Age of the Massacre
“Local, regional or global, the wars of the 20th century were to be altogether vaster scale than anything previously experienced. […]. In short, 1914 opens the age of the massacre. […]. The attempt of the Germans to break through at Verdun in 1916 (Feb-July) was a battle of 2 millions, with one million casualties. It failed. The British offensive on the Somme, designed to force the Germans to break off the Verdun offensive cost Britain 420 000 dead – 60 000 casualties on the first day of the attack […].”
from "Age of Extremes", Eric Hobsbawm