Factors That Led To The German Loss Of World War One

                Germany was little but a wreck after the war. The Allies, namely Britain, France and Russia had succeeded in winning the war . There were many reasons to why Germany lost the war. Some of the reasons were the failure of the Schlieffen plan and the German military, the weakness of the German Economy and its geography, the ineffectiveness of the Alliance Systems, as well as the entry of the United States of America. But as the war started, all started to go wrong for Germany.

                First of all, Germany had to fight on two fronts, being the Western Front, consisting of France and the Eastern Front, namely Russia. To prevent this, Germany wanted to annihilate France as quick as possible. Then turning on Russia, as they were supposedly slow at mobilising. Unfortunately for Germany, the Belgians put up quite the resistance while the BEF, or British Expeditionary Force, a force sent into France, mobilised rapidly. Furthermore Germany did not expect Britain to involve itself within European affairs. These were all reasons why the Von Schlieffen plan, a plan to invade France through a neutral Belgium, failed. Primarily the invasion of Belgium, created sympathy throughout the world and rallied support for the Allies. The Belgians, contrary to German predictions resisted and made use of guerrilla tactics, a hit and run if you will, to hamper the German advance. Additionally French resistance was tough and the Maginot line was heavily fortified. France wanted vengeance on Germany as they had gained Alsace-Lorraine when France lost the war in 1870 against Germany. In addition to the French perseverance, the British, who Germany had underestimated as only a naval superpower, were in fact a  well trained army. Likewise the Russians had mobilised faster than expected, and Germany was quickly enveloped in chaos. In addition to this the leadership This war of ongoing attrition wore down both the German supplies, as well as their troops. The lack thereof meant a decline in the German Economy.

                Germany entered the war as a booming nation, with a strong economy and bountiful  resources. The continuing war needed a considerable amount of money. And soon the war had drained Germany’s economy to a standstill. Due to the war the regions which housed the factories, the Rhineland, German territory to the west of the Rhine river, were inaccessible. Thus the production rate went down. Furthermore the British navy had enacted a naval blockade on Germany’s shoreline, preventing trade and militaristic ventures. Without the trade and the renewal of the resource supplies Germany spiralled into oblivion. Mass inflation and economic instability was caused by the devaluation of the Deutsche Mark, the German currency, which was needed to pay for the war. This debt, as well as the requisitions of the Treaty of Versailles later on have only just recently been totally paid off . Unlike Britain, Germany did not have a system like the British, D.O.R.A, or Defense of the Realm Act, a policy in which gave the British government power over any and all matters for the sake of the war. This allowed the British government to make full use of all the resources, manpower, as well as money. Germany did not have official tax system either, meaning that the war was funded by the rich and wealthy.  Many of whom had fickle loyalties.

                Another reason was the weakness of alliances and the erratic loyalties. Germany had allies who impeded their goals rather than aiding the Germans. Austria-Hungary was weak, they constantly needed backing from the  German military. This took the shape of monetary aide, troop reinforcements, as well as supplies and resources. Furthermore the Austrian-Hungarian Empire was not as active as the Axis  Powers had hoped. Britain on the other hand had strong allies some of which were colonies or former colonies. For example, Canada and India provided great manpower and supplied resources and food.  Italy, one of the main powers within the Triple Alliance, an alliance consisting of Germany, Austria Hungary, defected and joined the Allies. This opened a new front to the south of Germany, and completed the encirclement of the Axis powers save for the Ottoman Empire and the nation of Bulgaria. The Ottomans were struggling with internal conflict and could do little to affect the war on a major level. Another reason for this was that these countries were disconnected from the rest of Western Europe. Contrary to the weakness of Germany’s allies the Allied Powers had the backing of the USA  

                In 1917, U.S.A joined the war which provided the needed support and gave access to necessary resources. Their entry was caused by two events, among which the sinking of the Lusitania and the Zimmerman telegram. To break the Allied naval blockade Germany set up a policy called “Unrestricted Submarine Warfare”, this policy stated that the Germans would sink any and all ships found in the English channel. They used U-boats, or submarines and harassed ships travelling through the English channel and was quite effective at first, but as the war went on, the Allies introduced counter-measures such as; anti-submarine weapons and convoy systems. Depth charges and sonar helped locate the submarines. Convoy systems were introduced in which the freight ships were enshrouded in a circle of battle cruisers, giving them the protection they needed. The advancement of aviation and radar also furthered Allied control over the Western Front.  A German U-boat sunk the Lusitania, a ship said to have been carrying weaponry, but also carried American passengers. The other reason was the Zimmermann telegram, a telegram  suggesting a German-Mexican alliance. If Germany won then Mexico would be allowed to reclaim lost territories such as New Mexico and Texas. The U.S could do little but join the war on the side of the Allies. This telegram reflects the desperation of Germany at this point. It also shows the lack of thought they put into the war, as Mexico was in the middle of a civil war. It was not limited to those mistakes that led to the downfall of the German Empire. Poor leadership, high risk attack plans, and the weakness of the German propaganda machine also impacted the outcome of this war.

               

                One of the major mistakes made by the Germans was to underestimate the power and effectiveness on propaganda. Britain had an organised office specialised in propaganda, and as such they had one view and opinion. On the other hand Germany had a couple of smaller groups printing out the propaganda, and thus they could not unify the country and its men. English propaganda made themselves look better than the Germans, while the Germans made it seem like the Brits were weak and ill prepared. This backfired when the British did not turn out to be as weak and poorly trained as the propaganda had suggested. This lowered morale and made soldiers lose hope in their nation.  Propaganda was another reason why the Germans lost the war.

                 Looking at all these mistakes which Germany made, it isn’t really that surprising it all went wrong for Germany. The events that occurred both before and during the war, all contributed to the decline of the German Empire and the loss of the war. There was no great man, like Churchill or Hitler, to lead the country and as soon as the Kaiser abdicated the governmental structure fell apart. Chaos, poverty, and unrest engulfed the Nation and this would later pave the way to Hitler’s election.  So all in all, it was a disastrous war for Germany.