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
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
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