History Main / WarIsGlorious

%%* ''[[ComicBook/ThreeHundred 300]]''

* Creator/{{DC|Comics}}'s ComicBook/{{Ares|DC}}, ComicBook/WonderWoman's oft enemy, will occasionally espouse such views but it's always either a sign that he's up to something or that his sanity is slipping because at his core he's of the opinion that WarIsHell, and he revels in it even if some things which occur during wars disgust him. He also feels that mankind's best and worst can only be seen in war.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/battle_of_jena1.png]]

--> ''"There was an artist called Michelangelo during the Renaissance. He was asked once how he worked. He simply said, “I take a stone and chip off all the unnecessary bits.” Got it? Beauty is something without unnecessary bits, without any rubbish. In war, there is only life and death, nothing unnecessary. War itself is beauty."''

* The controversial "Smoke On The Water" by country pioneer RedFoley, at the top of the folk record charts for 13 weeks in 1944 with a very cheerful tune about turning Japan into a graveyard.

* Military experience brings discipline, strength, [[ARealManIsAKiller manliness]], enfranchisement in society and [[FireForgedFriends bonding with comrades]], and [[CallToAdventure inspires the soldiers' lives with purpose]]. [[StrawCivilian Those who won't fight]] are shamed and lacking in the military virtues.

* LookWhatICanDoNow: War was hell, but it didn't go to waste. May overlap with EarnYourHappyEnding.

* DoNotDoThisCoolThing: [[InHarmsWay the color and excitement of war. The adrenalin overload of peak performance with death on the line]]. Note most of the examples below have a [[{{Spectacle}} visual]] [[RuleOfCool component.]] From this comes the famous quote of French filmmaker François Truffaut, “There’s no such thing as an anti-war film,” as merely depicting war inevitably creates a fascination with it.

By the same token, this attitude is very often used in [[JoinTheArmyTheySaid recruiting pitches to get people to join the service]]. Soldiers are badass; do you [[IJustWantToBeBadass want to be badass]] too?

* Discussed in ''Literature/TheArtsOfDarkAndLight''. The overall sentiment of the story is far closer to WarIsHell, but various characters opine that it can be glorious ''as well''--at least in certain specific contexts. Its real elements of excitement, heroism, camaraderie, glamor and martial spirituality are acknowledged by the narrative, even as its waste and horror are portrayed fully. InUniverse, meanwhile, the [[JoinTheArmyTheySaid militaristic propaganda]] of the various powers presents a straighter version of this, with military characters [[RecruitersAlwaysLie sneering appropriately]] at that as well.

* ''LightNovel/SwordPrincessAltina''. Many soldiers, regardless of country of origin firmly believe this in the story. In Belgaria, this is justified by the fact that the Emperor deliberately set up a system where the only way ''out'' of poverty is to go into battle and gain many meritorious achievements, and woe be to anyone who complains about it. Other countries have different reasons, but the propaganda narrative is so thick, that soldiers of High Britannia's army in volume 5 tried to shoot, and kill, the crown princess in full view of the public just so they could have her war-mongering relative take the throne instead. [[spoiler: When they failed, Margaret sentenced the commander of that unit for execution, not for trying to kill the crown princess, or even for doing so in public, but for failing.]]

* The Clans in ''Tabletopgame/{{BattleTech}}'' hold this view, at least in regards to ritualized combat. Their [[ProudWarriorRace entire society]] is based around stomping around, shooting each other in HumongousMecha in organized battles. However, they do not extend the attitude to ''actual'' war, which they are not very good at, as being a good warrior ([[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking and thus, in charge]]), doesn't necessarily make a good commander, strategist, or make one good at logistics. Further, their peace-time conflicts are heavily ritualized, with plenty of HonorBeforeReason. Applying their standards of ritual combat to ''actual'' war tends to turn out badly for them when up against [[CombatPragmatist more pragmatic]] foes.
** Also a common attitude found in the Draconis Combine, which isn't a big surprise since they're basically {{Samurai}} [[RecycledInSpace IN SPACE!!!]] with a traditional belief in their UsefulNotes/{{manifest destiny}} to eventually conquer everybody else.

