What if Germany had won the First World War? How would the world be different? Would the economy be the same? Would Germany be a world power? Would we have countries such as Finland or Latvia exist today? Would the United States still be a democracy? Would there have been a Second World War? The outcome of the First World War directly and indirectly effected the way we live today.
This might come as a surprise to some, but Germany almost won the First World War. Germany was once very close to winning the war. Their submarine warfare was taking a hard toll on Britain. Between February and June, one of every four of Britain’s large freighters never returned. The French and British armies were weakening. The French and British had worn themselves out by taking the offensive, Germany having had taken the defensive. Germany held their trench positions while they took the offensive position against the Russians, in the East. They wanted to defeat Russia and then move their Eastern armies to the West, to defeat the weakened French and British. When Russia pulled out of the war because of their new leadership under Vladimir Lenin and his Bolshevik Party, the Allied troops suffered greatly. Russia’s exit exposed French and British troops to a much bigger German force. When Russia left, Lenin published secret Allie treaties revealing that Britain and France had expected to expand their nations and empires through war, this hurt the Allies greatly. In March and April of 1918, Germany began a vast offensive attack against the British and French. The German troops eventually reached the Marne River. They were in striking distance of Paris. Right then, American troops came to reinforce the French. Germany had just lost its best chance for vi...
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...nly a twenty year armistice. If Germany would have won the First War, they would not have been in such a bad economic state and people would have let Hitler come to power. If Germany would have been the victor of the First World War the Second World War would not have happened.
If Germany would have succeeded in winning the First World War, many things would have changed. If Germany had not have lost the First World War, many things would have changed. The world’s economy would be different. There would have been different world powers. The countries of the world would have been altered. The Second World War would not have happened. The effects of the winner of the First World War were colossal. The outcome of the First World War had an immense impact on the world. If Germany would have won the First World War, the world would be an exceptionally different place.
...onger. But a generation later, the game was on once again; the war aims were much the same. Germany felt it must defend its way of life and stand up for progress. Britain wanted to defend the status quo but it used the excuse of the invasion of another country as the immediate pretext for entry: first Belgium, later Poland. In both world wars, Germany was the innovator, morally and technologically. Britain and France were fighting previous wars while Germany led the way in technology, techniques and tactics.
Imagine four years of justing trying to capture the other teams trench, how dreadfully boring. World war one a great war of powers, invoked first by serbia’s overwhelming feeling to be their own people separate from Austria-hungary which thus lead to the assassination of the archduke Ferdinand of the Austrian-hungarian empire, which then lead to all the countries allied with Austria-hungary to support Austria in it’s attack on serbia, then all the countries allied with serbia to bring up arms on Austria, and Austria’s allies. This in terms of alliances had come upon through imperialism that lead to germany already against Austria in terms of expansion.
Assessment of the Reasons for Allied Victory in 1918 During 1918, the effect of Stalemate along the Western Front saw 4 years of war trying to break it. Ideas and technology were outdated and often tactics were unrealistic. A stretch in German supplies, the intervention of the USA, the strategic strength of the allies along with the deteriorating German homefront effort due to the naval blockade saw the collapse their war effort. From the failure of the Schlieffen Plan due to poor planning and heavy reliance of the 42-day deadline, the German army also had the difficulty of fighting a war on two fronts. These factors reflected poorly on the leadership of the German high commanders.
From the standpoint of risks and rewards, an Allied cross-channel invasion in 1943 rather than 1944 would have been more effective for the following reasons. First, German defenses were not capable of repelling a 1943 invasion. Second, the Allies had the requisite resources and capability to carry out a successful amphibious invasion. Finally, a more efficient and effective use of resources could have ended the war earlier and on more favorable geopolitical terms for the British and Americans.
After World War II, many countries have serious problems in almost all areas, political, social and economic. At one of the winners of the major issues after the war were the German question and the reason for the conflict between them, and led to the division of Germany and Europe.
The First World War and Why It Wasn't The War to End All Wars The allies, following great losses especially Britan and France, were keen to prevent such a tragedy from re-occuring, they did this by not preventing Germany from rearmaring, they also didn't stick to what they planned to in the treaty of Versailes. Britan and France seemed more concerned with the spread of communism then what Hitlar was doing. Both Britan and France remembered the horrific experences of the first world war. Hitlar believed that Germany would become a great nation again under his rule. People thought that the treaty of Versailles was unfair to Germany, once a proud nation, now under the control of a foreign nation, helpless to do anything to stop.
