Why did people think WW1 was the war to end all wars?

Because unlike any war before it, no one came out of it better. So many people died, more than in any war before it, across so many nations, and at the end of it no one could say that it was worth it. Germany was crushed. read more

After it was over, World War I was called "the war to end all wars" because it was so destructive that the nations of the world wanted to prevent such slaughter from ever happening again. This prompted prolonged negotiations over proposed solutions like the League of Nations. read more

People during WW1 deluded themselves in the midst of slaughter, maiming, disease, starvation and death by referring to WW1 as “The War to End All Wars.” As it turned out, this was pure wishful thinking, rationalization of the industrial scale of the slaughter, expense and suffering. read more