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In 1914, Germany started World War I believing it could win quickly against France and then easily defeat Russia. However, the conflict turned into a long, global struggle that ended in total disaster for Germany. While the Allied powers showed great strength, Germany's defeat was mostly caused by serious strategic errors. The war claimed about 16 million lives. Several key reasons explain why Germany lost. These include the weak military of its allies, the failure of its initial battle plan, the need to fight a long war on two separate fronts, and the failure to fully use its economy for total war. Also, an Allied naval blockade cut off vital supplies, and Germany's submarine attacks were not successful. The German military spent too much on weapons like massive battleships and Zeppelin airships, which failed to win the war. German generals also underestimated tanks and did not supply their troops well. Unlike the Allies, Germany did not rotate tired soldiers away from the front lines. Finally, Germany's decision to attack civilian ships led the United States to join the war in 1917. By 1918, Germany could no longer match the Allies in people or technology.
In contrast, when it came to the crunch, the Allies of France, Britain, and the United States worked together to form a strong partnership. There was substantial assistance, too, from France's colonies (nearly half a million men) and parts of the British Empire (particularly Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and India). Other important Allies were Belgium, Italy, Japan, and, until 1917, Russia. All of these states had their own objectives in participating in the war, but a common reason was to prevent a hyperaggressive Germany from dominating Europe. Germany's allies had no such common objective.
Germany's first major problem was that its alliance partners were not strong militarily. Before the war, the Triple Entente, made of Britain, France, and Russia, faced the Triple Alliance, which included Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. The Austrian-Hungarian army used old tactics and equipment. Italy was an unreliable partner and eventually switched sides to join the Allies. Even though Germany later joined with the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria, none of these nations had top-tier armies. Also, Germany's overseas empire was much smaller than those of Britain and France. Colonies like German South West Africa could not provide enough help for a war fought mostly in Europe.
Germany had to constantly send money, weapons, and soldiers to support its struggling allies. Once these allies were defeated, the enemy could focus all its power against Germany. As one historian said, without this aid, "the various fronts would not have held." After the collapse of its partners, "it was impossible for Germany to resist much longer."
In contrast, the Allies formed a strong partnership. France, Britain, and later the United States worked together well. France and Britain also received help from their colonies, including Canada, Australia, and India. Other Allies included Belgium, Italy, and Japan. While each nation had different goals, they shared a common purpose to stop an aggressive Germany. Germany's allies lacked this united sense of mission.
The Schlieffen Plan had other consequences. Germany had started the war by mobilising through Belgium and was clearly the aggressor. Allied troops were thereafter fighting to clear either their own land or that of their allies of the German invaders, a situation that meant morale on the side of the Allies remained robust throughout the conflict. German troops, on the other hand, were fighting for an expansion of the German Empire, rather than the defence of their homeland.
The United States Army officially entered the war in 1918, but the U.S. government had been supporting its allies with loans and supplies all along. By the end, the U.S. had loaned its allies $10 billion. Weapons, food, and ammunition were shipped across the Atlantic Ocean. This aid helped defeat the threat of German submarines and gave the Allies the resources to match and then surpass Germany.
The Schlieffen Plan was Germany's strategic blueprint for a quick victory. Developed in 1905, the plan said Germany should attack and defeat France within six weeks. Once France was gone, Germany could move its full military power to fight Russia. Even German generals thought the plan was too ambitious and worried their army was too small to succeed.
When the plan was executed in August 1914, the Allies proved much stronger than expected. Belgium defended its fortresses with great bravery. The Allies launched a counterattack at the First Battle of the Marne in September. Both sides then dug in, creating a stalemate of trench warfare that lasted for years. Germany was simply not ready for a long war.
The failure of the plan revealed a deep flaw in the German command structure. Field generals were allowed to chase local opportunities, even when it hurt the overall strategy. This often meant armies advanced too far, leaving weak points held by tired troops. The main goal of capturing Paris was abandoned to chase the retreating French army, which was never destroyed. This exposed the German flank to attack. Throughout the war, German generals wasted promising starts for short-term glory.
The German Army could not resupply its men with sufficient food or material since it did not have adequate transport. Railway lines were left behind as the German army advanced, and the dependency on horses proved a real weakness. In 1918, the German Army had only 23,000 trucks compared to the Allies' 100,000. In addition, the Allied blockade of Germany meant materials were in short supply. Despite this weakness, a drive to make the German economy more of a full war economy was only decided in the summer of 1918.
