Having read pages 372-414 from John Keegan's masterpiece The First World War, our goal is ultimately to establish a firm understanding of WHY/HOW the Allies were victorious in 1918. We know supplies were short and that the addition of the US meant that the Allies could sustain heavy losses and replace those losses but Germany could not, and that ultimately, this is why the Allies won. Let us now look deeper.
It is time for hypotheticals. Why, you might ask, would we discuss what did not happen if it indeed never happened? Good question! Our goal is to establish the importance of all the factors which contributed to theAllied victory, and determine their importance. For example, we often criticize the Germans for their mistakes (strategic, unrestricted submarine warfare, etc), but did they really matter? Or, was the outcome inevitable given the superiority of Allied supplies? If it doesn't matter, then why criticize them in the first place? If it does matter, than that criticism is very important. Make sense? So here is today's question; Could Germany have won World War I? If so, how? If not, why not? Be specific with references to the reading wherever possible, support your perspective with sound logic, and have fun!
Lastly, our previous posts and comments regarding land, sea, and homeland were excellent. Go back to your post, read the comment(s), add a comment explaining your current thinking, and then read and comment on at least three other blog posts.
I'd like to say that there is no way that Germany could've won World War I, but I'm not sure. If Germany hadn't used unrestricted submarine warfare, which brought the U.S. into the war and encouraged the naval blockade, the outcome of World War I could've been different. However, I still think Germany would've lost, as stated by Keegan, the German people no longer supported the war and Germany had exhausted its male population. Even if Germany had been able to use the new generation of 18 year-old males, they still would've been short hundreds of thousands of men. However, if the United States hadn't entered the war, the shortage of men would've been somewhat equal on both sides, as the United States filled in the French and British ranks. I think an Allied victory was somewhat inevitable due the the number of Allied powers versus Central powers. However, if Germany hadn't made so many mistakes, I think the outcome of the war either would've taken longer or would've been less definitive.
ReplyDeleteI think that Germany could have won the war if they had played it out right. The biggest factor in their loss was the under-estimation of the capability of the American military. They believed that America would not join the war, and would be irrelevant even if they did. So they continued to sink American ships, which drew America in. Had they respected the power of the American people, the resources they were gaining from peace on the eastern front could have given them the boost of supplies required to win the war. Had they recognized this, they could have avoided the entrance of America into the war and possibly secured victory for Germany.
ReplyDeleteI meant to include the quote from the reading, from the Secretary of State for the German Navy, "They will not come, because our submarines will sink them. Thus America from a military point of view means nothing, and again nothing and for a third time nothing."
ReplyDeletei feel Germany could have won the war, if they played there cards right. Germany made a lot of mistakes that they didn't need to make. we agree that Germany was leading in technology just like they were in World War 2, but in both wars Germany believed they couldn't be defeated, i feel if they planed something out better made fewer mistakes and used the technology better during the war they could have won. one large mistake Germany made was dividing there forces than keeping them together. doing this weekend Germany army's making it easier for the counter attacks from the British and Americans.
ReplyDeleteYes, Germany could have won if it had not resumed unrestricted submarine warfare and pulled the U.S.A. into the war. Despite the poor strategy emploeyd during late May and early June of 1918 if the U.S. Marine Corps brigade staioned at Belleau Wood then Allied troops would have offered little to no resistance to the German advance towards Rheims, "the capture of which would have more than doubled the railway capacity on which [the Germans] depended to feed their offensive." The spanish influenza outbreak dealt a massive blow to German forces weakened by their lack of food. The last remnents of and the last chance to turn the tide of the war of attrition and the war as whole occured at Belleau Wood June 4, 1918.
ReplyDeleteI believe that under certain circumstances Germany could have won World War I. If Germany focused more on naval power and defeating the British navy. If this was done, and Germany controlled the seas, their supplies wouldn't be limited by the British blockade, and the US could have been prevented from entering the war. German submarines and ships could have destroyed the American troops being transported to Europe, and attacked Great Britain directly. They could also have attacked France from two fronts if they had the naval capabilities. The only thing that prevented this from happeneing was the focus on technology on the battlefield, and not on naval advancement and technology. Also, if the British blockade on the North Sea was broken, the United States could have still traded with Germany, possibly causing the U.S. to not join the war on the side of the Allies.