* ''Dispatches'' is a Vietnam War memoir by the journalist Michael Herr. He meets an author who is working on a book called ''Through with War'', which will "once and for all take the glamour out of war." One of Herr's friends remarks "Take the glamour out of war? That's like trying to take the glamour out of Music/{{The Rolling Stones|Band}}, like trying to take the glamour out of sex. Oh man, trying to take the fucking glamour out of fucking war."

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'', where the Chinese soldiers are constantly talking (if not singing) about the personal improvements and honors of war. Though [[WarIsHell the opposite trope]] also shows up, particularly when the army arrives at a city only to find it already razed by the enemy.

* ''Film/{{Glory}}''. Black soldiers, many of them former slaves, go down fighting against slavery.

[[folder:Real Life]]
* The dominating belief in Europe throughout the Middle Ages, probably because war was a near-constant occurrence at the time (albeit on a generally smaller scale than the wars of the Early Modern or Classical period). If a warrior ever found himself in a time of peace it was common for them to still fight in tournaments, just to give them the illusion of fighting a war. Furthermore, for the elites who played a large role in shaping societal culture, armor and ransoms created a semblance (justified to a degree) of invincibility, and their young people had far more power than they do today, as birth had far more weight relative to experience than it now does, causing a bias toward action, and a lack of wisdom and experience in peaceful resolutions. There were, of course, subversions of this trope, from monks, historians, and even, surprisingly enough, [[http://sciencenordic.com/violent-knights-feared-posttraumatic-stress some knights]].
* Some may argue that the purpose of physical sports (Gladiator fights, races, jousts, football, you name it) is to simulate the glory of war without all the horror.
* This was one of the key tenets of [[http://www.italianfuturism.org/manifestos/foundingmanifesto/ the Futurist Movement]] of the early 20th century. UsefulNotes/WorldWarI cured most of them of that notion.
** For a good number of them, it cured them of the notion in much the same way that a guillotine cures a sinus infection.
* Given that it drew a great deal of philosophical inspiration from futurism (see above), this is one of the cornerstones of fascist thought. In fascism, war is a purifying force, turning boys into men and purging the world of weakness by killing off undesirables. Unlike most philosophical utopias which strive for peace, an ideal fascist society is therefore defined by constant warfare, keeping the MasterRace strong and vital and rooting out any impurities that might develop. Needless to say, this doesn't work so well in real life - the diaries of German generals during the last days of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII contain a lot of grumbling about how Hitler's constant lust for violence had ground through their best troops and left only the traumatised, the broken, and the completely unready.
** Constant drain on human capital aside, war is insanely expensive. Even the USA, with double the usual first-world percentage of GDP tied up in military spending (5%), wasn't able to just shrug off the costs of two such minor conflicts as Iraq and Afghanistan. Then again, they didn't exactly help their debt situation when they ''cut'' taxes right when they had to start spending money in such a huge way.
* The [[HornyVikings Vikings]] literally EMBODIED this trope.
* During UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill attempted to stir a similar sentiment with his speeches, particularly before and during the Battle of Britain when the UsefulNotes/UnitedKingdom stood well and truly alone[[note]] [[http://youtu.be/6Y9f8849Geo?t=32s Except for India, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa]] - who between them had half again Britain's industry and (bar India, who dwarfed them all by more than 5:1) population[[/note]] against [[UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler Hitler's]] UsefulNotes/NaziGermany. He was well aware that WarIsHell, but war was the only way to bring on a glorious dawn and awaken the world from the Axis nightmare.
-->'''Churchill:''' Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves, that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, "This was their finest hour."
** Conversely, Hitler himself [[TheSocialDarwinist believed in a much darker version of this]]. To him, war was a noble crucible for races and civilisations. Winning a war meant your race had proved its worth and won honour and glory, as well as full right to the conquered people's land and resources. Losing a war meant your race was weak and deserved whatever fate befell them. By 1945, when it was obvious that the Germans had lost and specifically after suffering a total nervous breakdown, entering an unhinged rant about his subordinates being incompetent traitors and ending with a declaration that the war was lost and that he would stay in Berlin until the end and then shoot himself, Hitler gave the order to implement scorched earth policies on German soil, not just to deny the Allies the use of German infrastructure, but [[YouHaveFailedMe also to punish the German people for losing "his" war]]. [[PragmaticVillainy Thankfully, saner heads prevailed in most cases]].
-->'''Hitler:''' I want war. To me all means will be right. My motto is not "Don't, whatever you do, annoy the enemy." My motto is "Destroy him by all and any means." I am the one who will wage the war! I have not come into this world to make men better, but to make use of their weaknesses.
* Political hawks are usually accused of thinking this way and believing that war is a good thing in itself - rather than an evil thing which can (when directed with the utmost care) result in overall/net good.
* Ancient Rome certainly held this view. Not surprising, considering that, according to legend, Romulus, the first king of Rome, was the son of Mars, god of war and [[RatedMforManly masculinity]]. To them, war was viewed as a way to bring about order and secure peace.
* [[TheSpartanWay Sparta]] practically invented this. Spartan law said that the only job a Spartan male could have was to be a soldier, and would be raised as such from birth.
* By 2020 thanks to propaganda, mainland China has become this, instilling nationalism amongst its population, and hyping and prepping them for their dream of invading Taiwan and conquering the nation by force. This reached its apex in 2022 where during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Chinese nationalist cheered at the former invading the latter with some of them going as far as daydreaming it as China launching an invasion of Taiwan. Anyone condemning the invasion of Ukraine (or even advocating peace between the two nations) will be harshly [[{{Understatement}} targeted and scrutinized]] by said Chinese nationalists.
[[/folder]]

