Why Did Germany Lose Ww1 Research Paper

Why did Germany and its Allies Lose WW1?

It can be argued that Germany and its allies faced a overwhelming war right from the start, but their desire to provoke and enter a war that involved the majority of Eastern Europe led them to being doomed right from the start. There are many factors that contributed to Germany and its allies’ loss of WW1; such as inefficient military decisions and plans like the Schlieffen Plan, and the lack of strength from Germany’s allies. But in the end it was the power of the Allies that overwhelmed the weaknesses of the Central Powers, like the joining of the United States and the British Naval blockade. Before 1914, Germany had made many assumptions regarding certain scenarios and outcomes of the war. This
all started in 1905 with the drawing up of the Schlieffen Plan in which Germany assumed that in the event of a major war, there would have to take out both France and Russia at the same time. This meant fighting a war on two fronts, but Germany thought it would be possible due to the slow mobilization of Russia’s army, quick defeat of France, and the lack of resistance shown by Belgium and Britain. However, the Schlieffen Plan did not work as suspected. Germany’s decision to rely on this plan went wrong in many ways, led to their first major loss in the war. Germany had already lost a crucial battle before even engaging in warfare. According to historian A.J.P. Taylor, “The sole cause of the outbreak or war in 1914 was the Schlieffen Plan.” With the conclusions made by historian Fritz Fischer, three main indications outline Germany’s intentions of going to war: Germany hoped of going to war due to the rising power of Russia, socialism brings a nation together during wartime, and the “September Program” which showed Germany’s lust for expansion. These three conclusions indicated Germany’s desire to provoke and enter a war, which proved to be costly in their war effort. Another crucial contributor to Germany’s loss was the extremely efficient naval blockade made by the British Navy in 1914.
Britain’s powerful naval force sunk many German ships which therefore cut supplies of food and raw materials like Nitrates, which were used in making explosives for the German army and serving as fertilizers for German farmers. As a result of the blockade, German resources were critically low and the death and starvation rates soared. Official records say nearly 763,000 wartime deaths in Germany to starvation were caused by the Allied blockade. In an attempt to counter the high rates, the German government imposed strict food rationing, which proved to be inefficient. Due to the thousands of Germans dying of starvation, there was an increased pressure on the Kaiser to end the war. Germany attempted to counter with the introduction of the U-Boats. The German Navy adopted a policy of “unrestricted submarine warfare” in order to starve the British of their supplies. The Allied naval blockade effectively made it so that Germany could import good from conquered countries. Britain, on the other hand, could import goods from around the world. Many of these goods were lost due to the U-boats. With the help of the U-boats, Britain came close to running out of stocks of vital material, including food. However, the introduction of the convoy system for merchant ships with naval escort overcame the effectiveness of the U-boats. Overall, the effectiveness of the
British blockade was superior to that of Germany and had a serious impact on the German home front and forces. When the German troops broke through the British lines in 1918 they were surprised to see the quality and quantity of British equipment and food. This had a serious demoralizing effect and caused them to seriously question the German leadership. Out of frustration, the Germans made the timely mistake of sinking the American passenger ship Lusitania, which ultimately sealed their fate in the war. Of the 1,153 passengers on the Lusitania, 118 Americans died. This made President Wilson warn the Germans that another aggressive act would provoke the United States to war. Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, in The World Crisis, directly attributes the German defeat in World War 1 to the sinking of the Lusitania. Also, according to S.L.A Marshall in the American Heritage History of World War 1, “the tide of world opinion began shifting against Imperial Germany, never to turn back”. Initially, the United States protested Britain’s decision to impose a naval blockade because it affected their international trade market, but Germany’s decision to sink the Lusitania and issue Zimmerman Telegram to Mexico, asking them to join the Central Powers, made the United States furious. It triggered them to change their allegiance to the Allies instead of the Central Powers. The United States’ entry into the was can be seen as the decisive factor in helping the Allies achieve victory as it strengthened the Allied forces with around 50,000 troops and replenished their resources, allowing then to fight on and secure victory. This is also seen as the moment in which the Allies were saved from defeat. At this stage, by 1917-18, Germany on the other hand had suffered the collapse of its allies.
Bulgaria, Turkey, and Austria-Hungary all surrendered in the final months of the war, leaving Germany to fight alone. Throughout the war, Germany’s allies proved to be rather inefficient in contributing to the war effort, and their collective surrender meant a cut off in supplies and resources for Germany, which were already scarce. Some believed that at the start of the war, Germany appeared strong enough to fight the entirety of the war on its own. Yes, they could have been aided with the help of resources and manpower, but a firm sense of leadership was required. The formation of the Allied Supreme Command at the end of the war, led by General Foch, not only gave the Allies a sense of unity and purpose but it also gave them the structural strength and coordination to overpower the Germans. On the other hand, General Ludendorff of Germany constantly looked for scapegoats and appeared indecisive when it came to making crucial decisions that could have saved Germany’s war effort. In the end, Ludendorff was the one who gave in to the Kaiser and was faced with the task of convincing the Kaiser that the war was all but lost by
1918. Therefore in conclusion, the most crucial and decisive factors that sealed Germany’s defeat in World War 1 were the poor decisions made by the Germans like the Schlieffen Plan, sinking of the Lusitania, and issuing of the Zimmerman Telegram, the collapse of Germany’s allies, and in the end the Allies simply had more man power, resources, and the ability to defeat Germany. Germany’s military plans had backfired and its allies had failed to support right up to the end of the war. These factors all contribute to the fact that the various strengths of the Allies were crucial in overpowering the weaknesses of the Central Powers.