ReplyDeleteThere is a possibility that Germany could have won World War One. If Germany had been able to prevent the American intervention into the war, Germany could have come out of the war victorious. Germany was beginning to utilize effective war strategies and was becoming more successful in the war. They were able to cut deep into Allied lines and divide them into manageable sections. The problem was that in 1918, Germany was running out of supplies. If Germany had used these strategies earlier in the war, when they still had enough resources, there is a strong chance that they could have defeated the Allied powers.
ReplyDeleteIf Germany hadn’t enacted unrestricted submarine warfare, then the Americans may not have become involved in the war and helped the Allied powers. At the same time though, the naval blockade of Germany would have probably continued and Germany may have lost the war of attrition. Unrestricted submarine warfare was why America had entered the war and it Germany had abstained from it, then Germany could have possibly won World War One. The bringing over of American troops provided the Allies with the upper hand in the war also. These fresh troops and supplies allowed the Allies to gather their strength and defeat the small and weakening German army. If America hadn’t intervened, Germany could have used its new techniques to defeat the equally weak Allies.
Yes, it is possible that Germany could have won WWI. If America had been kept neutral and out of the war this would have allowed Germany to concentrate its efforts towards the war concerning major powers such as Britain and France. The United States gave the man-power, supplies and technology that essentially over-powered the Germans and led to their downfall. German nationalism was very strong, as was their army. Once Russia pulled out of the war the Germans could pull their troops back to the Western Front, maintaining more man-power and conserving more supplies for the Western Front. If Germany had begun its straggles used in 1917, which were much more aggressive and seemed to contain more nationalism and enthusiasm, there is a possibility that Germany could have been victorious, excluding the U.S. from the picture. However, since the U.S. became involved due to German U-Boats and the Zimmerman telegram, Germany did not have much of a chance. U.S. soldiers were new to the war, ready to go; while German soldiers had been fighting for three or four years, tired and exhausted. In reality, it is impossible to determine if Germany would have won, because anything is possible in war.
ReplyDeleteGermany could have won the war if they had a larger population to draw from, and thus they would have been better able to implement their maneuvers, which in my opinion were well enough planned to win the war.
ReplyDeleteGermany also could have won the war if Britain or France had encountered the same problems as Russia; if Britain had undergone a Marxist revolution or the like, and dropped out of the war, then Germany would have had a much better chance of winning. In the end, Britain and America were the two major problems faced by the Central powers, so with either of those out of the equation somehow, I believe that Germany would have had at least a fighting chance at winning the war.
If Germany had developed nuclear weapons thirty years early then they eventually did, they could have easily won the war.
The possibilities are endless.
Could Germany have won WWI? A major problem Germany faced during the war was the lack of weapons. Keegan states that Germany didn’t have the tank power that Britain had which was a huge factor in the victory for the Allied powers. I don’t think that Germany could have won the war because for one the British naval blockade which cut off major supplies. In the beginning of the war Germany was so over confident in their abilities that it caused them to make some mistakes and this over confidence also contributed to the Schlieffen Plan. Since Germany overestimated their abilities the marching schedules in order to make this plan work were unrealistic. So putting all of these factors together with the abilities of the Allied powers I don’t think that Germany could have won WWI.
ReplyDeleteI think for Germany to have won the war they would’ve needed another ally. In reality, I don’t see this happening. As the reading mentioned, Germany didn't have the military power to win the war themselves. The Allies won the war because they were able to outlast the Germans-- with men and weaponry. There were really no major powers left for Germany to ally with though, so it would have been nearly impossible for Germany to come out on top.
ReplyDeleteI think that Germany could have won the war if they would have been better at predicting the actions of their enemies and not relying so much on generous predictions, and over estimations of their own strength, and underestimating their opponents
ReplyDeleteOne under estimation Germany made pertained to the American military. At the start of World War I, The American navy was strong, however the Americans had a weak army, therefore the Germans saw them as weak and insignificant to the war. They focused more on Britain and tended not to pay much attention to America. Germany should have taken further measures to ensure America stayed neutral, because in the end, America was a game changer. Germany could have looked out for themselves by limiting American causalities as a result of unrestricted submarine warfare, and agreeing to America's terms of neutrality. These factors could have changed the outcome of the war.
I feel that Germany definitely could have won WWI after the treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed, taking Russia out of the war. After this it gave them the oppritunity to focus on battling the western front. They could have won if they committed to a policy of total war against France and the Allies and kept a look out for the US.
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