that would shoot unsuspecting boats from below the water, which could sink ships. On February 1, 1917, the Germans further provoke enemies by enforcing the policy of unrestricted submarine warfare, which meant submarines could sink vessels(British Blockade of Germany). The Germans also bombed London civilians. They attacked them with the use of Gotha Bombers, one of the new technologies that Germany invented. Targeting civilians is an example of total war. Total War is conflict in which the contenders are willing to sacrifice lives and resources in order to secure their victory. The Germans were so wrapped up in winning the war, they went as far as to disregard their morals and target civilians. The Germans made an effort to mentally beat down their enemies and force them to surrender by bombing innocent civilians. The effect was more conflict between countries which inevitably caused more death. To conclude this paragraph, Germany escalated the war by introducing new strategies, targeting innocent civilians, and new technological advancements which lead to an immense amount of destruction.

Cite this page