The First World War was a tragic and unnecessary conflict.John Keegan
Unnecessary because the train of events that led to its outbreak might have been broken at any point during the five weeks of crisis that preceded the first clash of arms.John Keegan
Tragic because the consequences of the first clash ended the lives of ten million human beings, tortured the emotional lives of millions more.John Keegan
War, which was supposed to be about manly self-assertion, was being fought out in conditions of physical deprivation and psychological degradation.John Keegan
The two great alliances were more or less evenly matched, and that equilibrium persisted throughout most of the war, further prolonging the conflict.John Keegan
The First World War may have been a uniquely horrific war, but it was also plainly a just one.John Keegan
Peace without victory is a euphemism for defeat.John Keegan
As always happens in war, the crucial decisions were made by a tiny group of people; as always happens in war, the majority of victims had no part in making those decisions.John Keegan
The memory of the Great War has come to be dominated by the horrific vision of the trenches: the squalor, the wasted young men, the senseless slaughter.John Keegan
A war begun as a regional dispute over some diplomatic incident expanded within a month into a war between European powers.John Keegan