Ww1 Notes

Core Study: WW1 1914-1919
War on the Western Front
Reasons for the stalemate on the Western Front
Expectations
* Each major power believed war would be swiftly won-“over by Christmas” * Poets such as Rupert Brooke romanticised war as noble, romantic and character building * Duty and patriotism were key features in 1914
The Schlieffen Plan If war was to occur, Germany would be attacked on both sides by the Triple Entente. The aim was to deal with the larger threat France, then turn around to defeat the Russians before they had fully mobilised. * The right wing of the army would invade France via neutral Belgium * The left wing would meet the attacking French at Alsace-Lorraine * A quick advance through Belgium would be facilitated by seizing the railway system * German armies would circle Paris rapidly and trap the French army from behind * France would surrender and troops could be transferred to the Eastern Front The plan relied on large numbers and an unexpected, rapid attack. It expected that the Russians would take 8 weeks to mobilise, France would be defeated in 6 weeks and that Belgium would offer no resistance. The Failure of the Schlieffen Plan-Tactical and Strategic Problems
Moltke’s modifications weakened Schlieffen’s intentions Moltke’s modifications were to focus German troops on the fortified town of Liege in Belgium and to move troops to the left wing at the Rhine. Troops were then further moved from here to the Eastern front to deal with early Russian mobilisation. Moltke was unwilling to grant German territory to Russia during an early mobilisation, thus prematurely moved troops from France to deal with the Russian problem, compromising their chances of success in the West and weakening the strength of the German army. Moltke also changed the plan to pass east of Paris and avoid it, rather than wheeling around to take it. Thus all the army converged at the Seine together, leaving their flank exposed and vulnerable to an Allied advance.
Underestimation of British and Belgian resistance * Belgium was expected to fall quickly but it took from the 4th to the 19th of August to capture it. This unexpected resistance slowed the German advance and meant they had less time to surround Paris * Attack on Belgium brought British into the war * British Expeditionary Force (BEF) :100, 000 men-highly skilled, manoeuvred rapidly, excelled at concealment Tactical and Strategic Problems * plan too inflexible- relied too heavily mobility * plan unrealistic in expecting the German army to wheel around and force France’s surrender in just 8 weeks * armies were forced to march 30 or 40 kilometres a day for months * Movement was only rapid where there were rail tracks, which were often destroyed by retreating Belgians * Plan not accountable for new warfare that favours the defensive-frontal assaults costly and tendered towards stalemate, static operations and siege * Battle of Frontiers, 200, 000 men died in a month * Germany experienced major supply problems * In some places, it was 128 km from supply base to the front line
Problems with Plan 17 * French has insufficient forces and there was too much attention paid to the ‘doctrine of the offensive’ * Reliance on counter-attacks and Napoleonic ‘wave assault’ tactics
Battle of the Marne * Ended all German hopes for a swift victory-ensured development of trench warfare for the next 4 years * German allies failed to reach Paris or to destroy the France-British forces * French forces, desperate for survival- “all hands on deck approach” * September 6: Massive causalities and losses when the advancing German armies were stopped at the river Marne * September 9: counter attack drove Germany back 60 miles, where they started to build defensive trenches in the Race to the Sea
Race to the Sea * Each army attempted to get around the flanks of the other army-forced a race to the Channel coast * Aim to get around the back of the enemy's forces, gain control of the channel ports and block naval assistance * Line of defensive trenches which each side was building stretched from the North Sea to the border with Switzerland
Reasons for the Stalemate * failure of Schlieffen plan-new technology favoured a defensive tactic * unrealistic goal, reliance on speed * 42 days for conquest of France on foot * machine guns-advantage to entrenched soldiers * equivalent firepower per minute of 40-50 well trained riflemen * hold up to 2 battalions or 2000 men * “ The First World War was above an artillery war in particular a war of high explosive”-John Terraine * generals were accustomed to ordering massed frontal attacks * re think tactics: trenches defended by machine guns, up to 40m deep, supported by artillery * long time for generals to come to terms with this challenge * War become one of attrition * wearing down and exhausting the enemy’s men and ordnance * mood created by confidence, hope of an end to the stalemate, * politicians and propaganda to create a nationalistic fervour * British Commander in Chief John French, “The spade would be as necessary as the rifle” * Both sides established trench formations stretching from the channel to the Swiss border, 800km
Nature of Trench Warfare and life in the trenches dealing with experiences of Allied and German soldiers * Trench warfare developed as result of the stalemate that had developed after the Battle of the Marne and the Race to the Sea * The supremacy of defensive tactics meant that trenches were necessary as a strategy of self-protection * The system ran from the Channel to the Swiss border, a distance of about 780 kilometres * Germans built heavily reinforced trench systems to consolidate land gains * The Allies preferred open warfare and had badly built trenches
Nature of the Trenches * Varying weather conditions, amount of enemy machine fire, skill of local commanders and soldiers, material and resources available all affected how well built the trenches were in a particular area * Basic structure * Timber-lined muddy passages, lined at the top by sandbags (parapet and parados) * Usually in 3 rows, trench systems had a front line, reserve line and support line, connected by communication trenches to communicate orders to the front life. In front would be barbed wire and behind would be artillery * Zigzag pattern to provide * better defence opportunities in the face of an attack * basis for a counter attack * greater safety for troop movement * trenches separated by an unoccupied zone-no man’s land * Germany trenches generally built better due to their ease and acceptance of defending, and their intention to wear down the Allies in their own territory * Could be 9m deeps, built on strategic locations * Soldiers also better equipped * Allied trenches not well constructed-mentality of a temporary stalemate * Trenches often collapsed and were built on low-lying land * Experience of a soldier vary depending on their position along the front * Battle area such as Verdun and Somme would have many soldiers rotating through, quitter areas saw less action
Trench Warfare/Life in the Trenches * Typical day began with a ‘stand to’ before dawn in case of enemy attack and a ‘stand down’ if no attack occurred-attacks generally did not happen at these times * Time spent building and maintain trenches, before another ‘stand to’ at sunset * At night, night patrols of no-man’s land * Rotation system employed by all sides * Theoretical division of time of ordinary soldier:15% in front line; 20% in support trench; 30% in reserve trench; 20% in rest area; 15% in training/on leave/hospitalised/travel * continuation of war of attrition meant leave was reduced * Units were often kept on front line duty for 50-60 days * Officers and commanders were seen as having a lack of empathy due to their distance up the chain of command * Orders could take an hour to pass down during a battle * Soldiers subject to boredom, comradeship, extreme discomfort, fear, alienation
Hazards
Man Made Hazards * Artillery * Shrapnel caused more deaths than any other weapon. 2/3 of all wounds caused by artillery fire * Enormous rounds could be fired-> Third Battle of Ypres in 1917, 4,283, 550 shells * Incessant shelling * Artillery piece might fire 15-20 rounds per minute, may continue for days without pause * Psychological damage too! * Barbed wire as wide as 30m. Men who were wounded on the wire were left to die as it was often fatal to attempt a rescue * Incompetence * Particularly officer class ( people in charge of army) and generals (strategies and war plans) * Poor training * Gas- example of how technology has changed the one-one, hand-hand combat and brought a terror element * sometimes poorly executed and dangerous on attacker ->wind * Gas masks/ cloth soaked with urine * Mustard gas-inhale, over weeks and months, it rots your lungs and you cough up blood until eventual death * Not a major weapon but Psychology: weaker morale-> new, frightening and invisible * Richard Holmes, “one of those things that defined the war...there was something nasty,underhand and subhuman about gas” * Machine guns * People sitting ducks in no man's land * Epitomize why WW1 favoured defensive warfare * Snipers, a one off shooter who waits for the enemy to be exposed and shoots * Nuisance factor * Morale-uncertainty * Inadequate trenches * Easily collapse, buried in your trench * Exposed to the elements * Hunger/thirst * Food not very nourishing, pleasant or plentiful * Many factors in the way of supply * Interference or stretching the supply line * Blockage, transportation issues, explosions may ruin the shipping etc… * Execution for treason * No sympathy or time * Treason seen as an attack on the state * Self inflicted wounds * Psychology * Wounds inspected, immediate suspicion aroused by shape of wound, angle of bullet, short range impact etc.. * TREASON * Out of battle * Underlying morale * Disobeying direct orders * Collapsing tunnels * Bombed, poorly made, rain and water * Boredom * Hours of nothing to do after duties with no entertainment * Trenches * Sleep, life in them * Could be 400m deep, 300 m wide * Frequent threat of flooding * Night raids into no man's land * Hazardous, destroy barbed wire etc… * Soldier physically burdened * Daily life, heavy backpacks * Rifles, bayonets, etc...
