Funeral and death
The story doesn't begin in medias res. In fact, it begins years before The Great War, at the funeral of King Edward VII. The scene brilliantly demonstrates the nine European kings and their awareness of human death. They begin preparations for war just after the service ends, so that the reader understands through imagery that to them, their lives are games of power, and the battlefield is like a chessboard for their political powers to collide upon.
Authority and power
This history shows authority systems and power. The soldiers themselves are simply avatars of this authority, but ultimately, the elite few are powerful to make serious decisions. This leads to a crisis, because the people calling the shots are unable to fathom the horror of the battlefield; WWI has become a war unlike any war ever in the history of humanity, because of the technological advances on either side.
Warfare and horror
The horror of warfare dominates the imagery of the central portion of the book. Tanks, machine guns, and aircrafts with turrets and bombs are all part of this imagery. In light of these metal contrapments, the soldiers are just animals with flesh that is weak and sensitive. They are paranoid about surprise attack, and they are constantly confronted with weaponry beyond their imagination. Many are ordered to certain death in the trenches when leaders command them to cross no-man's land.
Economics as a motivator
Through abstract imagery, the book describes economic interests as among the most primary motivators for these nations to go to war. The war seems to be about one thing on the surface, but when the kings decide to go to war, they are aligning themselves according to how they make money. Their allies are countries that do business with them, with whom they have a profitable relationship. This is the reason that when Russia needs help to fight off the Germans, the allies are flimsy in their attempts to help; in the end, it wouldn't be such a bad thing for them if the Russians suffered, because Russia doesn't make their money the same way as other nations.
