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Chapter 1.
Introduction
NARRATOR
The United States of America today is directly
influenced by the actions of the hundreds of
thousands of Americans who served in World War
1.
From August of 1914 to November of 1918, World
War 1 raged across the globe and became known as
the “Great War”. Others called it “The war to
end all wars”. It was so horrible that nobody
imagined it could ever happen again. It killed
nearly a generation of young men in Europe along
with countless civilians. Historians figure that
well over 14 million people died in the Great
War.
In recent years World War 1 has not received the
national attention of other conflicts such as
World War 2, Vietnam or the American Civil War.
Many people pass World War 1 monuments on their
way to work and don’t even realize it.
In countless ways the “War to End All Wars”
continues to have a profound impact on all
Americans, and our very way of life, every day.
The carnage from World War 1 is staggering. The
military death count and casualty estimates are
hard to believe. As close as historians can
agree, nearly two million Germans died in the
conflict – and 1.7 million Russians.
Austria-Hungary lost around a million men, with
another three and a half million wounded. More
than 900,000 soldiers from Great Britain and the
British Empire died, with another two million
wounded. 330,000 Romanians were killed, more
than 400,000 Italians and 325,000 Turks. 14,000
soldiers died defending Belgium, with 45,000
more wounded. 87,000 Bulgarians and 45,000
Serbians died, and many, many more.
In France, out of a population of 40 million,
the Great War killed at least one-and-a-half
million souls. Approximately 10 percent of the
adult male population. Estimates are that for
every dead man there could have been three or
four more wounded, maimed or driven mad.
(Continued)
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