During World War II, Germany’s military was superior to anyone else in the world, with far more advanced technology, tactics, and weaponry. They had a fearless leader who would stop at nothing to make his country great again. Their closest rival, the Soviet Union, was almost out of the picture with a death toll of over 26 million. On top of that, Germany had nothing to lose, and would not conceivably stop. So how then, with all odds against them, did the Allies win the war? A combination of factors affected Germany’s downfall, such as lack of morale, unwieldy weapons, and failure to work with its so-called allies.
(Williams, 10/8) This war had such a great impact in our history because millions of men died and a lot of land was destroyed. This war had upgraded the way wars were fought. They had things like machine guns, better hand guns, tanks, chemical weapons, etc. They also fought in trenches instead of long lines on the ground. The trenches were like little cities underground: it had hospitals, telephones, water points, latrines and much more. This was the first war that planes were used in combat. The United States tried to stay neutral until the Germans sank the Lusitania and killed Americans. After this sinking “Wilson demanded that German submarines not sink ships until they had been boarded and searched.”(World War I, 12/8) The Zimmerman telegram also had something to do with America finally joining World War I. British were able to decrypt the telegram to understand what it said. After World War I, there was a treaty called the treaty of Versailles that helped the war to be over but the bad part was this was just a stepping stone to World War II. (Williams, 10/8) I do not think that it would have been possible to completely take out World War I out of history; it would have eventually occurred. It was highly possible that it could have been held off longer than when it occurred. The issues that brought us into World War I were still there and were not just going to magically disappear. If it was held off, the war could have possibly been fought a lot quicker than what it was. Things might have been thought out a lot more than what they were. During world war I they were inventing new things pretty much as the soldier were out fighting battles, so if all these weapons and things were invented before the men went to war than the weapons would have been perfected. If things would have happened differently, like if the Germans would not have sank the Lusitania or the Zimmerman
The result of World War II had tragic results for Japan, Germany, and also Italy. The United States and the Allies came out victorious once again but the cost of war greatly affected all the countries. Germany, Japan, and Italy now have more debts to pay and also lost much of their territory once again. The war took many lives and also ended up destroying many beautiful cities. World War II showed how not just the soldiers were affected in the war, but everyone in all the different countries were affected by the war.
In addition, having lost the war, the humiliated Germans were forced by the Allies to sign the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 that officially ended World War I. According to the harsh terms of the treaty, Germany had to hand over many of its richest industrial territories to the victors, and was made to pay reparations to the Allied countries it devastated during the war. Germany lost its pride, prestige, wealth, power, and the status of being one of Europe's greatest nations. (Resnick p. 15)
During the early stages of the war, most of Germany’s victories were because of the success of blitzkrieg, or lightening war. Blitzkrieg tactics emphasised mobility and the concentrated use of armour and air power to overwhelm an enemy. Blitzkrieg was especially successful in flat, open countryside and was supremely suited for the Polish campaign in 1939. It was with blitzkrieg, as well as Germany’s superior tactics, effective use of armour, airpower and modern equipment, plus with the support of the USSR that the Germans used to overwhelm Poland in only 5 weeks. Two days after the German troops entered Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany. Hitler did not want this because it was a distraction from his main aim, to attack the USSR.
The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, marks the day that WWI descended into armistice. However, the involved countries reached an agreement as to the events following the war on the 28th of June, 1919. The famous Treaty of Versailles was known for its role in ending war. But it was not known for being a double-edged sword, as the ending of war came with the consequence of causing future war. The Treaty consisted of uncontested biases due to Germany's unconditional surrender. The Allies held a gun to Germany's head, with their trigger finger tense. Each article of the Versailles Treaty only made Germany more restless, until 1933 when Hitler produced his own gun and pointed it at the Allies. The Treaty had a series of unproportional effects upon Germany and its people. It caused a rift between the two sides because of the alliances that it formed, brewing tension. The punishments enforced upon Germany were unrealistically huge and it increased the wish among the Germans for the nullification of the Treaty. Finally, the accumulated hatred amongst the people gave birth to potential for a revolution. The Treaty of Versailles is, therefore, an indirect cause to World War II, because of the alliances it caused, the punishments it enforced, and the hatred it developed.
The British being able to defeat the Germans, was one of the biggest victories in the battle. This one battle affected the whole entire war, and was the end of Germany’s terror. Even though things looked rough for the Allied forces at the beginning, it all worked out in the
The Treaty of Versailles did not just end World War I, but it also changed the world. From it changing every countries view on Germany, to changing Germany itself. It contained many conditions, which led to the countless numbers of results. This treaty created a completely different outlook on the world.
...ace, jus ad bellum lists multiple criteria for ending a war in a way that would facilitate a stable truce between nations. At the end of World War I in 1919, the Treaty of Versailles placed complete responsibility for the war on the German people (Treaty). The tension formed by this treaty eventually led to Hitler’s rise to power and the initiation of World War II.