Part of The Student Room Group

  • Join over 1.2 million students every month
  • Accelerate your learning by 29%
  • Unlimited access from just £6.99 per month

All of these factors helped to break stalemate: New Technology, The American entry into the war, the blockade of German ports and the German offensive in March 1918.How far do you agree with this statement?

Extracts from this document...

Introduction

All of these factors helped to break stalemate: New Technology, The American entry into the war, the blockade of German ports and the German offensive in March 1918. How far do you agree with this statement? Stalemate was on the western front for many years. It cost a lot of lives. It was finally broken however, in 1918. I will now examine each of the four factors that contributed to the breaking of stalemate to see if all of the above points did contribute to the breaking of stalemate, and see if I agree with the above statement. New Technology The tank was a main factor of new technology. The British invented the tank. When they were first invented they could travel at 6KM per hour and were armed with machine guns and cannons. It was first used at the Battle of the Somme (1916). The first time they were used they were not very manoeuvrable and very unreliable, they travelled at walking pace and it wasn't until November 1917 at Cambria when the tank achieved success. The tanks in Cambria had caterpillar tracks copied from the farm tractor and with armour plating; the tank was the answer to the machine gun, the trench and barbed wire. ...read more.

Middle

The German attacked and destroyed many American ships that they suspected of carrying supplies to the Allies. They also sank passenger ships killing many Americans; Germany attacked many American ships using submarines. When the USA discovered that Germany had tried to ally with Mexico this was the last straw for the Americans and they declared war on Germany. The Americans declared war on Germany on 1st April of 1917. With the USA joining the war so late the war did not hit them economically as much as the rest of Europe. With Russia making peace with Germany America joined the war just in time for the Allies, but the American did not arrive in great forces. However with America joining the war this gave the Allies a huge economic boost and America brought some highly trained scientist and this improved the technology used. Blockading of German ports Throughout the war both sides tried to prevent the other side from getting supplies. The British had been blockading German ports since 1914. The blockade was supposed to strangle German industry so it couldn't supply the German industry. ...read more.

Conclusion

So I do agree with statement I think they all equal in the break up of stalemate. All of these points link together in one-way or another. The American entry into the war was partly a result to Germany submarine attacks on American ships, and German submarine warfare was a result of the blocking of German ports. Another link to American entry into the war is with new technology was partly because America brought the money and the scientists to research for the tanks. A third link with the American entry into the war was to do with the German offensive. This is because the Americans kept sending troops that stopped the Germans advancing any more and this gradually helped win the war. Another link is between The German offensive and new technology. The reason for this link is as a result of the use of the tanks the Germans had to come back with something so they brought in highly trained troops and used counter attacks. So all the elements played are part in the break of stalemate. Without anyone of the elements the break of stalemate would not have happened in the way that it did and it would not have happened in the time that it did. ...read more.

The above preview is unformatted text

This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our AS and A Level International History, 1945-1991 section.

Found what you're looking for?

  • Start learning 29% faster today
  • 150,000+ documents available
  • Just £6.99 a month

or


Here's what a teacher thought of this essay

3 star(s)

In places, this response has detailed knowledge and a clear understanding of the key developments that led to the end of fighting on the Western Front. However, points could be linked more clearly back to the question, with more analysis and less narrative. 3 out of 5 stars.

Marked by teacher Natalya Luck 09/04/2013

Not the one? Search for your essay title...
  • Join over 1.2 million students every month
  • Accelerate your learning by 29%
  • Unlimited access from just £6.99 per month

See related essaysSee related essays

Related AS and A Level International History, 1945-1991 essays

  1. Marked by a teacher

    How far do you agree that Lenins leadership was the main reason why the ...

    4 star(s)

    In August 1917 The Kornilov Affair took place. General Kornilov of the Russian army believed that Russia was about to topple into anarchy and he told Kerensky, who was at the time the Prime Minister of the Provisional Government, that he planned to bring loyal troops to Petrograd to defend and save the government.

  2. In What Ways Did World War One Impact American Society?

    Although in practice, this was not the case. As a result of men fighting, women were recruited to do men's jobs and their status in society was realised as they proved they could do equally demanding jobs as men. Women pushed their suffrage movement that started in Seneca Falls in 1848 even more during this period.

  1. Creative Writing - War.

    The war had begun for me, against the Japanese Empire. One day prior to our ambush in the jungle, we had been marching along the Bepong River, in the south of Malaya. Quick Arrow had been assigned there to resist Japanese forces, attempting a ground offences against the large base in Singapore, via Malaya.

  2. How far was the USSR responsible for the outbreak of the Cold War?

    signals that the Soviets would not stop unless the US took action to contain their expansionism, thus contributing to the outbreak of the Cold War. Therefore, from one point of view, we could say that USSR provoked the USA into taking defensive measures.

  1. The Impact of the French colonisation of Vietnam

    Back in Vietnam, there were only three 'lyc�es' (secondary schools) in the country that were opened in the early 1900's. French language was the medium of instruction in these three schools, which meant that only the French settlers and elite educated families could send their children there.

  2. Why did Mao Zedong introduce a second five year plan in 1958 and to ...

    Obviously Mao knew he had great muscle power from the population. The First Five Year Plan encouraged the lower stage co-operatives to join together to make bigger, higher-stage co-operatives, these consisted of 200-300 families from a group of villages. The big difference between the higher and the lower-stage co-operatives was

  1. To what extent did the foreign intervention influence the outcome of the Spanish Civil ...

    benefits and paid holidays, as well as attempts to reduce the top-heavy officer corps of the army through early retirement and with the 1931 constitution, he abolished the nobility and with Article 26, he was able to take extensive measures against the Church.

  2. Introduction to American drama.

    Several years would pass, however, before the influence of the new realism meant that American drama could handle more mature themes and develop more sophisticated dramatic treatment. Hardly any of the American plays produced between 1900 and 1915 are revived or read nowadays.

  • Over 160,000 pieces
    of student written work
  • Annotated by
    experienced teachers
  • Ideas and feedback to
    improve your own work