World leaders mark outbreak of World War 1

Are you watching China? You see how the world doesn't make commemoration like these a "hate-fest" and comes together to move forward in peace?

" Lest We Forget " thank you to all who have served and special thank you to those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Lets hope the world does not ever see world war three.

Somehow the world didn't learn from WW1 which was the most destructive and devastating. Just 20 years until the next World War. Hitler needed to be stopped and his regime was. Japan also needed to be stopped.

Today China, Russia, and the ME are growing problems. Will any or all become serious problems? As I see it they are only becoming worse. If that trend continues I am afraid the world will have no option.

It's so overshadowed by World War II, but it really is the hinge on which the rest of the century turned.

It is of course worth remembering and it is to some extent encouraging to see old enemies getting together to do so. The platitudes and soundbites are also a little bit silly. let's face it, we saw WW2, we have seen nothing but ongoing conflict in the world since 1945 as well. so not sure what "lesson" we have learned beyond the fact that another major european war is unlikely.

The War to end all Wars. As if. Pity is that we never learn.

not usually a guardian reader, but this article has got quite a lot about this topic right http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/aug/04/1914-first-world-war-pornography-violence-centenary-military-propaganda

It was upsetting to see political and military top brass leading the commemorations. It was people like those who ordered millions to their deaths. So many poems and songs have been written to tell us of the horrors, but I heard few yesterday.

By Siegfried Sassoon

"If I were fierce, and bald, and short of breath / I'd live with scarlet Majors at the Base /And speed glum heroes up the line to death"

Good link AKBfan

Today China, Russia, and the ME are growing problems. Will any or all become serious problems? As I see it they are only becoming worse. If that trend continues I am afraid the world will have no option.

Ironic, since this is the exact type of thinking that precipitated WW I in the first place. I can imagine Admiral of the Fleet John Arbuthnot "Jacky" Fisher saying the same about Germany prior to the war.

One of the stupidest and pointless wars ever fought. Honor is great until its taken too far. And those secret treaties never should have been honored. It was stupid to do that and turn a small war into a giant war.

About the only points of light in it were the Christmas Truce where soldiers refused to fight on the first Christmas of the war and even got together for feasting and football, and Germany's Jasta 11 squadron refusing orders to strafe ground troops, finding it dishonorable.

The war even ended stupid. Severely punishing Germany for the war lead straight to next world war. Everyone just blames Hitler, but collective punishment and severe poverty would surely have led to war even without him.