Natural Hazards * Mud * Constant shelling as well as the record rainfall of 1916 made some of the Western Front impassable quagmires * Diseases/ Hygiene * Large rats, large numbers * Lice * Dysentery-debilitating, gangrene, trench mouth, trench foot, trench fever, cholera * TRENCH FOOT * Infection of feet caused by cold, wet and insanitary conditions * Men stood for hours on end in waterlogged trenches without being able to remove wet socks or boots * Feet go numb, then skin would turn red or blue, then gangrenous and result in amputation * 1914-15, over 200, 000 men in the British army were treated for trench foot * Remedy- dry their feet and change socks several times a day * 1915, British army under orders to cover their feet with grease from whale oil * Estimated that a battalion at the front would use 10 gallons of whale oil everyday * Painful when feeling started to come back * Couldn't walk due to not being able to feel feet! * Psychological Damage/Disease * Shell shock, psychological trauma resulting from a war experience * Lack of sympathy and treatment * 1914-1,906 cases of mental disorders were in hospitals * By 1915, number had grown 20, 327 or by 9% of casualties * By 1922, number had grown with delayed onset of 50, 000 * War weariness/ Morale * Disillusionment * Wasn't the war supposed to be over by Christmas 1914?

Overview of strategies and tactics to break the stalemate including key battles: Verdun, the Somme and Passchendaele
Strategies and Tactics * On the Western front both Allied and German generals still nursed visions of a dramatic breakthrough. Between February 1916-November 1918, a series of bloody campaigns was launched to achieve such a breakthrough * Germany attempted to break the deadlock by launching its unrestricted submarine campaign, which aimed to starve Britain into submission * Britain pursued the same aim with the blockade of Germany * Consequences: On May 7, 1915- civilian ship Lusitania sunk off the Irish coast. 1, 198 lives lost. Of these, 139 were US citizens and war fever swept the USA. * “bitter resentment is sweeping today over the American continent…This is the greatest crime in history”- The New York Daily Mail * attempts to break the deadlock on the Western Front by launching attacks in other theatres of war, in the hope of weakening the enemy’s overall war capacity * Tanks * First use: September 1916, during the Battle of Somme * 24/32 broke down or were destroyed * Noise * Very slow speed * Poor visibility from cabin * Communication with the outside * Fumes that could lead to asphyxiation * Difficult to manoeuvre through shelled terrain or at the Battle of Passchendaele, simply stuck in mud * On the Home Front- most useful as propaganda * Sensation, used to sell war bonds * Propaganda and media filled with hyperbolic statements, locked in public support * Films praised the tank as a wonder weapon
Battle of Verdun: February- December 1916
A battle that tried to break the stalemate on the western front- lasted 10 months * Chief of the German General Staff: general von Falkenhayen placed trust in the policy of attrition * Verdun had no strategic value for Germany or France-great symbolic importance to France * much artillery had been removed by General Joffre in 1915 * ‘Operation Execution Place’- intention to ‘bleed the French white’ * 21 February 1916: 100000 German soldiers surprised Allies at Verdun * ‘Operation Execution Place’- intention to ‘bleed the French white’ * ‘storm troopers’ used grenades and guerrilla tactics, making their own decisions about attacks * German troops captured forts-fort Douaumont, village of Vaix, Fort Vaux, failure with Verdun * French resistance lead by General Petain- “they shall not pass” * 24 October: French retook Douaumont * 2 November: Vaix retaken * Effect * 500, 000 French casualties, 400, 000 Germany causalities * 1917, some mutiny in the French forces * G failed to break through and win, Falkenhayen lost his position
The Somme: July-November 1916
Objectives
* General Haig’s claimed intention of attrition * to relieve pressure on the French at Verdun * prevent Germany from transferring troops to the east to fight Russians * wear down German forces in the West * Original aim: for a breakthrough, to break the stalemate
Preparation for Battle * Belief that the pre-battle artillery barrage would be so effective that the troops would be able to simply walk across no man’s land and take German trenches * Pre battle bombardment * Last week of June: More than 1.6 million shells were fired * 30 June: 400, 000 shells dropped * Totally ineffective as the shrapnel shells did little to harm the barbed wire, many failed to explode, German dugouts were so deep and sturdy that they were able to withstand bombardment * German soldiers able to resume positions after the artillery barrage and await the predictable infantry advance
The Battle * 1 July 1916: German machine gunners fired upon the British over a 3.5 km front * 60,000 casualties of whom 20, 000 were killed * Haig - “We cannot hope to win until we have defeated the German army.”: pushed on with offensive * Troops poorly trained throughout the battle
Effect
* Allies advances a mere 12km * Casualties: British:400,000, French:200, 000, German: 450,000
The Passchendaele Campaign ( Third Battle of Ypres), July-November 1917
Objectives
* Haig hoped to relieve the French who had suffered major losses in 1917/ effect of mutinies * Plan to capture Belgian ports of Ostende and Zeebrugge-used by G submarines * Further wearing down of German army
Results
* Artillery bombardments left the area full of massive craters- land became a quagmire of mud * Worst downpour in 75 years-> soldiers known to drown in mud * Belgian ports had not been captured * Village captured but essentially obliterated * 400, 000 German killed, wounded or missing * 400, 000 (Churchill and Loyde) or 260, 000 (Holmes) Allied casualties * British never tried the tactic of “the Big Breakthrough”, relations between Haig and the civil government nearly collapsed
Changing attitudes of Allied and German soldiers to the over time
Allied Soldiers
Early Response to the War:1914 * Widespread support for the war effort * Nationalism * Michael McDonagh-“all were touched by war fever” * Why? Less cynicism in 1914. Peer pressure, a sense of adventure, employment with regular pay, the desire to escape family problems, ‘duty’-respect of fathers, religious motive, ladies, uniform a proof of high physical standard, patriotism etc.. * Ignorance of the British-no realisation of modern warfare * Not under threat of invasion for 100 years * Only military involvements had been glorious colonial conflicts in India, the Sudan and South Africa * Rapturously described in a ‘Boy Own Annual’ style-romantic appeal * Propaganda * Us vs them, good vs evil mentality * German army violated the 1983 treaty of London which guaranteed Belgian neutrality * German army widely believed to have inflicted atrocities-‘bayoneting babies and raping nuns’ * Opposition small and contained * Socialists: Opposed to the idea of fighting others and believed war to be a capitalist one with capitalist aims * Conscientious objectors: Opposed to the idea of war
Later Attitudes-1916
Disillusionment and war weariness * 2 years of campaigning in France and Belgium had seemed futile * Senseless slaughter of each battle was destroying morale * Turning point-battle of Somme-20, 000 dead on the first day * Wounded soldiers, physically and psychologically damaged returning-reality of war to home front * Soldiers aware that the generals lacked compassion, remaining in their distant chateaux * Realisation that Fritz was going through same ideal-humanised Germany-futility of war * Conscription introduced
Other countries facing more severe cases of war weariness * 1916: Russian army experiencing mass desertion, munity and frequent murders of officers by enlisted men * Regime of Kaiser in Germany collapsed before the end of war, sparked by naval mutinies in November 1918 * French army mutinied in 1917 during the 2nd battle of Aisne-> lead to longer, more regular leave
German soldiers
Early Response to the War: 1914 * Enforced conscription, would not have struggled with numbers either way * Same motivations-patriotism, honour, duty, peer pressure, impressing girls… * Propaganda different-government had strict control of media * G being encircled by Entente powers=a defensive, not aggressive war * Events in Belgium a result of Belgian obstinacy. Belgian priests shot G soldiers as they prayed * Evil of British atrocities
Later Attitudes * Soldiers attitudes changed * Conditions in the trenches * Futility of fighting * Aware of difficulty of families on the home front-starvation and inequality, black market growth
Unrest in the armed forces * March 1917, food shortages causing problems in ports, strikes held * August: Naval base of Wilhelmshaven, 500 soldiers disobeyed orders, abandoned vessels and went ashore * Foretaste of military mutinies
