Why Did Germany Lose On The Western Front
On the 11th of November 1918, the Armistice was signed by Germany, France, and Britain that ended the first World War after four years of fighting. While negotiations had not yet been made with the Treaty of Versailles, the fight had finally ended. While both sides of the conflict, the Allies and the Central powers, were sure that their nation had a guaranteed fast win with their technological advances and all, it was Germany who lost in the end. Germany had been fighting a two-front war, but they had defeated the Russian army on the Eastern Front and forced their hands into signing the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, so what caused Germany to lose on the Western Front? Unlike with how close Germany got to capturing France’s capital, Paris, with the
Schlieffen plan, no land in Germany was captured. Through the evaluation of components introduced by Jay Winter in The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century such as events, people, politics, and the populous one can consider what led to Germany’s eventual defeat during the Great War. What follows are brief investigations into aspects of the war that allowed for, and eventually led to, Germany’s defeat. The Great War, which resulted in the death of over 9 million men and nearly double that in injuries (Winters 11,) nearly has an almost equally peculiar and unsatisfactory end as it did of a beginning. Just as there is no clear reason why the war began initially, although through the voices of popular opinion one might conclude that it is due to the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie by the Black Hand, one cannot blame one moment in time where the defeat of Germany is finalized. However, one can determine Germany’s doomed fate, as many had been so sure of in September 1918, through the consideration of certain components. Components such as part of what had started the war initially, a specific portion of the monarchy, the Kaiser Wilhelm II. As presented by Winter, he “lost everything: the command of the German Army and Navy, the crown of Prussia, the imperial mantle itself” (Winter 29.) As any ruler does when they grasp such immense power, they want
Schlieffen plan, no land in Germany was captured. Through the evaluation of components introduced by Jay Winter in The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century such as events, people, politics, and the populous one can consider what led to Germany’s eventual defeat during the Great War. What follows are brief investigations into aspects of the war that allowed for, and eventually led to, Germany’s defeat. The Great War, which resulted in the death of over 9 million men and nearly double that in injuries (Winters 11,) nearly has an almost equally peculiar and unsatisfactory end as it did of a beginning. Just as there is no clear reason why the war began initially, although through the voices of popular opinion one might conclude that it is due to the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie by the Black Hand, one cannot blame one moment in time where the defeat of Germany is finalized. However, one can determine Germany’s doomed fate, as many had been so sure of in September 1918, through the consideration of certain components. Components such as part of what had started the war initially, a specific portion of the monarchy, the Kaiser Wilhelm II. As presented by Winter, he “lost everything: the command of the German Army and Navy, the crown of Prussia, the imperial mantle itself” (Winter 29.) As any ruler does when they grasp such immense power, they want