Have you checked out the wheels on that taxi ? It must`ve been like riding a bicycle through a swamp. It`s just one more example of this :

What makes the First war sad for me is that, more than in most wars, the honest patriotism of the ordinary soldier in The Great War was squandered away through a series of disastrous decisions, as at the infamous battle of the Somme : 40,000 allied casualties in one day, partly because soldiers were told,incorrectly,that the enemy`s barbed wire had been shot away.

As some guy once said, "You can no more win a war than you can "win" a hurricane "

This is why I asked in the "What are you reading?" thread. I picked up "The Proud Tower" to educate myself further. All I really ever knew for certain was Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand's attempted assassination sparked it.

The thing about WWI is that it pitches the global currents for the entirety of the 20th century. Why was Germany, which is today considered a Western Nation today, linked with Western Opposition? How did the Middle Eat tie in with all of these countries we always hear about?

As an American, its an odd thing to talk about because the war was 50/50 in favorability then, and doesn't have a unifying force today either. Hitler was something we could rally against, and still use as a guidepost to determine why we don't like centralized power. WWI, though setting the course for everything relating to world events, diplomacy, future wars, and fueding factions within countries for the next 94 years.

I find the Spanish Civil War more interesting than both the World Wars, I think.

I have to say that I find WWII much more interesting. While it has been done to death in pop culture, I still find it hasn't taken anything out of it for me. I think it's the only Modern Era period that can stack up with the Classics, Egyptian history, and the Middle Ages in terms of interest for me.

What?

WWII is on par with all of Egyptian history, Classical Literature, and the Middle Ages - which I assume means globally?

No I'm talking about certain periods of those histories.

As far as I'm aware there was nothing "attempted" about the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand.
Each period of time has an effect on future wars, world events etc.
Pre WW1 and the Franco-Prussian war (amongst others) had some say in the many allegiances between nations that preceded WW1. The alliances forged prior to the assassination of the Duke was only a matter of lighting the blue touch paper. Years previously the major players had already embarked on an unprecedented arms race for a war that was unavoidable.
These European nations had empires and it was only inevitable that these interests would become involved.
WW2 as you rightly point out was a product of WW1 and in turn the current situation in the middle east is, arguably, a product of WW2.

The point I'm making, is that there is no starting point with history. The past determines the present and the present determines the future.

"Why was Germany, which is today considered a Western Nation today, linked with Western Opposition?"
Because they didn't have enough allies.
Had they had the support they may well have got away with what the allies have done and are getting away with in the middle east today.

Actually there was, but I get what you're saying.

They tried to kill him a few times before they pulled it off with a suicide bomber.

He wasn't killed by a suicide bomber, he was killed by a guy with a pistol.