REVOLTUION, NOVEMBER 1918 * 3 November 1918-revolutionary situation * Sailors at Kiel mutinied * All over G, workers and soldiers councils appeared * 9 November * Kaiser abdicated and fled to Netherlands * Republic declared and 10 November-Council of People’s Commissioners established ( revolutionary socialist government) * 11 November- G signed Armistice ending the war
The Home Fronts in Britain and Germany
Total War and Its social and economic impact on civilians in Britain and Germany
Total war refers to the complete dedication of a nation’s resources and people to the war effort
Economic-
* the development of government control over the means of production, communications and the marketing of the nation’s resources * government direction of the nation’s labour resources * the government taking on functions that it previously would not have considered * Mobilisation of previously unused resources, eg-female labour * Allocation of scarce resources
Non-economic areas of control of the population * conscription, propaganda, censorship and security
Germany
* Despite the : Failure of the Schlieffen plan, onset of a war of attrition, Germany’s allies were liabilities, crippling blockade by Britain causing acute shortages of essential war products, size of the allied forces * Germany stayed for another 4 years with close victory in 1918 * Ability to organise for war on the home front. Germany accepted the need for total war from the start of conflict
German War Organisation * Walter Rathenau-driving force behind the German war organisation, nead of the electrical company AEG * 3 August 1914: Rathenau’s -War Raw Materials Department (KRA) established to manage the production of steel and agricultural products * Declared key raw materials emergency materials, placed under KRA control * Controlled labour, later on using forced labour from occupied countries * 1916: -rationing introduced by the War Food office
-Supreme War Office controlled civilian labour, manufacturing and transport * Shortages met using resources of occupied countries or by using substitute ersatz goods for war goods and food * Kriegsbrot, war bread * Textiles made from wood pulp * Raw material companies set up to commander raw materials and allocate them to manufacturers working on government contracts * September 1914: major industrial firms joined to form the War Committee for German industry * Labour shortages * Hingenburg passed a Patriotic Auxiliary Service Law- 18-60 y.o men forced into militarised labour * 3.1 million men added to labour force * Non-essential industries shut down * Total of 3.5 million workers employed in war-specific industries ( most out of warring nations)
Economic Changes-Naval Blockade
The British naval blockade, imposed on Germany from the beginning of the war, severely hurt the German economy * Pre War Germany depended on international trade * Imported more than 50% of its raw materials and 33% of its food needs * took 80% of G export market * Almost immediately, steep price rises of 130% * Agricultural production between 1914-1917 declined by 50-70% * Government agencies * 1916: Central Purchasing Company, the ZEG * established to purchase goods in neutral countries * Nevertheless G continued to suffer severe shortage, especially of oil and rubber * the Imperial Grain Office (1915), Imperial Potato Office, War Food Office * 1916-1918: The War Food Office enforced 258 laws that imposed restrictions on everything from restaurant hours to the length of women’s dresses * October 1916: Weapons and Munitions Procurement Agency (WUMBA) * Took control of the country’s coal, iron and steal
Financing the War * 1915: war costing Germany 3 billion Reichsmarks per month * only receiving 16% from taxation * 31 July 1914: Reich bank suspended policy of exchanging paper currency for gold. Copper and silver coins replaced by iron and aluminium * Stock market closed from 1914-1918 * Karl Helferrich, Minister of Finance ordered the bank to print more notes to help finance the war * “we can cling to the hope that, once peace has been concluded, we can present our enemies with the bill for this war which has been forced upon us” * German financial markets flooded with an unrestricted supply of paper money * Borrowing spree-patriotic duty to subscribe to war bonds through the Imperial Loan Fundraised * 100 billion marks by 1918 * Combination of unfettered use of the printing presses and massive borrowing * INFLATION-> HYPER INFLAITON, and ENORMOUS NATIONAL DEBT
Effectiveness of Germany’s Organisation for Total War * Historical debate of the effectiveness of Germany’s wartime organisation * Chickering-Germany’s perseverance in the face of Allied blockade and strength of enemy * Thomson-Germany’s total war organisation was admired by future government, G and non-G
ECONOMIC
* Others argue Helferrich was irresponsible in the manner he raised fund- * Germany’s indebtedness and rise of inflation * However all governments( except American) relied on deficit financing, ended in debt * A victory with impositions of reparations on France and preservation of the Treaty of Brest Litovsk * more healthy G economy after war, thus a glowing assessment of G wartime economy
SOCIAL
* German civilians suffered more than their British counterparts-factors beyond the German government’s control * Despite all the efforts in ‘war socialism’ ,German industrial output as a whole fell * Over-bureaucratisation->confused overlapping of different government organisations * War Ministry’s orgainsation: regional army corps district (administrative units of wartime G) did not match the civilian local government regions of pre-war G ->overlapping jurisdictions, duplication of personnel and economic functions * Large number of central agencies-> administrative confusion
Britain
B did not gear for total war as quickly or in the same manner as Germany until mid-1915 due to * B was a parliamentary democracy with a free press and strong union movement * no tradition of conscription and the military did not enjoy the exalted status of the German military * Government controls in place but B did not assume organisation for total war until 1914 * laissez-faire: government allows business to generally conduct itself with Gov. interference * Assumption war would be over quickly * official response of ‘business as normal’ * assumed that B’s market economy would handle the increased demands brought by war by handing out lucrative contracts to private firms * Misunderstanding about the nature of war * Many like Kitchener (minister of war) believed in a rapid war of movement * Would not require enormous levels of artillery and munitions
Government Controls * 8 August 1914: Defence of the Realm Act (DORA) passed which gave the government unprecedented control over its citizen’s lives- suspended civil rights and put Britain under martial law * Death penalty to offences that might aid the enemy * Newspapers could only publish authorised news * Feeding bread to animals illegal * Government power to buy goods at rock-bottom prices and to requisition all forms of transport ranging from ships to cars and horses * Restrict drinking habits-believed production was suffering due to alcohol * Alcohol-related absenteeism: Take home pay increased and people adopted a nihilistic attitude * limited pub opening hours in 1915 and increased the price of beer/alcohol content of beer and spirits reduced- >arrests for drunkenness fell to below pre-war levels * 1916: government introduced daylight savings in the hope of increasing the number of daylight working hours. Measures were introduced regarding the workforce, censorship and government information campaigns
Food rationing * Rationing did not occur until late 1917 and for many, nutrition and diet improved * Government aimed to keep workers happy and thus prevent disruptions to the war production * 1916: introduction of food restrictions * poor harvest , panic buying and impact of Germany’s submarine campaign * December 1916: Lord Devonport, new food controller tried to persuade British people to restrict their food intake voluntarily * Limit consumption per week to 115g sugar, 1.8kg bread, 1.1 kg meat * April 1917: wheat stocks fallen to 10 days’ worth of supplies * Situation saved as a result of the bread-economy campaign and increasingly successful anti-submarine activity * Board of Agriculture established a Food Production Department-> by 1918, led to 300 000 hectares of land being brought over to additional wheat production * April 1918- Lord Rhondda ( Devenport’s successor) introduced more stringent controls * Illegal to throw rice at weddings or to feed pigeons in Trafalgar Square
Munitions
