I am not sure of the context of the passage, but I would guess that Fitzgerald was aware of the massive slaughter on the Eastern Front but felt that the cultura

I am not sure of the context of the passage, but I would guess that Fitzgerald was aware of the massive slaughter on the Eastern Front but felt that the cultural moment in Western Europe/America that lead up to the fighting on the Western Front meant that it was a different kind of folly than in the east. I don’t think he is commenting on which military was more effective.