It’s surprisingly difficult to train civilians to kill each other, but governments have discovered how. You don’t do it on the front lines, you do it before they get to the battle field.
> You don’t do it on the front lines, you do it before they get to the battle field.
I think you do it by exposing people to years of misery and loss. But a boatload of propaganda doesn't hurt.
-Kaiser Wilhelm II, addressing German troops leaving for the front, August, 1914.
What’s important from my perspective is they required large percentages of both sides willing to abide by a truce. You don’t get a truce if even 10% of each side keeps firing.
In most of the Western World and a not-so-distant past some Christian Church was in charge of this, and we had Crusades, clerics baptizing guns...
The main cause may be the will to 'enhance' the populace by using education in order to inoculate values. We may escape by only teaching fundamentals (either politically neutral or boosting a critical mindset). Letting a central power mix proper education with its messages leads to total war.
For example a sniper firing from ambush may kill their target, but it also makes them a giant target. It’s a useful strategy specifically because people are willing to take that risk.