* Spring 1915: Britain desperately short of artillery shells- Battle of Neuve Chapelle * B producing 700 shells per day, G producing 250, 000 * July: parliament passed the Munitions of War Act -David Lloyd George proceeded to mastermind war production and extend government control * Private firms given subsidies * government established own munitions factories and shipyards * research development began to be carried out on an unprecedented scale * Not immediate but significant impact by 1917 * 1914-1915: army sent 110 artillery pieces * 1915-1916: army received 5006 * Grenade production increased from 68,000 to 27 million * Obstacle: ongoing tension between bosses and unions * Lloyd wanted to prevent strikes and relax strict rules unions placed on working practices * Dilution: process of breaking complex tasks broken down into simpler that could be performed by less skilled workers such as women * Unions opposed from fear of a long term drop in wages-> Lloyd assured only during duration of war * Incentives to union workers, supported process of collective pay bargaining * Men could be fined or imprisoned for lateness, absenteeism and striking * Working hours increased, leisure activities curtailed, restrictions on where people could work * Lloyd, 1915-“ a perfectly democratic state has the right to commandeer every resource, every power, life, limb, wealth and everything else, for the interest of the state”
Financing the War * As the world’s pre 1914 financial power, Britain became the main banker and loan raiser for the Allies-F,R, I * Britain issued war savings certificates and sold war bonds * The government increased taxation greatly * Income tax rose 150% in three successive budgets to reach a level of 30% of incomes by 1918. 800% increase on the August 1914 level by 1918. Tax thresholds lowered as wages rose to bring more people into the tax net * Excess profits duty raised almost 300 million pounds per year * Many indirect taxes also introduced * Britain still has to sell many overseas investments * resorted to mass borrowing, particularly from the US
Comparison between British and German Home Fronts * Measures by both insufficient to avert shortages in the face of war’s costs * Difference in civilian health * B- civilian health maintained the same as pre-war levels or even improved * G-British blockade led to an estimated 600, 000 civilian deaths * Average G daily diet: 1913: 3, 400 calories, 1918: 1, 000 calories * War expenditure ( percentage of public) during 1914-1918 * 83% in G * 79% in B * B national debt 11 times pre-war levels, G 8 times
Recruitment, conscription, censorship and propaganda in Britain and Germany
Britain
Key Events
August 1914: Secret War Propaganda Bureau set up
November 1914: by this date, 700, 000 men had volunteered
January 1915: by this date, 1.34 men had volunteered
October 1915: the Derby Scheme (introduced to increase recruitment numbers)
May 1915: ocean liner Lusitania sunk by German submarines
January 1916: First Military Service Act ( made all single men aged 18-41 liable to be called up)
May 1916: second military service act (conscription for all men aged 18-41)
February 1917: propaganda taken over by Department of Information
June 1917: National War Aims Committee created
February 1918: propaganda run by Ministry of Information

Recruitment: Early Recruitment Efforts * August 1914: Britain had a modestly sized professional army of 20 divisions * French army had 74, German had 94 * Recruiting committees established around the country * The London Parliamentary Recruiting Committee-“ There are three types of men. Those who hear the call and obey; those who delay and –the others.” * Little problem enlisting men * Mid November 1914: 700 000 had volunteered * January 1915: 1.34 million men * Recruitment initially easy- peer pressure, nationalism, employment, romantic idea of adventure, belief that the war would be over by Christmas * As losses at the front mounted, enlistment declined * Mid 1915: 22 000 per week, tough physical standards removed * Height requirement from 168cm to 157cm * Age bracket from 19-30, 19-40 * Recruitment campaigns became more radical * Propaganda aimed specifically at women to encourage the enlistment of their male peers * humiliation of those who choose not to as cowardice or lack of patriotism * Sport clubs and professional football associations promoted recruitment * 1914: professional football attracted large crowds-encouraged to join * Army drills used for training and drill * Match days-military bands in uniform performed
Conscription
* Lord Derby, Director of Recruitment , 1915: introduced the Derby Scheme, failure and closed December 1915 * Register of men aged 18-41, enlist when called upon * Single men called before married, men in reserved occupations exempt * 1916: First Military Service Act (replaced) * Single men and childless widowers aged 18-41 * Men in essential services, clergymen, Irishmen, medically unfit and C.O exempt * Anger and confusion at who’s excluded (married men exempt) * May 1916: conscription introduced under Second Military Service Act * All men liable for service, regardless of marital status
Conscientious Objectors-“conchies” * 16 000 men registered as conscientious objectors during the war * Due to reasons of conscious -strong religious belief , moral revulsion at the taking of human life * Widespread acceptance of propaganda: Known as slackers, cowards, traitors- gov supported view as to reduce any threats to conscription * local tribunals-inconsistency in manner which they were dealt but generally treatment was severe * If their claim was turned down and they failed to report for duty- court martialled and imprisoned * Prison, badly treated and no recourse to the legal system * Some willing to do non-combatant roles within the army, such as stretcher bearers * Absolutists: total refusal to be involved with army * Harsh treatment, even to the point of being taken to the front and tied to posts in no-man’s land if they refused army orders
Censorship and Propaganda * Propaganda is the deliberate effort to persuade people to behave in certain ways and to accept the version of events being presented * Early propaganda purpose * Promote patriotic nationalism * Encourage enlistment * Emphasis on G responsibility for war * Focus on Belgium neutrality, war atrocities-“G raping nuns and bayoneting babies”, need for B to defend civilisation against G barbarism * After 1916: propaganda changed in tone to reflect the changing nature of the war * Stalemate and war of attrition- need to maintain sacrifice and unity on the home front * Combat war weariness * February 1917-February 1918 War Propaganda Bureau became the National War Aims Committee (NWAC) in 1917 given by Lloyd George to press magnates Lord Beaverbrook and Lord Northcliffe * Aim to produce propaganda that would overcome war-weariness and limit bad news with censorship * Value of propaganda and its interest and involvement in promoting it increased over the war’s duration * Methods * Stereotypes, de-humanisation of enemy, selective material, repetitive, strong assertions without evidence * Forms * Newspapers-cartoons and photographs manipulated, writing sensationalised and emotive * Mass circulation, reached an eager audience, ran atrocity stories, unfavourable news omitted, reporting of casualties restricted * Pamphlets- ‘little mother’ pamphlet using mothers to give up sons to the conflict, circulation of 75,000 * Film-documentary films, picture of enthusiasm, efficient leadership and excellent organisation, purpose to show that the lads were being well taken care of * Billboard posters- message simple and emotive, basic messages seeped into public consciousness * Established churches, such as the Church of England supported the war effort and backed the government appeals to patriotism * Selfless sacrifice seen as a way to salvation * G preached as monsters and un-Christian, God on ‘our side’ * Arthur Winnington-Ingram, Bishop of London used emotive language, frequent pro-war sermons * Fuelled violent anti-German actions across Britain * G shops attacked, G residents attacked, G shepherd dogs became Alsatians
Germany
Key Events
31 July 1914: German government invokes the Siege Law of 1871
1 August 1914: Germany declares war on Russia
3 August 1914: Germany declares war on France
4 August 1914: Britain declares war on Germany
August 1914: Imposition of Allied naval blockade against Germany
October 1915: Ernst Lissauer writes ‘Hymn of Hate’
1916: Auxiliary Services Law passed (made men ages 17-60 available to be called up for work)
1917: Papal Peace Note
Recruitment and Conscription * Conscription had been an active part of Germany’s military policies for decades * Recruitment and propaganda unnecessary and they had a large standing army * Young men were eager to join the army for the same reasons as their British counterparts * Lack of understanding of the reality and horror of modern warfare * Strong and effective censorship news and information tightly controlled through the press, both about the front and about peace demonstrations
