People's Century: Killing Fields - Death on an Industrial Scale

 

This film makes an analysis of the role played by civilians in the First World War, and this is considering that they made up the greater part of the casualties of the war. As the first war that was fought on an industrial scale, the First World War involved the use of a considerable number of weapons and machinery that had never been used in any previous wars. Furthermore, the film shows that despite the conflict being between the militaries of the various countries participating, the industrial scale of the conflict meant that civilians also got involved as well. This was especially through the battles spilling into civilian areas and causing the deaths of millions of people by the end of the war. The film especially takes note of the Battles of Verdun and Somme, which were among the bloodiest in the war and led to the deaths of a large number of people (Jones, 2006). The subject of the film is highly incisive especially when it comes to the development of an understanding of the major events that took place during the First World War, and the manner through which the civilian population was affected by this conflict. Therefore, the audience is likely to learn a lot concerning the war on the ground and it will especially be interesting when it comes to the analysis of the way that industrial development led to the development of weapons of mass murder.