- Schlieffen Plan
- Trench Warfare
- Battle of the Somme
- War in the Air
- War in the Sea
- Economic and Human Resources
- Role of Women
- USA Entry into the War
- Combined Arms (Kaiserschlacht/ 100 Days’ Offensive)
- Domestic Instability of the Central Powers
- Entente Won/ Central Powers Lost
- Historiography
- Other Resources
Who should win?
- The Schlieffen Plan
Each country plans ahead for a future war. Before the First World War, France planned for a possible German invasion, Austria-Hungary planned for a war against Russia, (and vice-versa), and Britain relied on its navy for both offensive or defensive operations. After Russia and France signed an alliance in 1894, Germany faced a possible future war from both sides. How would Germany fight both in the east and west at the same time?
The Schlieffen Plan was first devised in 1905 by the commander of the then German forces, General von Schlieffen. The war plans of other countries can be found on these two links: World War 1.com and First World War.com. However, the German plan is the most famous. Can you think why?
Schlieffen Plan – Key questions
- Why did it fail?
- Were there alternative plans?
- How did this war plan affect Germany’s foreign policy?
The Western Front in 1914 – requires flash player
- The Russian railways had improved because of their failure in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-5. The Tsar decided that Russian ambitions in Asia should be halted and he should focus on the west. As a result, the Russian armies were ready for war in under four weeks rather than six.
- Von Schlieffen was not in charge when the war began. His successor, von Moltke, altered the plans.
- The plan expected Germany to fight Belgium and France in the west. It did not expect to take on Britain too. This involvement slowed down the German advance.
- The Belgian Army fought harder than expected. The Schlieffen Plan had expected a quick surrender by France.
One of the key British historians, Max Hastings, argues that the Schlieffen Plan was never going to work. He argues that the weapons had improved but not the infrastructure to move them long distances. He also criticised the plan because it did not take into account the size of the armies. The French Army was much larger in 1914 than in 1905 so could afford to take more casualties before surrendering. This would delay the Schlieffen Plan and lead to its failure.
- Can Germany still win after the failure of the Schlieffen Plan?
- What does she need to do to defeat the Entente powers?
2. Trench Warfare
3. Battle of the Somme
The Battle of the Somme is the most infamous of the First World War for Britain and its former empire. It suffered its worst day in military history and is argued over today about the purpose of fighting such a battle. The battle itself is also a good case study to analyse the use of weapons and resources. It could also be used to study the strategic errors of both sides.
The battle was fought to relieve pressure on Verdun as the German and French forces were fighting a titanic struggle in the area.
This proved successful but the casualty figures for the Entente powers were extremely high.
Arguing that the ‘Somme’ was a success therefore is not entirely accepted. The Entente powers gained just over eleven kilometres in territory but at the expense of 620 000 casualties.
However, the following quote is from a piece by Duff Cooper. It is still debated today if the German officer actually said it.
One of the senior British First World War historians, Gary Sheffield, delivers a lecture about the Battle of the Somme below. His perspective is worth using in any essay on the practices of war.
The Battle of the Somme is further useful for studying the tank, it was first used on September 1916.
4. War in the Air
5. War in the Sea
6. Economic and human resources
Total Mobilisation and Special Measures
7. Role of Women
8. USA Entry into the War
USA and how they influenced the convoy system
9. Combined Arms (Kaiserschlacht/ 100 Days Offensive)
The Western Front had been in a stalemate since the Autumn of 1914. But by late 1917, at the Battle of Caporetto, mobility returned. The German Army defeated the Italians using strategies developed over time. They would also use them the following year in the Ludendorff Offensive, although less successfully. On the other side, the Allies combined their infantry, artillery, aircraft, tanks, and cavalry too, allowing them to win the First World War with their Hundred Days Offensive in the summer of 1918.
- The armies of 1914 relied on massed infantry and artillery support, with the cavalry arm aimed to exploit any advantage using their speed and power. This was very much a nineteenth-century way of warfare.
- In 1916, battles were fought with huge artillery barrages preceding massed infantry attacks. The Battle of the Somme was a good example of this.
- By 1918, attacks by the British Army could take place at night because of better training and artillery supported the infantry periodically, so the enemy could not know when zero hour took place. This proved that strategies and tactics evolved throughout the war. Gary Sheffield judged the army as ‘a highly effective battle-winning, all arms force’. However, a caveat to this is that not all the army contributed to this. There remained officers who preferred the pre-war fighting style they had been trained on, albeit with a few changes.
The following is evidence of the British Army’s evolution and one of the reasons why the Hundred Days Offensive was successful.
- There was a variety of artillery techniques used, adapting to the needs of the battle. Ammunition was varied too, high explosives, shrapnel, and smoke. Furthermore, it supported infantry attacks much more closely.
- Aerial spotting developed to help artillery locate their targets and pinpoint enemy weaknesses.
- Some historians argue that the First World War saw a ‘Revolution in Military Affairs’. This rare occurrence changed the way nations fight battles, so important that it continues today. What changed was how artillery could now fire at targets without having to see them. This is called indirect fire. Aircraft would spot targets, relay it back to the artillery arm of the army, and then they would triangulate the position for the individual units.
10. Domestic Instability of the Central Powers
Read the following article and identify the domestic problems of Austria-Hungary during the First World War.
Austria-Hungary by Pieter M. Judson
The following article explains how each of the Central Powers surrendered or agreed peace terms during the late summer and autumn of 1918.
The Military Collapse of the Central Powers
An important point from the article above, written by Graydon Tunstall, is that President Wilson’s Fourteen Points were influential in weakening the Austro-Hungarian empire. They also fed nationalist movements which were growing across Europe.
Although Wilson made them public in a speech in January 1919, they were known to the politicians before the war ended. They were discussed at government level and nominally accepted by them in order to bring an end to the war.
- The autumn or fall of 1918 proved disastrous for the Central Powers. One by one, each of them reached an agreement to leave the war or surrendered. Economically and politically, the war had taken too much of a strain on the weaker members of the Central Powers.
- The Ottoman Empire, or Turks, had been defeated by the British in October 1918.
- Bulgaria surrenders in September 1918.
- Yugoslavia declares itself an independent state from Austria-Hungary in October 1918.
- Austria signs an armistice on 3 November.
- Hungary begins transitioning away from a monarchy in October 1918, moving to a national council that advocated exiting the war. However, despite King Charles being exiled in 1921, the country had a regent in charge and it remained a kingdom, albeit with an active parliament.
- Furthermore, the British naval blockade had ‘succeeded’ in limiting food supplies to German civilians. This had the effect of creating both economic and political discontent.
11. Entente Won/ Central Powers Lost
- Can you argue the Entente won when Russia lost?
- If Britain suffered so much financially from the war, did she really win?
How did the Entente manage to win the Great War?
Did the Allies win the First World War or did the Central Powers lose It?
12. Historiography
Historiography of the First World War
Why the Allies won, by Stephen Broadberry
In the article above, Stephen Broadberry argues that the quantity and quality of Allied resources was the determining factor in them winning the First World War. The Triple Entente had better economies than the Central Powers, only Germany a leading power for the latter, so was able to outproduce and with better quality goods.
Gary Sheffield argues that the Allies had a strategy that won the war. Watch the following video to learn more.
Jennifer D. Keene in her analysis of the US and the First World War (see link below) that their entry into the war proved decisive in 1918.
13. Other Resources