World War One: The most catastrophic event in 20th century European history

For many, before 1914, a huge European war had seemed impossible. Conflicts in the Balkans flared up yet stayed contained. The Belgian historian Henri Pirenne wrote to a friend in December 1905: “Do you really believe in the possibility of a war? For me it is impossible to have the least fear in that regard.” In March 1912, the British peer Lord Esher – an authority on defence matters – told an audience of Britain’s senior Generals that war “becomes every day more difficult and improbable”....