Censorship and Propaganda * No need to promote recruitment-no calls of duty * Propaganda thus anti-British, people encouraged to drive all things English from their lives * About buying war loans, saving coal, eating less bread * Need for ‘defensive’ propaganda aimed at changing the public opinion of Germany in neutral countries, especially the US * Had to defend actions (invading Belgium) * G response to atrocity stories, ‘It’s Not True’ stories in international press * G effort to create a central organisation with powers to push widespread propaganda not successful * 1916, Lundendorff established a military Special Press Service over the head of civil and government media organisations * Competitive approach weakened and fractured overall propaganda efforts * Cost civilian unity and loss of morale as war weariness, starvation and spread of pacifism came to dominate minds of citizens * Propaganda was ineffective due to * Lack of necessity: there was strong and effective censorship, a pro-war media, acceptance of the need for war, existence of conscription already * Lack of understanding of how to best conduct propaganda, ineffective and unrepresentative, no unified message. Propaganda was distanced and associated the war with Junker concerns rather than working-class worries * Newspapers censored, military defeat not published until 1918 * Impact on civilians, disbelief, disillusionment
The variety of attitudes to the war and how they changed over time in Britain and Germany
Both nations believed in the justice of their cause at the beginning of the war. They believed that they were engaged in a war of defence and that the results of the conflict would be rapidly and decisively in their favour
Britain
* 1916/17: Growing opposition to the war due to * Troops had been sickened by the continual carnage along the Western Front * slaughter brought a sense of futility, lack of compassions and distance shown by the generals * Growing disillusionment-home front deals with casualty rates, price increases and food shortages * zeppelin raids and attacks on eastern coastal cities bringing the war home to the ordinary citizen * Germany’s submarine warfare campaign led to severe shortages in Britain, introduction of rationing
Groups in opposition * Union of Democratic Control * They opposed the secret diplomacy of the war cabinet, desiring a return to public parliamentary democracy. They wanted a ceasefire and peace with Germany * No Conscription Fellowship * They hid conscientious objectors or assisted their escapes. They opposed spending money on the war * Pacifists * As conscientious objectors, they had to appear before a court if conscripted. * Irish * The Republican cause in Ireland was extremely strong at this time and a reluctance to fight for the British pushed deep set antipathy towards the war. * Trade unionists, socialists * Opposed to the profiteering that major industrialists made from the war, they were also interested in the solidarity of the proletariat and the need for international peace between workers Growth of Opposition to the War * Between 1915 and 1917, there were 688 strikes throughout the country. The coal miners’ strike was especially harsh on the war effort, as the workers searched for better pay and conditions. This state of affairs almost crippled the government. To resolve this crisis, Minister of Munitions David Lloyd George appointed Labour members as ministers in a coalition Liberal-Labour government. He raised wages and promised women the vote. * As the war dragged on, opposition tended to fade because of the sheer scale of the war. There was little dissent due to the strict division of classes. For example, specific regiments were set aside for a specific class, and aristocrats could buy ranks and commissions. * Increase of industrial unrest- 972 industrial actions in 1914 to 1,165 in 1918 ( did not generate into protests of the war nor revolutionary behaviour)
Why did Britain Experience so Little Anti-War Dissent? * Economic strain felt in Britain was far less than that experienced by other belligerents * Navy’s ability to maintain an adequate supply of food supplies to the home front * Lloyd George’s leadership-Gov. paid attention to needs of the working class on the home front * Received co-operation from organised labour * British propaganda * Disciplined industrial labour force-lower classes knew/ accepted their rank and the instructions of authorities

Germany * 1914:overwhelmingly in support of the war, anti-war sentiment confined to tiny groups of revolutionaries * authoritarian nature of the government * Early victories drowned out dissent
Growth of Opposition * Home front-War weariness was quicker and developed far stronger in Germany than in Britain * Worsening food shortages: British blockade, poor harvest of 1915-16, redirection of farm labour * Longevity of the war, endless casualties-sense of futility * The black market explodes in size * Mortality rate rises due to the poor quality of food and the severe drop in living standards * Inflation rampant , as a result the level of real wages dropped dramatically, standard of living * Deterioration of working conditions and growing demands * Large scale opposition did not crystallize until the second half of 1918 * Chance of victory * The government fails to act to alleviate the discontent. Thus revolutionary groups begin to emerge by 1917 * Socialists become cynical about the war, believing it is just a ploy by industrialists and imperialists wanting more money and to annex more land. A offensive, invasionary war, not a defensive war. * Widespread strikes on 19th July 1917 * Strike movement becoming increasingly political, reflecting a growing animosity between the classes in German society. The working class were aware that they were suffering a greater burden * The Social Democratic Party opposed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk as it only annexed more land * Mutinies break out in 1918 at the navy at Kiel Revolution * since 1916: Germany effectively a military dictatorship under the control of Ludendorff and Hindenburg * September 1918: clear that the war was lost-decision to hand over power to a civilian government that had the support of the Reichstag * Aim to leave Germany’s democratic leaders with the work of reaching peace with the enemy * Stigma of defeat and peace settlement their responsibility, not the military’s * 1 October: Prince Max of Baden, a liberal, became chancellor * End of October: Germany had asked for an armistice, Kaiser had become a constitutional monarch, Ludendorff dismissed * 3 November: sailors at Kiel mutinied –spread across Germany * 9 November: Kaiser abdicated and fled to the Netherlands * Within 2 days, a republic had been declared and the imperial regime was gone * Revolutionary government, the Council of People’s Commissioners in power * 11 November: Germany signed the armistice
The impact of the war on women’s lives and experiences in Britain
Women’s Role Prior to WWI * Role in society confined to the domestic sphere. * symbol to be defended by their menfolk-consistent use in British propaganda * Order of the White Feather and the Active Service League- to pressure men to enlist Changing Roles: War Work * Over the war’s duration as men enlisted, acute labour shortages developed in Britain, especially at the introduction of conscription in May 1916. * increasing numbers of women found employment as secretaries, nurses, teachers, telephonists and white collar worker * Class Distinction: middle and upper class women entering the white collar professions and for the most part, working class women in manufacturing industries * For the first time, women became financially independent and pay increased to roughly 2/3 of the typical male wage * 1914-1918: female employment increased by 50% * July 1914: 3.2 million women in the workforce- January 1918: 4.8 million women in the workforce
The Munitionettes * The munitions industry was by far, the largest employer of women during the war following David Lloyd George’s appointment as Munitions Minister in 1915. * From 1914: there was an increase of 212, 000 women in the industry to 950, 000 women by 1918 * Christopher Addison (succeeding Minister of Munitions) estimated that 80% of all British munitions was being produced by female workers * Working conditions: included 12 hours shifts, an average of 87.5 hours per week * Extremely dangerous- over two hundred deaths during the war * health problems such as TNT poisoning. Munitionettes were also often called ‘canaries’ due to the yellow tinge of their skin * pay was two to three times what could be earned in domestic service * 1918, whereas the average male’s wage in munitions was £4, women were paid £2.
