The only way to ensure that Red Army recruits did not desert or run away, Trotsky had concluded, was to mount machine-guns in their rear and shoot any who failed to advance against the enemy. This was the choice he offered: possible death in the front or certain death in the rear. 'We must put an end once and for all', he sneered with a characteristically caustic turn of phrase, 'to the papist-Quaker babble about the sanctity of human life.
Trotsky believed that the only effective way to prevent desertion among Red Army recruits was through extreme measures. He proposed placing machine guns behind the soldiers and executing those who hesitated to charge towards the enemy. This brutal choice forced the soldiers to confront the grim reality of their situation, where they either faced the threat of death in combat or faced execution by their own ranks. Trotsky dismissed any moral arguments about the sanctity of human life, emphasizing a ruthless military discipline to maintain order and force compliance.
This harsh approach highlighted the desperation and severity of the situation during the tumultuous times of World War I. By taking such radical steps, Trotsky aimed to reinforce the commitment of the troops to their cause despite the dire consequences. His disdain for conventional moral considerations reflected the extreme ideologies at play during the conflict, where the need for survival and power often overshadowed humanitarian principles.
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Other quotes in The Abyss: World War I and the End of the First Age of Globalization-A Selection from The War of the World
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All the things you can talk about in anyone's work are the things that are least important.
Race of Cain, ascend to heaven, And cast God down upon the earth!
