What a
difficult question! Before war
commences, the “cause” is the catalyst, and the terrible human death toll is
subsequently reckoned upon its conclusion.
The poor
soldier, his only qualification of death being his young age, fitness and
country of birth. His fate is decided
and determined by the politicians, rulers or monarchy of that country. This happens on both sides of any conflict
and the ordinary soldier has no choice in the matter. He does what he is told, or faces the
consequences.
Looking back,
some recent catastrophic wars have proved pointless. World War One was about nothing at all. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
of Austria and his wife Sophie in Sarajevo sparked the whole thing off. In reality, behind it all, lay decades of
friction, hostility and conflict between major world powers, including Italy,
France, Germany, Russia, and the British Empire, made complex by intertwined
alliances and treaties. It is a story of
Militarism, Imperialism and Nationalism.
The cause of
the disastrous Vietnam War was to stop the perceived threat held by America of
Communism spreading out of North Vietnam into south east Asia. Seemingly right at the time; but history concludes
with the humiliating withdrawal of American forces from Saigon leading
eventually to reunification of North and South Vietnam.
Millions upon
millions of entirely innocent people lost their lives violently in these
conflicts. The pain and suffering was
immense. In addition was the huge
destruction of property, which together with the vast and pointless waste of
valuable natural resources leads one to reconsider whether war can ever be
“right” or justifiable.
The cause of
any war is worthy of deep study. It is
my belief that the cause of World War Two was to stop the power of evil
spreading into the world by those countries not yet under its spell. Proof, if ever required, being adequately
demonstrated by the reversal of a nation of sophisticated, intelligent and
democratic people into a condition of repression, fear, brutality and prejudice
by the murderous Nazi regime. The whole
advance of this gargantuan idealistic cleverly driven by evil, warped propaganda
and lies, masterminded by Hitler and his cronies.
World War Two
was a war that was “Right”. The tenet of
any religion anywhere in the world is about the power of Good overcoming the
power of evil. World War Two, despite
the heavy cost in terms of lives, property and resources was fundamentally
justifiable.
The
headstones to be found in Military Cemeteries throughout the world are
representative of the cost of young lives.
The segregated war Cemeteries, from the American Military Cemetery at Colleville sur Mer above Omaha Beach, the British Military Cemetery at Bayeux,
the Canadian Military Cemetery at Beny and the German Military Cemetery at LaCambe all depict the same indescribably sorrowful story of the deaths of men
aged 18 to 25 who had their lives ripped from them. In reality they were all the same, except
they spoke different languages and had a particular country of birth.
D-Day, June 6th
1944, Normandy, marked the beginning of the end of World War Two. We all know the individual stories of what
happened at Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Ste Mere Eglise, Pegasus Bridge and the
battle for Caen. The testament of the
great numbers of pilgrims into Normandy today sparked by historical interest
and media creations such as “Saving Private Ryan” and “Band of Brothers” pay
tribute to those who served in that battle.
Young men are
the true heroes of international conflict and we must always carry gratitude in
our hearts for what they did. For
regardless of the rights or wrongs of a conflict, these men each fought with no
less courage and conviction for their own side than any other soldier. Fortunately, without the strife of those fighting
under their banner of “Good” we can only imagine how we may be living our lives,
if at all, today.
