All Quiet on the Western Front
...'"(27) Gangrene sounds like the most horrible thing that could happen to someone. Not only did they just get something cut off, now they have to suffer more, and maybe get it cut off at a higher point if not die. In World War 1, the big fighting technique was "trench warfare." Now, trench warfare can be argued to be the most dangerous warfare there is. Imagine sleeping, walking, talking in nothing but in a small trench. Then, everyday, you would run out into the middle of the 2 trenches and be killed, until one side was out of men. That does not sound at all appealing. Sometimes, battle would drag on for more then 30 hours. This, of course, meaning that the men would have to fight round the clock. It is clinically proven that a person needs 8 hours of sleep for every 24 hours. Some of these men went for more then 40 hours of nonstop fighting. That could lead to serious health problems. I can't stay awake for more then 20! They must have been so exhausted all the time everyday, I cannot even imagine what it must have been like. All of these conditions sound horrible. These conditions show that there is no benifit to war. Another thing to show that there is not benefit to war is the longterm effects. It is shown that 75% of WW2 and Viatnam war veterans have to have strong mental help because there mind is still in the war. I'm sure you have seen movies or TV shows where an old man or woman would have a "flashback" and begin to go a little crazy. "When I was granted a leave of 30 days, I visited my hometown. I was disappointed. War had become my life and I knew no other. I began to wonder, what would I do after the war?"(47) I cannot fathom what this must be like. To completely lose all connections with the people and area that you grew up with...to only know war. Another longterm effect is being handicapped. If you were one of the few who did not develop gangrene on an amputated limb, then you were awarded with being handicapped for the rest of your life. "I kick him [Mueller] in the shin, for he is just about to tell Kemmerich what the orderlies told us about outside: that Kemmerich had lost his foot."(14) And of course, another longterm affect is death. It is fact that in World War 1, 37,508,686 people died. The population for the US in July of 2003 was 290,342,554. Imagine abo...