The Great War
The Great War was a very intense battle that took the lives of millions of both soldiers and helpless civilians. It dragged on for four terrible years and brought death to any country it reached. The soldiers in this battle were the most impacted by it, as they were faced with danger at all times, and suffered physical and emotional distress.
The soldiers in the battle were constantly in danger at all times of their service. They were most in danger during battle, and one soldier describes this experience as “a place of bursting mines and shells”. He also says that “it seemed quite impossible that [the soldier] should escape in the rain of shell, which exceeds anything imaginable”(The Battle of Verdun). This environment is very dangerous, and a soldier could die instantly without notice in a struggle just to survive, and hopefully take down another opposing soldier in the process. Even when the soldiers are not in battle, and are climbing through the jungle to the next battle, they are still in danger of hiding opponents. This also brought another sense of danger and one soldier says. “Though we learned not to duck a rifle-bullet because, once heard, it must have missed, it gave us a worse feeling of danger”(Life in the Trenches). This quote shows that the soldiers had to be ready for immediate fire, and learned not to duck if they hear fire. It shows that the soldiers were in constant danger and could not even travel in safety.
All this danger eventually took its toll on the soldiers, and they suffered emotional distress as a result. The constant danger made the soldiers fearful for their lives, and one soldier says that “these are the moments when even the bravest soldier is so utterly sick of the whole thing that he could cry like a child”(German Student’s War Letter). This shows that the war broke down all types of soldiers, and they experienced extreme emotional distress as a result. The war also took the all of the...