Western Front-Eastern Front- What Front?

[DrB]

Now, the Western Front is just that and the Eastern Front is just that. But why?

Try to offer this to students of WWI and you get a rather blank stare. (If you're lucky)

It makes no geographical sense. The Western Front was really the Eastern Front and the Eastern Front was really the Russian Front. (OK,the purists argue that the Austrains reallyfought the Serbsdown south) but the fact remains that this is a couple of misnomers. I am not about to argue that a change must be made because to do so would negate about ex-thousands books on the subject. But, it still remains a mystery to me why the fronts were so misnamed at the beginning of the war. Anyone make an educated guess at this?

And please, because of the forun, don't say "Because thatwas the way it was" We can all assume that.

Like I wrote, I don't want to change history as it written, to spit on the Holy Writ is profane to say the least. But this has been bothering me for years.

Looking forward to your repostes

DrB

[Robert Dunlop]

It makes no geographical sense. The Western Front was really the Eastern Front and the Eastern Front was really the Russian Front.

The line of trenches from the Belgian coast to Switzerland lay west of Germany. If you travel further west from these trenches, you reach the Atlantic without coming across any other battlefields. If you take a train east from the 'Western Front' you arrive at the battlefields between the Central Powers and Russian - the 'Eastern Front'.

Robert

[roger]

My take on this is they are the Western & Eastern European Fronts.

Which, rightly or wrongly, are classed as the main theatres of operations.

Roger.

[CROONAERT]

Basically, you've got to think German. It was the German's Westfront and Ostfront. The others are easier, such as the Italian Front, etc..

You can't really call it the "Russian Front" as the Eastern front went through several other countries also ("Polish Front", "East Prussian Front", "Rumanian Front", etc. etc. - see, it could get confusing - "EasternFront simplifies it somewhat!).

Dave.

[Guest Cdt]

Imaging you were not from Kansas (USA) but from Gashaka (Nigeria). What would your question be?

North-Western and North-Eastern front?

Why do Americans always see themselves in the middle of the earth?

[Guest CGI]

100 000 books may of course be wrong, but perhaps their authors were aware of the fact that there are other continents apart from Kansas, and that the Great war was mainly fought on European soil.

And look, what a coincidence : the Western Front ran through Western Europe and the Eastern Front, you might have guesssed it, through Eastern Europe.

Yes, this is all very confusing.

[DrB]

Good responses, guys. Thanks. I especially like "roger's" reply. It will be much easier to explain it as the Western European Front and the Eastern European Front. Most authors omit the word "European"

I aways knew where what was what, but now I can explain it to a lot of other people and can do so with some degree of reasoning.

[roger]

This has got me thinking Oh dear!

Do Australians & New Zealanders refer to the war against the Japanese during WW2 as the Far East theatre the same as we do in the UK?

Roger.

[Auimfo]

Roger,

To Australians it was probably better known as the 'Pacific War'.

[roger]

Roger,

To Australians it was probably better known as the 'Pacific War'.

Thanks for that. You know when you get a sudden thought? well that was one of those moments, like what were Barn Owls called before there were barns

Roger.

PS Any replies to that one better go in completly & utterly off topic.