What did most people die from during the world war one?
Most of all casualties in the First World War were a direct result of shrapnel shells used in howitzers by both sides. Often, shelling would last for days and days and would go around the clock or precede an attack in efforts to demoralize and soften up the enemy troops, communications, and counter-artillery. Despite the terrific casualties inflicted by this method, this usually failed of course, and instead it was then left to the machine-guns to repulse the massed infantry in the ensuing human wave attacks, I believe that these and snipers considered, led to a “monthly wastage” of something like 30,000 men per month on the Western Front when no battles were underway, which is monstrous.
