Learning Intention: We will be learning about the reasons for allied victory

Success Criteria:

• I will be successful when I am able to outline the long-term factors in Germany's defeat

• I will be successful when I am able to discuss the short-term factors that led to the collapse of Germany

• I will be successful when I am able to explain the reasons for the allied victory

BRAINSTORM TASK: What were the reasons why the allies won World War 1? Write down some points and we'll brainstorm your ideas

Discussion: Did the Allies win or did Germany Lose?

Overlapping issues, but not necessarily the same thing. In order to explain the defeat of Germany in 1918, two questions need to be addressed:

1. What were the long term factors that led to the result of the war?

2. What were the short term factors that led to the result of the war?

• Germany's Unrestricted Submarine Warfare policy forced the US to enter the war in April 1917. The US influence on the eventual outcome of the war was of fundamental important. In the short term, it led to a major boost in allied morale.

• The US navy was able to have an immediate impact on the allied war effort. US convoy methods played a significant role in thwarting the damaging German submarine threat. US naval forces reinforced the allied blockade. Anglo-American control of the Atlantic ensured the steady transfer of men and food supplies across throughout 1918.

• However, the US military presence would not be of any significance until the middle of 1918.

Despite the entry of the US in 1917, at the start of 1918, the war remained even. The promise of US military involvement augured well for the allies. However, the Russian war effort had collapsed. General Ludendorff was now able to transfer men and equipment to the Western Front and launch a major offensive on allied positions. This was to be Operation Michael, launched in March 1918. However, by May, Ludendorff's offensive was weakening. Within 6 months the German war effort had collapsed.

Short term factors that led to Germany's collapse were:

• The Americans

• Leadership

• German Exhaustion

• Technology

THE AMERICANS

In mid-July, 275 000 US troops took part in the 2nd Battle of the Marne. It was this battle which finally bought the German offensive to a close.

US actions in the St Mihiel salient near Verdun resulted in the allied capture of 16 000 German prisoners and 400 guns. In late September, US forces were successful in the Meuse-Argonne campaign. By now the German were putting out 'feelers' for an armistice.

LEADERSHIP

Much criticism had rightly been aimed at the allied military leadership throughout the war. However, by 1918, errores were being made less often and lessons had been learned.

General Monash:

• New generals were now being given their opportunity. Notable amongst was the Australian general, John Monash.

• Monash was a master of logistics as well as tactics. He understood how to coordinate infantry, artillery and air power.

• Mention was made of his 93 minutes success at Hamel in July 1918.

General Ludendorff:

• In terms of tactics, Ludendorff was thought to be brilliant. He was good at seizing opportunities, taking advantage of surprise and maximising the use of available resources.

• However, Ludendorff, failed at a strategic level. Ludendorff lacked any overarching strategic plan.

• General Foch described Ludendorff's tactics as 'buffalo tactics' in 1918. Like a wild buffalo, the German army charged, caused damage, sometimes broke through but there were no contingency plans about what to do next or what to do if specific plan did not work out and the buffalo would become exhausted.

TECHNOLOGY

Industry and science to the war effort of each side was very important. By 1918, each side had a greater array of technologically more efficient weapons on land, on sea and in the air.

Arguably, the crucial technological development which turned the tide in the allies favour in 1918 was the tank.

• The tank was no longer the unwieldy, unreliable death trap that it had been 2 years earlier.

• The leaders, like Monash and Foch, understood how the tank could be used effectively. Operated in mass numbers, tanks could break through the enemy lines.

• The allies had put much into tank production and so were able to employ hundreds of them in 1918. The breakdown of the German economy meant that it was impossible for the Germans to match the allies in tank warfare. This was to be a crucial factor.

GERMAN EXHAUSTION

After the war, right-wing German politicians and leading military figures would argue that the German army had not been defeated in the field but that it had been 'stabbed in the back' by socialists, democratic politicians and Jews at home.

• Nobody ever doubted the courage of tenacity of the German army. However, even the best trained army cannot survive when its Home Front cannot supply it with what it needs to fight, and while its enemy has the benefit of limitless supplies. By 1918, young boys and old men were being conscripted into the German army. The allies had millions of fresh Americans. Germany was exhausted.

• By mid-1918, the German Home Front was in a state of collapse. Its industry was seriously lacking in essential raw materials; the allied blockade had done its job. There were major food shortages, far worse than anything in Britain. Starvation in some parts of Germany was real. The outbreak of Spanish influenza in 1918 only served to worsen the situation.

• Political support had broken down. The Reichstag had already passed a Peace Resolution earlier in the war. By late 1918, Germany was facing the real prospect of revolution as Workers and Soldiers Councils appeared, seeking to take control. Desertion rates were increasing and there was a series of naval mutinies in north German ports. Bavaria would later become a Soviety republic.

• Germany was exhausted and its Home Front had collapsed.