World War I was supposed to be the war to end all wars- but it wasn't. The war was not necessary and to some unjust. How could such a terrible war start over an assassination? The truth is that it wasn't. The real cause of WWI a single isolated incident, but rather though a series of clumsy, complicated and miscalculated judgments. I would like to think of the First World War as a monument to mans' stupidity and lust for power; that's the best way to sum up my findings. This not only can be found in the diplomatic practices of each leading European nations at that time, but also in its military planning and tactics.
             The truth is that after November 11, 1918 preparation for the next great war had already begun. WWI led to World War II in many ways because of the severe reparations against Germany. I believe the winning powers were so focused on reaping the benefits of victory that they repressed the needs/reconstruction of Germany (political, economically, and socially) resulting in unpredictable and uncontrollable actions. These were the same actions taken to allow the election of a new chancellor fifteen years later, which would soon lead to a dictatorship.
             The Austro-Hungarian Empire shared in Germany's hardship. In 1917 Austria's aged ruler Franz Joseph died and in 1919 its empire dissolved. The Ottoman Empire suffered also at the hands of "The Big Four." It was stripped of much of its lands in the Middle East and would no longer be referred to as an empire. As for the Russians, they had internal problems of their own. Disgusted with the czar's political and military leadership, the people revolted in 1917 and by the following year Russia had signed the Brest-Litovsk treaty resulting in peace, but at the lost of one million square miles. There were a lot of things lost during the years of 1914-1918 including lives, nine million to be exact.
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