Women’s Land Army * The establishment of the Women’s Land Army was the government’s response to the shortage of men on the land and to the threat of starvation. * 1917: there were over 260, 000 women working in the Woman’s Labour Army.
Women in the Armed Services * Due to heavy losses on the Western Front in 1916, the government decided to employ women in administrative, non –combatant positions which freed up men for the front * Branches of women armed services created during the war- Women’s Auxiliary Corps ( WAAC), the Women’s Royal Air Force (WRAF) and the Women’s Royal Naval Service ( WRNS)
Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps/ Queen Mary’s Army Auxiliary Corps * January 1917: the establishment of the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps( WAAC) * Women served as clerks, telephonists, waitresses, cooks, instructors in the use of gas marks and were employed in traditionally male labour such as drivers and electricians. However, they were not given full military status. * Between 1917 and the Armistice: 57, 000 women served in the WAAC
Volunteer Work
Voluntary Aid Detachment * 1909: the Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) formed to provide medical assistance in the time of war * VAD hospitals were also opened in most large towns in Britain * 1914: Of the 74, 000 VADS, two-thirds were female. * 38, 000 VADS worked as assistance nurses, ambulance drivers and cooks
Changing Roles: Social Changes * growth of female independence, no longer restricted to domestic duties * Women from all classes worked, many for the first time * reduction in class barriers as upper class women worked besides the working class women * more relaxed behaviour became socially acceptable as women smoked in public, cut their hair and wore shorter skirts * However, differences in age, class and geographical location all affected the impact of the war on women * Marriage patterns altered and divorce rates rose * Home front ignorant of what life was like for the soldier. Furthermore, the nature of their injuries made it impossible for many soldiers to return to their normal lives, unable to communicate with their partners or maintain their relationships. * 10% of men aged between the ages 20-45 had been killed in the war and so a generation of women never married or remained widowed * 1629- 1920: The divorce rate rose 300%

Changing Roles: Political Activity
The War and Female Suffrage * National Union of Women’s Suffrage Society (NUWSS) announced the suspension of all political activity until the war’s end * The NWUSS sponsored women's hospital units, but refused to collaborate in any kind of recruiting strategy * WSPU were active in encouraging men to enlist, set up numerous demonstrations, harassed politicians and military leaders, accusing them of being traitors and demanded the harsh treatment of conscientious objectors * In 1915, the WSPU changed its newspaper name from The Suffragette to Britannia- the paper’s patriotic new slogan, ‘For King, For country, For Freedom.’ * 1918: women granted the vote in the Representation of the People Act vote * conservative action: women over 30 who were householders or wives of householders * majority of female war workers were of working class, single and young
Post War Situation * After the war, many women enforced to return to pre wartime employment and domestic life * As unemployment levels soared immediately after the war, anger towards women ‘taking’ jobs from men exploded. There was even pressure from fellow women who pressured females of marital status to stay at home.
Did Conditions Actually Improve for Women? * Political, social and economic changes evoked a new independence to which some women grew accustomed * Class divides began to break down at the end of the war as working class women worked with middle class women in factories. * Women had proved themselves in war thus were able to vote if over the age of 30 * Divorce was allowed. * More relaxed social behaviour * Freed from the constraints of home, women could go out in public alone, go to pubs and smoke in public * Women tended to marry later, due to the deficit of men
"The extent to which individual women had better employment opportunities in the postwar world thus depended on nation, class, education, age and other factors; there was no clear sense that the war had benefitted women overall."
-Susan Grayzvel
Turning Points The Western Front remained in a state of stalemate by 1917, despite the attempts of the Battles of Verdun and the Somme to revive action.
Impacts of the entry of the USA and of the Russian withdrawal Reasons for the American Entry * At the outset of war, most USA, under President Woodrow announced its neutrality and continued non-involvement in the war * However, a build-up of factors caused the US to declare war against Germany in April 1917 * Unrestricted U-Boat Campaign: Germany’s policy of using submarines to attack all shipping in the Atlantic regardless of nationality in order to break the Allied blockade * 7 May 1915: the sinking of the Lusitania with the loss of 1198 lives and 124 Americans * Zimmerman Telegram: Mistrust deepened- This message was intercepted by American intelligence, asking Mexico to declare war against the US in return for US territory It angered the congress * 6 April: US declared war on Germany
Impact of the American Entry * Did not have immediate military or economic impact * Allies had long relied on American industry * 1915:1/3 of shells used by the British army were made in North America * In the context of the war, American efforts and casualties were small * Immediate impact on morale at a crucial time which affected both sides * Allies: the prospect of American troops coming to assist them on the Western Front gladdened many Allied troops and gave them new vigour * Germany had to face the prospect of facing the world’s largest economy * Became increasingly desperate in search for an offensive that would break the stalemate and allow them to size victory before the US had fully mobilised * American navy had an immediate effect on the course of the war * The influence of US Rear Admiral Sims and others, and cooperation between the British and American staff, were to have an enormous impact on the war at sea
American contribution to the battle front * Mid 1918: American forces became fully involved in action along the Western Front and played a key roles in the Allied counteroffensive * Late May/June: American forces helped to hold back the final surges of Ludendorff’s attacks * Mid July: more than 275, 000 American troops took part in the Second Battle of the Marne * Germany’s defeat marked the end of Germany’s offensive * 12 September: half a million US troops drove the Germans from the St Michiel Salient * 16, 000 prisoners and 400 guns captured * Two weeks later: 896, 000 Americans advanced on the Meuse River, cut the main railway line for the Germans in the West and by November had driven the Germans back along the front line * Early November: German army was mutinying and revolution was spreading across Germany * 11 November: Armistice signed The Withdrawal of Russia from the War
Russia in 1917 * Poorly resourced army led to defeat after defeat for the Russians on the Eastern front * Lack of supplies, food, ammunition, boots * Lack of effective leadership or guidance from the tsar or his generals * Out-dated weaponry * Increasing number of attacks on officers, mutiny and eventual desertion as conditions on the home front worsened * March: The Tsar’s forces lost control of the capital, Petrograd and faced with complete social, economic and political breakdown, Tsar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate * A provisional government took power in early March, led by Prince Lvov * Fundamental mistake of continuing the war when the citizens were in need of peace * Sentiments understood by Lenin’s Bolshevik party * Contributed to the October Revolution and the seizure of power by the Bolsheviks * 7 November: overthrew the government in the name of the Congress of Soviets
The Treaty of Brest Litovsk: March 1918 * The communist government under Lenin was unwilling to continue to fight * First action of the Bolshevik government was the Decree of Peace * 3 March 1918: Germany and the Bolshevik regime agreed to peace terms in the Treaty of Brest Litovsk * Severe treaty took much of Russia’s resource wealth and land * Lenin was willing to accept such drastic terms because he believed that his socialist revolution in Russia would trigger other socialist revolutions across Europe
The Impact of Russia’s Withdrawal from the War * With the threat of a war on 2 fronts gone, German generals were enabled to transfer a huge number of supplies and troops from the Eastern to the Western front * huge surge in troop numbers and a possible effective offensive * Operation Michael: the German Spring Offensive in 1918 * Soldiers exhausted from fighting/travelling and were more ineffective than thought * Gave Germany enormous reparations

Ludendorff’s Spring Offensive and the Allied response Ludendorff’s Spring Offensive: March-July 1918
Reasoning
