[storm]

It is a well known fact that the civilization of Sparta was destroyed because their population declined. Over the course of many years of war their numbers dwindled. Finally, at the Battle of Leuctra, they were only able to field some a few thousand soldiers (out of their ten thousand there, only a minority were actual Spartans), the large majority of which were killed. Their population never recovered, and Sparta was annexed by Rome and turned into a tourist destination.

I have heard it argued that the Napoleonic wars took two inches off of the height of Frenchmen.

I am reading Jünger's memoirs of trench warfare in the first world war and am impressed by his hard work and ingenuity even in those pits. While the allies pummeled them with shrapnel and snipers shot soldiers seemingly at random, the Germans tirelessly built trenches, tunnels, decoys, wires, all manners of industriousness. These men returned from America, from France, volunteered for the trench away from philosophy positions. They found their country worthy to fight and die for. Where in the west today would you find such a cause? [1]

Could the wars of the middle ages and the two world wars lead to a similar result in the West? Are we doomed to become tourist destinations for foreign powers as our own population dissipates?

Or is there something more subtle at work here? If so, what is it?

1. As an aside, does anyone suggest a non-western war memoir?