Finished with the War: A Soldier’s Declaration by Siegfried Sassoon, 1917
World War I, originally known as the Great War, was a globe spanning conflict that originated in Europe in 1914. Kicked off by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the conflict itself would see a mobilization of more than 70 million military personnel during the conflict and saw estimated casualties of 9 million combatants and 7 million civilians. Worse, it also contributed to a number of genocides and the 1918 influenza pandemic which added another 50 to 100 million dead.
Interestingly, the war itself may not have lasted so long, nor resulted in as many casualties, had peace overtures by Germany in December of 1916 been accepted. Following ten brutal months of the Battle of Verdun, as well as a successful offensive against Romania, Germany attempted to sue for peace with the Allies. Unfortunately, this attempt at peace was rejected of hand by the Allies who though it was simply a ruse of war to fracture their ranks. Even intervention by then President Woodrow Wilson of the United States served to fan the flames of war than to extinguish them. In the note the President sent to the Allied representatives, a new perception emerged that the US might soon enter the war on their side.
Regardless, the Germans pressed for a direct exchange of views to determine if peace might be possible…