* Ludendorff needed to secure a decisive victory before the US troops mobilised and arrived in Europe * Also place Germany in a better position for inevitable peace talks * Strains on the home front-shortages made worse by the Allied naval blockade and increasing industrial/political unrest
The German Attack * 21 March 1918: Operation Michael aimed to drive a wedge between Allied forces to take Paris. A radical advance followed, encouraged by the use of new tactics such as storm troopers and creeping barrage * 65km taken in a week * British suffered 38, 000 casualties including 21, 000 prisoners on the first day
Reasons for the Failure of the Offensive * Exhausted troops on the Eastern front * Supply issues * Massive desertions * Lack of men-against the ever-growing force of the Americans * Only tactical gains, not strategic
The Allied Counteroffensive: August-November 1918

* As the Spring Offensive began to stall, the new Allied commander in chief Marshal Foch planned a response-The Hundred Day’s Offensive * July 18th (The 2nd Battle of the Marne) -pushed Germans into a retreat * 8th August: Battle of Amiens was “the black day of the German army” * The Allies were able to break the stalemate because * Their morale was boosted by the arrival of American troops * New ‘combined arm’s warfare tactics: creeping barrage, storm troopers * The fresh American troops who had arrived in Europe attacked the Germans at the St Mihiel salient and managed to push the Germans back behind the Hindenburg line. This was significant due to its importance to Germany’s defensive structure Allied Victory
The myriad of military, political and economic factors that had governed the progress of the First World War came to a head in late 1918. The failure of the Spring Offensives found Germany pushed back militarily and in dire straits financially. An armistice agreement was reached on November 11, 1918. The idealism of President Wilson’s Fourteen Points served as a basis for the negotiations of the Treaty of Versailles, but disunity of the Allies and individual agendas made the treaty ineffective and a flashpoint for future conflict.
Events Leading to the Armistice, 1918
Context
* British blockade had reduced much of the German population to starvation * Significant power cuts led to restrictions on lighting and the closure of many public buildings * The virus, Spanish Influenza swept the country * 400, 000 German civilian and 186, 000 soldiers died in less than a year * 8 August 1918: the German army suffered its worst setbacks of the war, its ‘Blackest Day’ (Ludendorff) * 50 days from 8 August-26 September: British advanced 40km along a 65 km front
Timeline of Events * 2 October: Ludendorff informed the Reichstag that Germany ‘could not win the war’ * Choice was to fight on and risk total defeat or to make peace on reasonable terms * 3 October: Prince Max of Baden, sought an armistice * 5 October: Measures announced to transform Germany into a democracy * 23 October: series of constitutional amendments passed making Germany a constitutional monarchy * 26 October: Ludendorff dismissed for issuing an order to his commanders to prepare to fight and reject the armistice negotiations * 28 October: Germany’s navy chiefs ordered warships in the port of Kiel to put to sea for a final battle with the British. The order was met with mutiny which spread to nearby ports * 9 November: The Kaiser abdicates for permanent exile in Holland * 11 November: Armistice is signed, severe conditions * Germany had to withdraw from France, Belgium and Alsace Lorraine * Allied military occupation of Rhineland not permitted * Vast amount of war material surrendered * Naval fleet and U-boats given up * Allied would maintain the blockade against Germany * Germans were to release all Allied prisoners of war-no release of German POWS from the Allied side
-too much detail
Reasons for the Allied Victory and German Collapse
Long Term Factors that Gave the Allies the Advantage of Fighting a War of Attrition
Tactical reasons * Failure of the Schlieffen Plan * Lost German credibility * Denied a quick war * Germany’s failure at the Marne and subsequent ‘race to the sea’ meant that France and Britain were able to continue fighting in the west * Fighting on multiple fronts- division of German troops, supplies and transport
Economic reasons * Superiority of Allied Economic and Military Resources * A war of attrition exacerbating Germany’s manpower issues * Allies had a combined economic and military strength of the British empire, French, Russia Italy, US and a host of minor powers whilst Germany only had 3 minor partners * More effective and widespread industry, to produce consistent munitions, weapons and food supplies for the war -Consistent supplies for the war * Allied blockade * Despite economic and military inequality, Germany maintained an army in the field for 4 years * Organisation of the home front, government controls, ersatz products, exploitation of occupied territories’ resources * Lack of key imports put sever limits on the German economy to supply its armies and placed strains on the home front
Political reasons * Strains on the German Home Front * Disillusionment and war weariness-inflation, shortages of essentials, inequality of suffering, growing casualty lists * Major strikes occurred, war production was further weakened and domestic morale dropped * Entry of the United States into the War * Unrestricted submarine warfare brought the US into war on the Allied side * Allied morale rose whilst German morale fell * American naval policies had a serious impact on the German front to continue fighting * American military forces played a part in the Allied counteroffensive of 1918

What Factors Caused the Rapid Collapse of Germany Towards the End of 1918? * Exhaustion of the German Army due to a war of attrition * Germany had fewer troops and was already facing labour shortages at home. They could not afford to lose so many troops, running out of men during the allied offensives of 1916-17 and their own spring offensives of 1918 * Arrival of Americans * Improved Generalship * Ludendorff’s Role in the Defeat * No contingency plans should the offensive fail Allied naval supremacy | The blockade of German ports meant that there were shortages of raw materials necessary for industry. This also exacerbated the food shortages felt around Germany. The Allied armies, by comparison, were able to receive resources and supplies from across the Atlantic. | Tactical change | The counter-offensives at the Marne and Amiens in 1918 perfected combined-arms warfare, where infantry worked in open formations or small groups in tandem with air raids and effective artillery. This gradual change in tactics helped make the offensives effective. | Fighting on multiple fronts | The failure of the Plan also meant that German troops were divided amongst multiple fronts, rather than having France knocked out quickly to focus on Russia. | Failure of the U-boat campaign and entry of the United States | In order to break the Allied blockade and to starve Britain, the U-boat campaign targeted all Allied and neutral shipping. This severely damaged US-German relations. The US began to finance the Allied war effort and their entry into the war in 1917 swung the balance decisively. The addition of large numbers of fresh troops proved a huge psychological as well as economic asset. | Weakness of Germany’s allies | Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey had ill-equipped and ineffective armies, and their military failures stretched the German army thinner. Their capitulation at the end of the war hurried the Allied victory. | Allied leadership | The Allies generally had better leadership. General Foch, as supreme commander of all Allied forces, was able to promote strength and unity. Germans lacked both the technological and industrial knowledge, military expertise | Domestic dissent in Germany | Socialist and Marxist groups in the Reichstag provided political opposition to the war. They were later supported by ordinary Germans, striking because of food shortages caused by the blockade. The freedom of the press instituted late 1918 helped provide impetus for revolution. | Lack of ‘total war’ strategy | Britain was able to mobilise their entire populations for war, nationalising industries and bringing women into the workforce. This is exemplified by the Defence of the Nation Act (1914). Germany did not mobilise to the same extent, thus failing to create necessary military industry for the war. |

The Roles and Differing goals of Clemenceau, Lloyd George and Wilson in Creating the Treaty of Versailles * The Peace Conference opened on 18 January 1919, anchored by the leaders of the three main Allied powers: France, Britain and the USA * The Conference began with idealistic foundations, yet it also had to satisfy the bitter resentments built up during the war. Bitter, intractable conflicts between major and lesser allies served to stall the conference and render it ineffective * The ad-hoc division of nation states and the assignation of astronomical reparations bills sowed the seeds for future conflict in Europe.
