In 1914 Europe blundered into a war that shaped the 20th century. The Central Powers started the war with huge professional armies and some of the best military technology in the world yet rapidly became locked in stalemate on the Western Front in trench warfare. Even on the Eastern Front, where the war was more mobile little gain was made against Russia until the internal destruction of its government was brought about by the revolution.
What were the fundamental mistakes made by Germany and her allies that resulted in their defeat in 1918?
There are many factors that contributed to Triple Alliances' loss of World War I such as inefficient military plans, poor decision making by leaders, food and resource shortages caused by naval blockades, poor morale and conditions and the collapse of allies. In the end however, it was more or less the strength of the Allies that overpowered the numerous weaknesses faced by the Central Powers.
Hello DoctorBarry_Turner , I agree with a doctor Sheela_Sobana_Rani in reply
Dear Barry,
Enclosed please find the best answer to your question. The text is in Russian, but you can use google translator. The author is indicated.
Kind regards,
Igor Gurkov
Спасибо, Игорь
Я могу читать по-русски, и я уверен, что мне это понравится.
Barry
Дорогой Барри,
Я конечно могу ошибаться, но думаю, великие державы недооценили всю мощь германского генштаба. После поражения при Йене в 1806 г. Пруссия поняла, что залогом будущих побед станет полная реорганизация армии с созданием сильного генерального штаба. И это ей удалось. Вначале организованный по французскому образцу (как у маршала Бертье), он вскоре стал лучшим генштабом в Европе. Свою лепту в его создание внесли великие военные реформаторы, такие как Клаузевиц, Шарнхорст, Гнейзенау, Мольтке и др.
Удачи в Ваших исследованиях,
Алексей.
Спасибо за ваши комментарии Алексей
The German General Staff did overestimate its abilities and the Schlieffen plan was way out of date by 1914. They also understimated by far the effectiveness of the tiny British Expeditionary Force. The Kindemord bei Ypern was inflicted on thousands of young German soldiers by professional soldiers equipped with rapid firing rifles and the resistance on the Marne put paid to the Imperial German plan to capture Paris.
The reticence of the German navy to enage in more decisive naval battle with The Royal Navy resulted in a crippling blockade of the German homeland. Had they committed again after Jutland they may have been able to inflict significant damage on the Royal Navy and ease the blockade. This would have had profound effects on the outcome of the war.
Even on the Eastern Front where German forces had more success in the more fluid war there there was no decisive victory until the Russian government collapsed in the revolution.
During that period, the defence was (by and large) stronger than the attack, because of the MG, trenches and barbed wire, and the (relative) lack of mobile C3 -- beginning to be fixed in 1917-18 with VHF radio. Also the development of tanks, but these required rich resources that the Central Powers lacked. So in a relatively static war of attrition, the Central Powers were effectively starved of critical resources -- particularly metals and oil, which was starting to replace coal at the critical source of energy for war.
The economic resources and the general economies of the Central Powers were exhausted by the time the USA entered the war. Even with the collapse of the Russians in the East, Germany could not hope to compete with the economic juggernaut of the American economy. This under-estimation would be committed again by Hitler who actually declared war against the USA before the Americans did. He thought the USA was a Grapes of Wrath economy contaminated with prominent Jews and too many black people.
It tends to be forgotten that the British army actually improved from bottom up and eventually did far better against the Germans. Another clear problem was the lack of food production in Germany and her inability to obtain food from elsewhere.
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