German Defeat

&

Allied Victory

In January 1918…• Morale in French Army low

• German U-boat campaign had failed to starve Britain into surrender

• Russia had withdrawn from the war, freeing up a large amount of German troops.

BUT…

• American troops, equipment & supplies had begun reinforcing the Allies in large numbers

• Allied blockade of Germany was causing severe hardship & shortages, leading to unrest

• Germany’s allies were on the verge of collapse.

Operation St Michael (the Spring Offensive)

• Ludendorff prepared a final offensive designed to break through to Paris using

– shock troops– portable trench mortars, machine guns & flamethrowers– surprise attacks

• Germans launched 5 attacks (Mar – Jul)– made significant gains, esp against the French in the first 3 attacks– the last two attacks failed

• Results…– after initial lack of Allied cooperation, Foch appointed as a unified

commander-in-chief– German troops were exhausted– German Army had no reserves to replace their losses

Allied Counterattack

• Began July 18 across the River Marne– Allies used aircraft, tanks en masse

– Germans retreated in an orderly manner even though morale was low

– Germans disheartened by amount of Allied supplies & equipment

• 2nd Allied attack on August 8– ‘black day’ for the German Army: surrendered in large numbers

– Germans fell back to the Hindenburg Line

– German soil not touched yet!

• By the end of September– Ludendorff demanded that the politicians sue for peace

• By the end of October– Hindenburg line breached in a number of places

– Germans in retreat

– by Nov 11, almost all Germans out of France.

Some Reasons for Allied Victory

Effect of US troops- reinforcements- morale

Tanks (not significant by themselves but…)- Allies produced them in numbers- used in numbers

Collapse in German morale & consequent unrest on Home Front

Allied blockade of Central Powers- led to severe shortages & hardship

Failure of Schlieffen Plan

Combined economic strength of the Allies

Weakness of Germany’s allies

Reasons for Allied Victory

GERMAN STRATEGIC ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES• Advantages:

Strongest economy in Europe Large army that was well-trained/equipped Centrally located & could move troops around easily

• Disadvantages: Dependent on Schlieffen Plan to avoid a 2 front war Economy restricted severely by Allied blockade Allies could depend on global empires but Germany received limited economic/military support from AH, Turkey & Bulgaria.

• Thus, the longer the war went, the harder Germany would find it to win.

Reasons for Allied Victory

COLLAPSE OF THE GERMAN HOME FRONT• Demands of war economy, Allied blockade & inflation led to food shortages by 1916. By 1918, some were starving.

• German High Command shifted men from agriculture into industry & military, which led to decrease in food production.

• A political truce in the Reichstag since 1914 had broken down. By 1917, the Reichstag was keen on peace.

• Industrial action increased from 1000 strikes a month (1915) to 100,000 a month in late 1918.

Reasons for Allied VictoryON THE FRONT LINE• Russia’s surrender & early successes of Spring Offensive offered some

hope but once the advance was stopped, the German Army had run out of reserves & was vulnerable to Allied counter offensive.

• Allied commanders had finally worked out how to coordinate the different weapons (tanks, artillery & infantry) at their disposal.

• Foch was appointed as C-in-C to coordinate the Allied forces.

• Although large parts of the German Army fought determinedly, war weariness & declining morale affected many before the Allied offensive began in August.

• By October, 1918, the German High Command admitted to the Reichstag that it could not win the war. The Allies had too many men, tanks & aircraft with more on the way. Germany had no reserves.

Reasons for Allied VictoryUS ENTRY INTO THE WAR• Perhaps the critical factor: massive potential in manpower, industry, resources & capital. This was a huge blow to German morale.

• When US soldiers arrived in France, they moved into the front line to give British & French troops a rest. This allowed the Allies to have fresh, veteran troops to go on the offensive.

• US troops were well-equipped & fed, even if they were inexperienced.

There were 187,000 Americans in France at the end of 1917. By war’s end, there were 830,000+.

Reasons for Allied VictoryOTHER CONSIDERATIONS• Victory was not inevitable. The German Spring Offensive broke the stalemate & threatened the whole Western Front. Even after it was halted, there were no immediate prospects of victory.

• The Allied naval blockade slowly strangled the German economy. Whilst the U-boat campaign of unrestricted warfare brought Britain down

to 6 weeks food supplies at one stage, it probably helped bring the USA into the war on the Allied side.

• The Allies were stronger economically – they produced thousands of tanks as opposed to the German 20!

• Haig’s tactics of attrition worked – they wore down the German nation!

Reasons for Allied VictoryOTHER CONSIDERATIONS• Victory was not inevitable. The German Spring Offensive broke the stalemate & threatened the whole Western Front. Even after it was halted, there were no immediate prospects of victory.

• The Allied naval blockade slowly strangled the German economy. Whilst the U-boat campaign of unrestricted warfare brought Britain down

to 6 weeks food supplies at one stage, it probably helped bring the USA into the war on the Allied side.

• The Allies were stronger economically – they produced thousands of tanks as opposed to the German 20!

• Haig’s tactics of attrition worked – they wore down the German army.