to help break the stalemate of the war. This can be seen in the use of poisonous gas. The Germans looked for ways to gain the advantage, and their scientists developed a way to spread Chlorine gas over the unprepared allies.When war did break out in July, 1914, the belligerents had a high enthusiasm toward the war. The past couple of wars had only lasted a few months at the most. With war between Prussia and France only lasting about eighteen weeks, it was hard for anyone seeing this conflict go any longer. Some of the poetry written during the beginning of the war possesses a romantic flavor. They try to compare the duty of serving in the army as the right thing to do. And dying for your country is the best possible way to die. Another undertone present in the poetry is a deep hatred toward the other side. In Ernest Lissauer’s poem “Hymn of Hate” there is an obvious dislike toward the English (Wiesner, Ruff, and Wheeler, 300). Lissauer repeatedly points out the English are the only one they hate and Germans all hate them together. These attitudes of enthusiasm and hate added the total disillusionment of all the people fighting and encouraging the war.In examining sources about the soldiers fighting along the front, a common theme appears. Often the situation describes death and destruction. This is evident in the writings on the front-line by Henri Barbusse. Barbusse gives an excellent look about the true tales of World War I. He describes the land around the fighting as hell; with twisted humans and earth scattered all about. He goes on further explaining the futility of charging towards the enemy’s position. The confusion and loss of life running toward a storm of bullets is best captured in these real life, trench stories. In Erich Maria Remarque’s book All Quiet on the Western Front, the German side of the trench life. All in all the same type of death and destruction is evide...
