Forth Age Total War
“The Age of Total War” taken from part one of the book The Age of Extremes by Eric Hobsbawm is a discussion of how the concept of war has changed with the turn of the twentieth century. He begins the chapter with quotes detailing the casualties and senselessness of war. One describes the horrors of trench warfare, another the unbiased destruction caused by air attacks, and the final describes the lasting effects and toil that war can bring upon the survivors. In “The Age of Total War”, Hobsbawm begins by describing the history of war prior to 1914 and before World War I and World War II. A time that he claims became synonymous with the term “peace”, due to the fact that the contrast before and after 1914 was so dramatic that it did not even seem like the two time periods were on a continuous spectrum but rather two different entities entirely. Further into the reading, the author details the history of both World War I and II, describing their causes, outcomes, and lasting effects.He discusses the turning points such as the Allies victory over the Germans who had advanced past the Western Front and the advances in technology developed by both sides to turn the tide of the war. However, his most important point comes from his insight into how the concept of war has gradually changed over time and how it has developed into something more horrific than we could have ever imagined.
Hobsbawm accomplishes this by detailing the evolution of war from mass war (large quantities of products were used and destroyed) in World War I, where total victory was the main goal, to total war (war without limits) that sought to acquire “unconditional surrender” from enemies. Likewise, to describe the horrors and casualties that modern warfare has caused, Hobsbawn describes in detail the numbers of lives lost by every nation in both conflicts.
Third Age Total War Pc
He goes on to describe how technology has played in major part in this surge of casualties and how the increasing horrific events that have occurred over the years have changed entire nation’s viewpoints on war from something glamorous to something that should never be repeated. The irony of it all is that as our technology increases, we become even more detached than we already are and begin to see casualties as nothing more than figures and statistics.For me this is the real message that the author is trying to impart onto the readers. War has evolved into something we would have never thought imaginable before 1914. To quote the text, “In short, 1914 opens the age of massacre (Singer, 1972, pp. 66,131).” It has even progressed far enough that we have grown accustom to the mass casualties of both civilians and soldiers over time.
This is due to technological improvements that have made victims invisible entities and the process of destroying those victims lives as simple as flipping a switch. “In short, the global human catastrophe unleashed by the Second World War is almost certainly the largest in human history.
Fourth Age Total War Center
Not the least tragic aspect of this catastrophe is that humanity has learned to live in a world in which killing, torture, and mass exile have become everyday experiences which we no longer notice.” I do not know if war will ever be something that will fade from human history, but I can hope that one day we will find a way to solve our problems without any further bloodshed. One Response to ““The Age of Total War” from The Age of Extremes”.I completely agree with this blog post! It’s true that over the years war has become just more and more gruesome, and this is due to the profound effect that our advanced technology has had. This is easily seen in the fact that World War II was the first to introduce atomic bombs — its impacts of which we still see today. The only good that even came out of World War II was that it got the United States out of the Great Depression.
Fourth Age Total War Reunited Kingdom
However, I strongly doubt that war will ever fade from human history, as long as humans are living there will continue to be fighting. Unlink microsoft account windows 10. As sad as it is, it’s the truth.varsha01 said this on.