Woodrow Wilson: US Democratic Party President 1916-1920 * US Democratic Party President 1916-1920 * Main aims linked to his belief that the USA had fought the war to ‘make the world safe for democracy’ * Establishing a League of Nations, which would arbitrate disputes between member states and impose sanctions on those who stepped outside the law * Enforcing the principles of self-determination of nations. This lead to his opposition of the ‘mandates’ governing former German colonies, and also opposition to French expansionism in the Rhineland * Limiting German liability for war costs * Ideal of peace based on justice, equality and democracy-opposed to French demands for revenge * Not a good diplomat and in some ways ignorant of European affairs-regarded the European leaders as vindictive and self-interested * Wilson failed in many respects. At the end of the conference he began to compromise on his principles, for political expediency in a hostile Congress and also believing that the League of Nations would correct the mistakes of the Treaty
Georges Clemenceau: Premier of France * Clemenceau, Prime Minister of France, is often depicted as obsessed with his aim of safeguarding France from German aggression. In most matters, he championed territorial changes that would serve as a bulwark against Germany * His aims included * Establishing the Rhineland as an independent state from Germany, in the French sphere of influence. * Returning Alsace-Lorraine to France * The payment by Germany of huge sums of reparations, due to the destruction of French land and to repay war debts. A nationalistic, revanchist public fuelled his determination to make Germany pay. * Strengthening independent Poland as a barrier to Bolshevism. * Clemenceau’s security requirements were not all fulfilled. Instead of gaining the Rhineland, the left bank of the Rhine (including its valuable coal mines) would be demilitarised and placed under Allied occupation for 15 years. He also received a guarantee of support should Germany ever again invade France. * Guarantee collapsed after the US refused to ratify the Treaty of Versailles and Britain used this as an excuse to pull out also
David Lloyd George: Prime Minister of Britain * Liberal Minister of Munitions 1915, Prime Minister coalition government 1916-1922 * A consummate realist as Liberal prime minister of a coalition government, Lloyd George also displayed himself as such in negotiations at Versailles * He steered a path between a public wish for restitution and retribution, and a logical desire for future security in Continental Europe. * At Versailles, his views moderated. He attempted to avoid the creation of provocations for future wars, wanting to establish a stable, prosperous Germany that would lift economic productivity through trade. * His aims included * The destruction of the German fleet, to prevent any rival to British naval supremacy * Access to and sovereignty over German colonies in Africa and the Pacific, to pacify worried British dominions such as South Africa and Australia, by providing them with defensive buffer zones * Re-establishment of European trade disrupted by the war * Prevention of any country, including France, from dominating Europe * The payment of reparations to cover the costs of repaying war debt to the US, and due to public pressure. The reparations would also include war pension costs. * The rejection of the ‘freedom of the seas’ clause in the Fourteen Points.
The Treaty of Versailles * Germany not allowed to participate in the Paris negotiations at any time-chance to respond to the treaty terms in May * 28 June 1919: Germany was forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles * Symbolic-1871: German empire had been declared following France’s defeat in the Franco-Prussian War * The treaty aimed to weaken Germany territorially, economically and militarily
The Territorial Provisions * Germany lost 13% of its territory in Europe including * Germany was forbidden from ever uniting with Austria * The Rhineland region was to be demilitarised for a distance of 50km east of the River Rhine * The Versailles settlement forced Germans to live under Czech, Polish, French and Lithuanian rule, forbade union with Austria
Military Provisions * The treaty attempted to break German military power and thus prevent it from ever launching another invasion * Army reduced to 100 000 people * Germany not allowed any tanks or heavy artillery * Germany denied an air force * Germany’s navy was reduced-submarines banned, only 6 battleships allowed * Naval base of Heligoland to be destroyed
Economic Provisions * Sought to break Germany’s economic strength * Massive reparations to be paid to the Allies * Belgium and France were to receive large amounts of German machinery, locomotives and rolling stock * Germany had to supply the Allies with large amounts of coal
The Colonial Provisions * Germany deemed unworthy of colonial possessions * Given to other powers as mandates * Aim to prepare these ex German colonies for eventual statehood
War Guilt * Reparations the decision of the Reparation Commission * 28 April 1921: US $40 billion * France- 52% * Britain-22% * Italy-10% * Belgium-8% * 11 May 1921: Germany accepted the reparations bill * Ultimatum or an Allied force will occupy the industrial Ruhr area immediately * Germany did not have the capacity to pay the sum demanded * No chance of borrowing from overseas * Trade balance in serious deficit- gold reserves draining from the country * A flight of private capital from the country-businesses fearing their assets might become used for reparations * German economy still ravaged from the effects of war * ‘At the end the French felt swindled and the Germans felt robbed. Reparations had kept the passions of war alive…Reparations counted as a symbol. They created resentment, suspicion and international hostility’- AJP Taylor
Timeline
8 August: Battle of Amines begins: Ludendorff refers to the ‘black day’ of the German army
13 August: Ludendorff recommends to a conference of top commanders at Spa that ‘pace feelers’ be put out to the Allies
12 September: American forces launch the St Mihiel offensive
15 September: Austria calls on all belligerents ‘to send delegates to a confidential and nonbinding discussion on basic principles’ in the pursuit of peace
19 September: British offensive against Turkish forces begins in Palestine, Battle of Megiddo
26 September: American forces launch the Meuse-Argonne offensive
27 September-17 October: Haig’s forces attack the Hindenburg Line
29 September: Bulgaria agrees to armistice terms
1 October: Prince Max of Baden becomes German chancellor, Ludendorff realises defeat is coming and seeks to have the responsibility of defeat placed on the shoulders of the democratic politicians
2 October: Ludendorff’s speech to the Reichstag is delivered in which he explains why Germany cannot win the war
12-19 October: Austrian forces are defeated by Trentino, Piave and Romanian fronts
21 October: Germany ends unrestricted submarine warfare
26 October: Ludendorff resigns
30 October: Turkey agrees to armistice terms with the Allies
1 November: Serbia recaptures its capital, Belgrade, from Austria, Hungary declares independence from Austria
3 November: Austria and Hungary agree armistice terms with the Allies: naval mutiny breaks out at Kiel, Worker’s and Soldier’s Councils appear across Germany
9 November: Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicates, Germany declared a republic
10 November: revolutionary socialist government, the Council of People’s Commissioners, is established in Germany
11 November: Austrian Emperor Charles abdicates, Germany signs out the armistice at 11am