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# THE GREAT POWERS KICK OFF - 1914
- URL: https://www.politicallyincorrect.uk/the-great-powers-kick-off-1914/
- Published: 2026-09-02T03:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-11T18:25:54.000Z
- Description: The rulers of Europe entered the summer of 1914 as though beginning a manageable contest. Four years later, the continent lay broken - a deadly game of two halves that nobody truly controlled.
- Author: Politically Incorrect UK
- Tags: First World War,, World War One,, European History,, 1914,, Great Powers,, Historical Satire,, Lessons of History, Military History,, Political Satire,, Political Cartoons,

War is not a game of football......1914 world empires were about to find out the terrible cost....  
In 1914, Europe’s great empires kicked the world like a ball between them as though nations were teams, borders were goal lines and human lives were expendable players.  
  
The crowds cheered at kick-off.  
  
Four years later, millions were dead, ancient empires lay shattered and an entire generation had learned the terrible cost:  
  
When rulers treat war as a game, ordinary people become the ball.