Final answer:
The war transforms soldiers into unthinking animals through the industrial scale of destruction and resulting psychological trauma, the emotional shutdown often needed to cope with the horror, and the implementation of total war strategies which desensitizes them to the distinction between civilian and military targets.
Step-by-step explanation:
The transformation of soldiers into unthinking animals during the war can be observed in various ways. The industrial scale of death and destruction in wars, such as World War I, introduced new weapons and forms of warfare that instilled a kind of mechanical brutality in soldiers. This brutality, forced by the environment, often resulted in a loss of humanity and the surfacing of animalistic survival instincts.
Furthermore, the psychological toll and trauma resulting from the pervasive horror, suffering and inhumanity took its own toll, in some denuding them of their individual identities, essentially turning them into unfeeling automatons. This was often a self-defensive mechanism, with soldiers shutting down emotionally to cope with the horror.
Additionally, new adaptations to war strategies, like total war, which involves destruction of the opponent's resources and disruption of their ability to wage war, caused soldiers to be methodical and unemotional in their approach. This resulted in them often not making a distinction between civilian or military targets, a trait that can be seen as animalistic.
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