Into the Jaws of Death: The Human Cost of War
Chris’ new strike, Jaws of Death, forcefully depicts one of the worst aspects of war. It literally devours young men, leaving behind grieving wives, children, mothers, fathers, uncles, aunts, siblings, neighbors and friends. Some of those people never fully recover from the death of the young men they loved.
2026 "Jaws of Death" Silver Proof Coin, by Chris Duane
Granted, sometimes war is necessary in order to defend one’s territory or values. But many are not, and they are started for seemingly frivolous reasons, as was the case of World War I. Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, who reigned from 1888-1918, was the oldest grandson of England’s Queen Victoria. And yet, his volatile, competitive and jealous nature affected his relationship with his uncle, King Edward VII, who was King of England from 1901-1910. This petty anonymosity stretched into the reign of his first cousin King George V of England.
What began as family infighting, would eventually enveloped the entire civilized world, with Germany standing in direct opposition to England on the battlefield.
When the heir to the Austria-Hungary Hapsburg Empire, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, was assassinated in June 28, 1914 in Serbia, Kaiser Wilhelm over-reacted, as was his way, and put all of his weight behind the Hapsburgs effort to seek justice for the death of their heir to the throne. And, as was his way, Wilhelm sided with the Hapsburgs. And this, despite the fact that, unlike his family connection to the King of England, the Kaiser was not related by blood to the Hapsburgs. His was a betrayal that would be felt around the world.
The Kaiser’s military and financial support of the Hapsburgs allowed them to attack Serbia just one month after the assassination. This was known as the July Crisis and it allowed the Hapsburgs to attack Serbia without concern about Russia’s immediate response.
2026 "Jaws of Death" Silver Proof Coin, by Chris Duane
But, as with many wars, once the initial objective is obtained, the war machine couldn’t be easily stopped and so, the war continued to escalate. When Russia finally came to the defense of Serbia, Germany declared war on Russia. This caused England to declare war on Germany after Germany invaded neutral Belgium in order to outflank the French defenses and try to trap the Allied forces.
The war would eventually involve more than 30 countries and although disease accounted for one-third of all military deaths, the war killed 10 million soldiers and 10 million civilians. Germany alone lost nearly 2 million soldiers and the barbarous nature of this war was horrific. Men were literally slaughtered as this was the first large-scale war fought with newly invented weapons of mass destruction including, tanks, chemical gas, flame throwers, combat airplanes, depth chargers, tracer ammunition and U-boats.
Although the issuance of gas masks eventually reduced the casualties, the disfiguring, agonizing blistering, respiratory damage and blindness suffered by soldiers sprayed with poisonous gas, resulted in 1.3 million injuries and fatalities. Its use was banned during WWII. The sinking of civilian and merchant ships by submarines was also banned, as were air raid bombings of civilian infrastructure. The devastation to historic European cities, and to their citizenry, was unfathomable and incalculable.
World War I not only slaughtered the best and bravest of each country's young men but it also annihilated eight monarchies, some of which had ruled for centuries. Ironically, the two instigators of the war, the Hapsburgs and Kaiser Wilhelm's Hohenzollern Dynasty were the oldest and youngest of the eight monarchies destroyed.
The Hapsburg Dynasty was the oldest, having ruled for 650 years. It would become Czechoslovakia and Hungary after the war. The Hohenzollern Dynasty was the youngest and had only been established as an Empire in 1871. Other ancient imperial houses destroyed included the Ottoman Empire, which had been in power for 600 years, and later became Turkey and the Romanov Dynasty, which had ruled Russia for over 300 years.
Mankind’s history is riddled with hundreds of wars, and some were more horrific than others. European soldiers were not the only ones to have suffered. In 216 BC, the Battle of Cannae, which was between Rome and Carthage, resulted in 60,000 young men killed in a single day. The American Civil War resulted in the deaths of 800,000 young men. That war, fought between the North and South, killed more soldiers than all of America’s remaining wars combined.
One battle during the Civil War resulted in 53,000 casualties. This took place during the three-day Battle of Gettysburg and resulted in 8,000 dead young men. In another Civil War conflict, called the Battle of Antietam, there were 4,000 deaths with 20,000 casualties in just 12 hours. The worst battle of WWII was the Battle of Stalingrad in the Soviet Union where the total casualties amounted to nearly 2 million killed or wounded. The old adage, “War is Hell” is absolutely correct. Hellish, describes war perfectly.
The illustrious history books, written by the victors, are full of inspiring stories about heroic young men who fought and died defending their tribes, nations or countries. But, those stories never reveal the devastating impact those men’s deaths had on their families and communities back home.
Yes, their country won the war, and good overcame evil because of their heroic sacrifice but, the loss of those young men’s lives had a ripple effect at home that was felt for generations. Lost potential, lost opportunities, lost production, lost leaders, lost influence, lost loves and the loss of their potential children all had a profoundly negative effect on their hometowns, businesses, churches and neighborhoods.
It is impossible to determine the calamities that resulted from the cessation of family businesses, family farms and even the end of some family’s lineage that occurred when those who were killed failed to return home again. But, considering the very nature of men who are willing to risk their lives for others, their loss was profound.
Let Chris’ new round, Jaws of Death, remind us that war is a total waste of our best, bravest and brightest young men and that a ground war with Iran would be cataclysmic. We simply cannot continue to waste the lives of our very best young men because someday, we may run out of them.
Other Silver Shield Proof Round releases
