World War I and World War II are two of the most studied wars in the history of our planet. Despite the fact that they share a common name, the two wars are very different. These differences, however, do not render them polar opposites, as there are many similarities and connections to cause and effect. But as wars, World War I and World War II have many common and unique traits.
The first similarity is the conglomeration of power amongst countries through alliances. In World War I (WWI), the two main powers were the Central Powers, which included Austria-Hungary, Germany, and Turkey, and the Allied Powers, made up of France, Russia, Britain, Italy, America, and Japan. In World War II (WWII) the global alliances were the Axis Powers, comprised …show more content…
WWI was a largely stationary war, and soldiers were often confined to trenches. There was some use of prototypical fighter planes, but land was typically gained through awful battle on foot in order to overtake one trench at a time. This style of warfare persisted during WWII as well, but was marginally less brutal. There was also a fairly widespread use of chemical warfare, such as mustard gas in WWI. In WWII, technology advanced quickly, and the war was fought with submarines, bombing raids via airplane and missiles. Espionage was also used with more frequency and finesse than during its predecessor. The end of WWII also brought about the invention of nuclear power, which WWI couldn’t have even dreamed of contesting. A second difference is the variety of places the wars took place in. WWI was confined almost entirely to Europe, while WWII was more ubiquitous, taking place in Europe, as well as the Pacific Theater. WWI did have battles outside of Europe, however, they could hardly compare to the quantity of assaults spread over the globe, such as the Philippines in WWII for example. The final difference is the number of casualties. WWII had a much higher casualty count, standing at approximately 50 million people, while WWI had a much smaller, but no less terrible, cost of about 22 million people. The cause for this large difference is the scale of the wars. WWII took place across a much more broad geography, with much more available technology which was designed with the express purpose of causing the maximum amount of
The first similarity is the conglomeration of power amongst countries through alliances. In World War I (WWI), the two main powers were the Central Powers, which included Austria-Hungary, Germany, and Turkey, and the Allied Powers, made up of France, Russia, Britain, Italy, America, and Japan. In World War II (WWII) the global alliances were the Axis Powers, comprised …show more content…
WWI was a largely stationary war, and soldiers were often confined to trenches. There was some use of prototypical fighter planes, but land was typically gained through awful battle on foot in order to overtake one trench at a time. This style of warfare persisted during WWII as well, but was marginally less brutal. There was also a fairly widespread use of chemical warfare, such as mustard gas in WWI. In WWII, technology advanced quickly, and the war was fought with submarines, bombing raids via airplane and missiles. Espionage was also used with more frequency and finesse than during its predecessor. The end of WWII also brought about the invention of nuclear power, which WWI couldn’t have even dreamed of contesting. A second difference is the variety of places the wars took place in. WWI was confined almost entirely to Europe, while WWII was more ubiquitous, taking place in Europe, as well as the Pacific Theater. WWI did have battles outside of Europe, however, they could hardly compare to the quantity of assaults spread over the globe, such as the Philippines in WWII for example. The final difference is the number of casualties. WWII had a much higher casualty count, standing at approximately 50 million people, while WWI had a much smaller, but no less terrible, cost of about 22 million people. The cause for this large difference is the scale of the wars. WWII took place across a much more broad geography, with much more available technology which was designed with the express purpose of causing the maximum amount of