The Impact of World Wars

First, one item must be stated: there have been SEVERAL world wars in our earth’s total history, starting with the Seven Years’ War, known in North America as the French and Indian War. If we only remember the wars in the 20th century, some of the greatest wars in world history will be forgotten. Each world war causes another world war, the only blockage being the Cold War of the “Nuclear Age”.

Second, “what makes a World War". A “World War” is a war fought on multiple fronts through roughly-made alliances, all of which seem to have inner-wars for their own common goals and mentality. For example, in World War II, the thoughts of Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin, and the Chinese Nationalist government often differed from each other in goals and self-interests. For China, Stalin represented the growing Communist power that was growing through Mao in the rural areas of the struggling country.

Third, a “World War” always has lasting consequences on future generations. For example, the Wars of the nth Coalitions against Napoleon eventually forced him off of his throne of power. However, these victories always came at the high price for the countryside, even ending up in the destruction of the Holy Roman Empire.

Fourth, a “World War” always comes at the high cost of soldier and civilian lives. Before the Peace of Westphalia, the continental war (the Thirty Years’ War) of Europe decimated an entire generation of continental European young men. Also, the World Wars of the 20th Century caused so great of a generational gap that Japan and Europe are still experiencing slight generational dips and complete deceleration of its populace.

Remember, the World Wars of the future will be worse than those of the past.

Sincerely,

History Wizard