Compare and Contrast Essay on World War I and World War II

Introduction

The first and the Second World War have been classified as the largest military conflict in the history of humanity. The First World War was fought between 1914 to 1918, while the Second World War was from 1939 to1945. According to Travers analysis, "a distinctive feature of both wars was that they brought damage, loss of life and human suffering on a scale never witnessed in any other wars (46)." Partially, this was because both conflicts deployed technology on a horrific range and new weapons that could wipe out masses were introduced in the field of battle. However, despite the justifications that have been provided to argue why the two wars were fought, it remains clear that war is a result of human greed, and selfish ambitions to gain supremacy and it only causes human suffering.

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In both conflicts, Germany played an active role of an aggressor where due to various reasons it provoked other nations into war. Also, the results for both the First and the Second World War saw the defeat of Germany and the highest losses regarding human life and properties. Despite German being the cause of the two wars, there were different reasons which led to the breaking out of the military conflicts. In the First World War, the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austin caused a domino effect where each nation found a reason to fight its rivals. It is for that reason that Austro-Hungarians waged war against Serbia, German U- boats attacked and sank the United States submarines prompting the Americans to declare war on the Germans ("Compare and Contrast World War 1 & World War 2 | Jotted Lines - Part 2"). The other factor which led to war was the imperialistic and territorial enmity between Europeans countries such as France, Great Britain, Russia, Serbia Germany, and Hungary. The world war II was however caused by entirely different reasons which included the harsh Treaty of Versailles on the Germans and the blatant ambition of Adolf of Hitler which entailed conquering Europe and advancing the imperialism philosophies.

The most significant similarity of both wars is in the all-encompassing nature brought about by these conflicts. The impact which was brought on the civil society was very profound where the nations involved had to assume a state of the emergency in their countries and recruited young men to join the army on a large scale. According to the book written by Forrest and others, "the economic disruptions were consistent in both wars where all goods which were manufactured were channeled towards serving the needs of the soldiers (133)." The violation of human rights and loss of lives were on a horrific scale wherein each war, more than ten million lives were lost and other millions displaced, physically decapitated and emotionally traumatized. However, the World War II proved to be more destructive than the first war for all the participating nations and mostly the Jews people where the Germans exterminated nearly 6 million Jews ("Compare and Contrast World War 1 & World War 2 | Jotted Lines - Part 2"). The other difference between the two wars was the role played by the women, wherein the first war they did not have an active role as compared to the second war (Forrest et al. 46). Example of how women participated in the Second World War is that they were employed in ammunition factories, worked as nurses and caregivers of the wounded soldiers.

The historical impact is another similarity whereby these two wars shaped the world as it is today. Due to the alliances in both wars and the results of fighting it with powerful nations, the world realized that there was a need to form institutions to prevent such tragedies. The first idea after the First World War was the formation of the League of Nations, a body that would be replaced later by the United Nations ("Compare and Contrast World War 1 & World War 2 | Jotted Lines - Part 2"). These organs were to ensure that disputes would be resolved amicably without resulting to war, and if future wars had to be fought, it would not be on a worldwide scale as witnessed in the conflicts. Regarding technology, there was a massive technological advancement in the course of the two wars, where most of the modern military inventions were made and put into use. However, there was a difference in how the technology available at that time was used, wherein the First World War the technology was rudimental and straightforward. Based on Travers's account, "the Second World War saw advancement in military weapons such as tanks, warplanes and the invention of a nuclear bomb among other devices (70)." As a result of the conflict, the power and the influence of the United States grew quite considerably considering it was a significant player in the second world war and a contributor to the event which some scholars argue led to the end of the war (the use of the atomic bomb in Japan).

Conclusion

In conclusion, both the first and the Second World War were unfortunate events in the human history which saw losses of life on a devastating level. They serve as a painful reminder that war cannot be a solution to any problem. Instead, war is an expression of human failure and the limit of reasoning. However, despite the havoc and the trail of destruction left behind by the two wars, essential reasons have been taken from the conflict and more powerful bodies such as the United Nation, European Union, African Union, and NATO among others have been formed to ensure that a country will never advance its heinous agenda on weak governments. Perhaps it is because of the two wars that a third war will never occur. In spite of that, World War I and II shaped many things in the world today, the leaders who survived and the ideologies embraced are in most cases remarkable.

Works Cited

"Compare and Contrast World War 1 & World War 2 | Jotted Lines - Part 2." A Collection of Essays, 13 Oct. 2012, jottedlines.com/politics/compare-and-contrast-world-war-1-world-war-2/2/.

Forrest, Alan, et al. War, Demobilization and Memory: The Legacy of War in the Era of Atlantic Revolutions. 2016.

Travers, T H. E. How the War Was Won. Taylor & Francis, 2014.