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The opening months of the First World War marked the termination of two hundred years of a style of infantry fighting which, with decreasing logic, taught that drill and discipline was the best defence against missile weapons, however much improved.

— John Keegan The First World War (1998)

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More quotes by John Keegan

Europe is once again, as it was in 1900, prosperous, peaceful and a power for good in the world.

The First World War (1998)

The Somme marked the end of an age of vital optimism in British life that has never been recovered.

The First World War (1998)

War’s rancours are quick to bite and slow to heal.

The First World War (1998)

Lightning victories, experience tells, store up evil consequences, usually for the victors.

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The First World War inaugurated the manufacture of mass deaths that the Second brought to a pitiless consummation.

The First World War (1998)

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: John Keegan (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.