re: I am glad I was not born early enough to fight in the First World War

How many American soldiers fought in both world wars?

Why do we let politicians screw up then send us to get blown up?

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For the British this is certainly true. However, what people don't realize is that August 22, 1914, was even worse for the French. No one knows exactly how many total casualties there were on that day for the French army, but the number of KIA is fairly certain: 27,000.

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The French Army suffered horrendous losses from start to finish. The true extent of their losses was hidden by the French Army (which had absolute control on all information coming from the frontlines) from everyone, including the French government, the French people and their British allies. Had the actual French losses been known, France probably would have been forced to sue for peace by 1916.

Verdun is a prime example. History books tells us about “The” Battle of Verdun and it was a German offensive. But in reality, between the Verdun and Champaign sectors (combined they represented about 40 miles of front) the French Army launched 6 major offensives between 1914 and 1917, all of which gained absolutely nothing and cost the French an estimated one million casualties, and that’s in just these two sectors alone.. By 1918, the US Army was taking over these sectors. So really, most of the French losses in this sector happened between 1914 and 1917. It wasn’t until the 1930s that the public learned the extent of losses the French Army suffered there.

Try wrapping your mind around this. The Verdun-Champagne sectors consisted 40 miles of the frontlines held by French forces. In total, the French Army held about 400 miles of front. So these two sectors represented roughly 10% of the French frontline. Total French casualties for all sectors of the Western front between 1914 & 1917 (remember in 1918 this sector was being taken over by the Americans) is estimated to be between 4.3 and 4.5 million men.

So, the Verdun-Champagne Sectors, despite representing only 10% of the frontline held by the French Army, produced almost 25% of all French casualties during the period of 1914 to 1917.

And not even the French government knew about the extent of the senseless slaughter there until years after the war was over.

BTW, the frontline in the Verdun-Champagne sector moved between 1 to 5 miles back and forth between 1914 and 1917. When American forces began taking over this area in 1918, the frontline was basically identical to that of 1914.

Plan a full day at the WW1 museum in KC. Maybe two. It's awesome.

One downvote in every reply. Hmmm.

More people died in WW2 obviously. Because there were so many massive theaters, it was the most deadly.

But I’ll contend that WW1 would have been the worst war to be apart of. Highly recommend Dan Carlin’s hardcore history on WW1. It was chilling. What Germany artillery did to Belgium in particular is hard to fathom, for one example.

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No one should have been in that war. The Great War was the greatest waste of life in military history.

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The CW says hold my beer.

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The Govt doesn't care. At the beginning of WW II, the submarines didn't have reliable torpedos. In fact, the most successful Submarine Commander, Capt Sam Dealey, died as the result of a faulty torpedo, fired from his submarine.

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Ah, The notorious Mk.14 torpedo. Yeah. It was absolutely useless. Ran too deep and had a faulty trigger that resulted in dud rates north of 75%.

But don’t blame the government. Blame the US Navy Ordnance Board. They not only gave the Mk.14 the green light, they actually fought to keep it as it was even after frontline naval commanders made it clear the damned thing didn’t work.

Keep in mind the French wanted to stuff their divisions with our troops and do more of the same. Pershing said hell no.

Of all of the amazing visuals in 1917, to me the most striking is when they reach the abandoned German lines and you just see piles and piles of discarded artillery casings. I believe it was as Verdun where it's estimated the Germans fired a million rounds in the first day.

My grandfather, a British national, had come to America to visit his older brother who lived in Atlanta and was here when the war began. Being a British citizen, he made his way to Toronto and joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force in an Artillery Company. He ended up washing out because he had a hernia that was the result of an appendectomy years before and he wouldn't let them operate in it. He then made his way back to England to try to join up there but again was rejected for medical reasons. While there he met my grandmother, married and eventually returned to the states to have a family.

The funny thing is ,he somehow managed to keep his CEF uniform, and as an artilleryman they were issued spurs because they were used horses to pull the gun carriages. When he died, the spurs were passed to my dad, and then to me when he died.

There are so many mind boggling facts about just that one battle.