Why was the First World War so destructive of human life?

Question:

The Great War of 1914, or World War 1, was the first large scale war. It's impact on human life was unbelievably large and up until then, it was unheard of. However, due to the sheer scale of the war, as well as the intensity of fighting, special tactics, and deadly weapons, World War 1 quickly became a largely destructive war.
Until the First World War, there was never a large war involving so many countries. The new scale of the war was responsible for the number of casualties. The armies, instead of being small to fight a few battles, were in much larger scales, sometimes even millions. France for example had an army of 550,000 men. For this reason, casualtie amounts were much larger. Germany and Russia, as a result of the war, lost 2 million men each. The estimated total casualties of the war is roughly 40 million men, 20 million dead and 20 million wounded. Because of the larger amounts of men fighting, more men were dying. Also, the war was truly a World War because of Americas involvement. It was no longer just a clash between the European Powers, or a third Balkan War, but it came to a much larger scale - a world war. The First World War was also much longer than previous wars or battles. Although predicted to end within a few months, World War 1 carried out for four year, and the armistace was signed November 11th 1918. Due to the amount of men fighting and the length of the war, World War 1 was a new level of warfare which was unimaginable and took many by surprise, therefore resulting in large amounts of casualties.
Over the four years in which World War 1 was occuring, many ferocious battles took place. Some lasted for several months at a time. One of the "bloodiest" battles was that of The Battle Of The Somme. On July 1st 1916 an estimated 58,000 British were killed. Other battles also followed in this trend: the Battle of Jutland on May 31st 1916, the Battle of Verdun on February 21st 1916, and the Battles of Ypres. These battles were among the bloodiest and some of the longest of the war. Verdun, for example, lasted from February into December. It was a key point in the war, and the amount of casualties because of it is extremely high. An estimated 714,000 men were lost in this battle alone. The tenacity of the battles and well as the harshness of them caused a great amount of destruction of human life in the First World War.
The battles of World War 1 would not have had the same effect if it wasn't for the tactics used by both sides. Extreme offensive attacks, as well as massive opening and frontal attacks, caused for the deaths of many men. Trench warfare was extremely common during the time and allowed for very heavy fighting on the front. Germany however, was the first to expand their infantry tactics and create deadlier positions. Often there would be offensive attacks in waves, the first wave going through and sweeping away everything they could, while the second wave followed behind and "cleaned up." One of the most successfull acounts of the 'infiltration tactics' was at The Ludenorff Offensive of March 1918, where Germany defeated Russia. Also, the use of the attrition tactic led to many more deaths than expected. Attrition by definition is,"the act of weakening or exhausting by constant harassment, abuse, or attack." This exact tactic was used during the battles of Verdun and the Somme as forementioned. At the battle of Verdun, Germany threw constant waves of men at the French fortresses, with the expectancy to defeat them easily and wear them out. However, in this particular case, the plan failed and the Germans were forced to give up. Another new tactic which allowed for increased amounts of casualties was that of bombing. This way, it was possible to attack without leaving the front and sweep across enemy lines and drop bombs. The casualties due to this tactic were extremely high. World War One's casualties were largely due to the tactics used.
Weaponry became one of the key factors in the destruction of human life in World War 1. Artillery was responsible for 70 percent of all casualties. Tanks and airplanes were also largely responsible. This was the first war in which the use of the machine gun came into play. Also, there was expirementation with the means of chemical warfare. Increased deadliness of weaponry caused for the loss of many lives. Napalm, machine guns, flame throwers, grenades, artillery, bombers, and improved rifles led to amazingly high amounts of casualties in the war. The effectiveness of weapons was much higher than before, and the loss of life due to this was optimum.
World War One was on a much larger scale than ever seen before. It caused larger amounts of destruction of human life than ever seen before then. This was due to the sheer scale, intensity of battles, tactics, and weaponry of the war. Up until then there had never been such a destructive war.