How is the war portrayed in the novel War Horse

At the start of the novel, the futile nature of war is dealt with in an abstract sense, with people in the farming community talking about news from the front and young men preparing to depart from England. The people in Albert's area hope that the war will solve problems and be an efficient route to victory. Later, as the young men do not come home and more sons are sent to the front, the futility of the battle starts to become entirely clear.

When Joey is riding with the German artillery, he develops a bond with Friedrich, a man who is technically an "enemy" of the British; apparently, the soldiers in both armies are essentially the same and are killing each other for reasons that they do not understand or believe in. This idea is reinforced after Joey escapes the battlefield and becomes trapped in "No Man's Land": soldiers from both sides work together to free him, getting to know each other and finding much common ground as they do so. The fact that these men—who cooperate effectively and who have a great deal in common—return to their trenches and resume shooting at each other is a perfect example of the futility of their situation. They are not true enemies, but they are given orders to kill as though they were.