The plan also showed that moving armies was one challenge, but supplying them was another. Troops advancing under the Schlieffen Plan ran out of ammunition, food, and reinforcements after just a few weeks. Their supply lines became too long. The failure to fix these logistics problems was a major weakness for Germany throughout the war. Finally, by attacking through neutral Belgium, Germany clearly showed itself as the aggressor. Allied troops were fighting to liberate their land, keeping morale high. German troops, however, were fighting to expand an empire rather than defend their homeland.
German weapons were superior in the early stages of the war. The MG08 machine gun was very deadly. Germany pioneered the use of flamethrowers and was the first to deploy poison gas. However, the Allies quickly adapted. Snipers targeted flamethrower operators, and the invention of gas masks reduced the deadly effect of chemical weapons.
Even worse than coming second in the arms race, German militarists realised they had spent on the wrong kind of weaponry. The days of battleships blasting each other on the high seas were already over. There was only one major naval engagement of WWI, the Battle of Jutland in May-June 1916. Both sides claimed a victory of sorts, but the pertinent fact was that, thereafter, the power of the Royal Navy obliged the German naval fleets to stay in port and out of harm's way for the rest of the war. As a contemporary edition of the New York Times put it: "The German Navy has assaulted its jailer, but is still in jail" (Winter, 335).
A German innovation that ultimately failed was the Zeppelin airship, which was used to bomb cities like Paris and London. Limited technology, a small number of airships, and vulnerability to fighter planes meant these raids caused little lasting damage.
As the war progressed, the Allies took the lead in innovation. Senior German generals failed to see the potential of modern weapons like the tank, or the benefits of combining artillery, infantry, tanks, and air support. Allied generals learned to use tanks effectively, proving their value at the Battle of Cambrai in late 1917. For Germany, the lesson came too late. A military historian noted, "Germany's failure to match the Allies in tank development must be judged one of their worst military miscalculations of the war."
Germany's logistics were consistently poor. As the army advanced, it left railway lines behind and relied heavily on horses. By 1918, the German Army had only 23,000 trucks, compared to 100,000 for the Allies. The Allied blockade made materials scarce. A full shift to a war economy was not decided until the summer of 1918, which was too late. The German concept of stormtroopers was tactically effective but caused high casualties. Germany steadily lost its best troops this way. Also, unlike the Allies, Germany did not rotate soldiers away from the fiercest fighting to quieter areas to rest.
Before the war, Germany tried to build a navy large enough to challenge Britain's Royal Navy. This was a naval arms race that Germany could not win. Britain, the world's wealthiest nation in 1914, was determined to keep its naval lead to protect its global empire of 400 million people. By 1914, Britain possessed twice as many dreadnought battleships as Germany.
Worse, Germany had spent money on the wrong weapons. The era of major battleship clashes was ending. The only significant naval battle of World War I was the Battle of Jutland in 1916. Afterward, the power of the Royal Navy forced the German fleet to stay in port. A newspaper wrote: "The German Navy has assaulted its jailer, but is still in jail."
Germany then switched to submarine warfare. Despite early successes, the U-boat campaign became less effective. The Allies used armed convoys, air support, and mines to protect their ships. The convoy system was highly effective. Of 88,000 ships traveling in convoys, only 436 were torpedoed. This allowed Allied shipbuilding to outpace losses. Although U-boats sank over 5,000 ships, Germany could not win with submarines alone. Unrestricted submarine warfare had serious diplomatic consequences. In May 1915, a German submarine sank the passenger liner RMS Lusitania, killing 1,198 civilians, including 128 Americans. This caused outrage in the United States. Germany briefly restricted its attacks but resumed unrestricted warfare in February 1917. This, along with the discovery of a secret German telegram proposing an alliance with Mexico, finally pushed the United States to declare war on Germany in April 1917.
The spring of 1918 represented Germany's last chance for victory. Russia had left the war after its 1917 revolution. Germany moved 44 divisions from the Eastern Front to the Western Front. Here, each side had about 4 million men, but tens of thousands of fresh U.S. troops were arriving every week. The German commander, General Erich von Ludendorff, knew he had to attack immediately. He launched five major offensives, known as the German Spring Offensive or Ludendorff Offensive.
In the end, the offensive wasted 800,000 German soldiers as casualties and achieved no lasting strategic gain. Desperate and exhausted, German troops began to retreat. Morale collapsed, both in the army and at home. Facing certain defeat, German leaders asked for an armistice, which began on November 11, 1918. World War I was over. Germany's early confidence and flawed plans had led to a long, bloody conflict it could not win.