The Germans tried to outflank the Allies by going round the top of them but every time they tried this tactic the allies were there to stop them, this became known as the race to the sea the key battle in the race to the sea was the First Battle of Ypres beginning on 12th October stretching until 11th November 1914. The BEF lost around 50 000 men and the Germans lost about 100 000 men. The British held this ground and some important ports used for supplies. By November 1914 it was at deadlock, the BEF was decimated and the French suffered around 1 million dead or wounded.
C.) The Tank was a British invention. Early in the war, inventors took the idea to the army leaders but was rejected and thought impractical. By this time of the war, Churchill was getting desperate to break the stalemate, so the tank was erected.
Two years later, the Battle of the Somme saw the first tanks been used, charging at enemy lines, crushing barbed-wire defences and spraying the enemy with machine-gun fire. This caused alarm among the German troops and the British troop’s morale was boosted.
These first machines were very unreliable, not very manoeuvrable and only moved at walking pace. More than half of them broke down or got stuck in the mud before they got to the enemy trenches. It was a year later when the tank got its big awaited success. They broke through German lines at Cambria on 17th November 1917. They blasted through the enemy lines so quick that the infantry could not keep up.
But by 1918, the German forces had invented armour-piercing machine-gun bullets, which they used to deadly effect. They had also adapted field guns to fire at tanks.
In conclusion the Tank wasn’t a big factor in the breaking of the stalemate because of its lack of success. The machine was too slow, unreliable and not very manoeuvrable but it was a great boost for morale in the British camp.
The American entry into the war was one of the key factors in breaking the stalemate. America was officially neutral but was supplying the Allies with loans and equipment. It was the German U-Boat’s patrolling the Atlantic that was catching the eye of the American leaders. The Germans orders were to destroy anything suspected of carrying any supplies. The U-Boat attacks had killed many civilians travelling on passenger ships, America seemed to turn a blind eye to these attacks.
It was the final straw when the USA discovered that Germany hoped to ally with Mexico and take out USA because of the damage they could inflict on Germany. USA declared war on Germany on 1 April 1917.
Another key factor in breaking the stalemate was the British blockade. From the start of the war both sides tried to stop each other from getting essential supplies. The new weapons been used such as mines and depth charges were used to deadly effect. Mines were set all over the English Channel, which sank many ships and submarines.
The plan was to starve the country into submission, starved of supplies, the German army had been weakened and the German civilians had lost their support for the war.
There was an estimated 300 000 deaths in Germany related to malnutrition during 1914 to 1918 among the civilian population, The German government was forced to slaughter one-third of all pigs in 1915, the supplies of nitrates was cut off which was vital for explosives for the army and fertilisers for the farmers, during 1916 the adult meat ration for one week was cut down to the equivalent of two burgers in a modern fast-food restaurant. All these points are down to the British Blockade.
It was the last chance for Germany, troops had been transported from the east to the western front because of the Russian surrender. In March 1918 the German commander Lundendorff launched the biggest gamble yet, in order to win the war. It began with the usual bombardment of shells and gas attacks. However, instead of the usual ‘wave’ of infantry, he followed up with attacks from smaller bands of specially trained and lightly equipped ‘storm troops’ who struck during a heavy fog along the entire front line. The idea was to stop the allies massing their defence in a single place. The plan had worked, but with a big price to pay, 400 000 men lost. The Germans advanced 64 kilometres and Paris was now in range of heavy gunfire.
There were no reserves to call on and the 1918 army did not compare to the army of 1914. Their discipline was poor and they were underfed due to the British blockade. Many of the German advances planned were put on hold because of the soldiers went to loot for food and supplies from captured trenches and villages. They also came up against well-led and well-equipped Allied troops. The Blockade has also prevented the Germans from making more technological improvements.
In conclusion, I think the last three points were the most effective in breaking the stalemate because the Tank wasn’t much of a success. It only boosted the morale of the troops, but the unreliability of the machine let it down. In this day and age, the Tank is one of the best and deadliest machines about, because of the improvements made to it; the tank is much faster, more reliable and is more manoeuvrable.
The USA entering the war was a good move for the Allies but for Germany it was like waking a sleeping giant. USA had the money, the resources and the men to wipe Germany out.
The second factor that broke the stalemate is the British Blockading of German ports, this starved the countries economy and starved them of supplies, it reduced German trade from $5.9billion to just $0.8billion from 1914 to 1918 so all in all this tactic was a big success
The last point really finished off Germany, it was the ‘Lundendorff offensive’. The German Army was falling apart, the discipline wasn’t there and they weren’t as strong, the Allies took advantage and finished them off after the success of the offensive. The loss of men was too high for Germany.