* ''Dispatches'' is a Vietnam War memoir by the journalist Michael Herr. He meets an author who is working on a book called ''Through with War'', which will "once and for all take the glamour out of war." One of Herr's friends remarks "Take the glamour out of war? That's like trying to take the glamour out of Music/TheRollingStones, like trying to take the glamour out of sex. Oh man, trying to take the fucking glamour out of fucking war."

** It's a bit subverted with the Jedi being a big part of the franchise and part of their philosophy is war makes not one great.

* The [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Mandalorians]] in ''Franchise/StarWars'' view wars this way. The rest of the galaxy would disagree. Ironic, since they were the ones who lost the Mandalorian Wars.

* {{Parodied|Trope}} in ''Film/StarshipTroopers'', [[DoNotDoThisCoolThing or at least the director tried to]]. Tough-talking, bug-stomping, brutally xenophobic {{Space Marine}}s with big guns and big sweaty muscles, fighting as comrades against a faceless implacable enemy. In a vacuous and horrifying fascist society where you are a nonperson if you don't fight, the media is nothing but government propaganda (and the film itself is an in-universe propaganda movie) and everybody is '''horribly''' desensitised to violence.

* The [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Mandalorians]] in ''Franchise/StarWars'' view wars this way. The rest of the galaxy would disagree. Ironic, since they were the ones who lost the Mandalorian Wars.

* In ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'', war is not only glorious, but ''funny'' [[IncrediblyLamePun as hell]], given all the people involved in the Gravel War (which as more of a MobWar between two extremely rich brothers that control thousands of corporations and outfit their mercenary armies in hats) are [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} eccentric nutcases]] [[WorldOfHam who love yelling and swearing]] regardless of their backstories and nationalities.

* Music/{{Nightwish}} plays it straight...

* The dominating belief in Europe throughout the Middle Ages, probably because war was a near-constant occurrence at the time. If a warrior ever found himself in a time of peace it was common for them to still fight in tournaments, just to give them the illusion of fighting a war. Furthermore, for the elites who played a large role in shaping societal culture, armor and ransoms created a semblance (justified to a degree) of invincibility, and their young people had far more power than they do today, as birth had far more weight relative to experience than it now does, causing a bias toward action, and a lack of wisdom and experience in peaceful resolutions. There were, of course, subversions of this trope, from monks, historians, and even, surprisingly enough, [[http://sciencenordic.com/violent-knights-feared-posttraumatic-stress some knights]].

* By 2020 thanks to propaganda, mainland China has become this, instilling nationalism amongst its population and prepping them for their dream of invading Taiwan and conquering the nation by force. This reached its apex in 2022 where during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Chinese nationalist cheered at the former invading the latter with some of them going as far as daydreaming that China has invaded Taiwan. Anyone condemning the invasion of Ukraine (or even advocating peace between the two nation) will be harshly targeted by said Chinese nationalists.