The Great War - World War One

In The Hesperus Prophecy, Director Bowen refers to World War I as the “Great War”. When the director informs James that he was good friends with his father, he says “We also served together during the Great War, he saved my hide more times than I care to admit.”

The term “Great War” describes the immensity of the war, and is appropriate terminology for 1939. Before World War II, people called World War I the Great War, since nobody (except the Clypeate) anticipated another world war.  The Clypeate, after tracking the MS Schwabenland to Antarctica, feared Germany once again had global ambitions.

Their suspicions were confirmed when Germany declared war by invading Poland on September 1, 1939, prompting Great Britain and France to declare war on Germany two days later. With the outbreak of another global war, people started calling the “Great War” the "First World War" to differentiate it from the new conflict. 

Recruitment poster for the Great War