The First World War - Explain how the Schlieffen Plan was meant to work.

2. Why did a stalemate develop on the Western Front? (8)

A stalemate is when no one wins. The war became a stalemate because the techniques and the weapons were better suited to defence than to attack. It was also much easier to defend a position than to attack one.

From 1914 onwards, trench warfare became a central feature of military conflict. This new technology allowed better and more powerful weapons to be used. One example of this was the machine gun. Because of such weapons, soldiers had to dig themselves in so they would not be easy targets. They dug themselves into trenches. A series of trenches were built, stretching from France and Belgium down to Switzerland. But these trenches did not help because all the soldiers used to hide in them and none wanted to go in the 'No Man's Land' and get shot. Therefore, all the soldiers hid in their trenches and no one attacked because if they tried to attack, they got killed.

The machine gun could mow down charging soldiers. 10 machine gunners could easily kill around 200 soldiers. Hence the infantry and the cavalry had no chance against them. And along with them, barbed wires and mud also made cavalry charges ineffective. The colossal new guns of the artillery could kill enemies in their trenches because of their accuracy and speed. They could disrupt their supplies, and could wear them down. Machine guns were a boon to the soldiers because of their fast speed and destruction capacity. They could even destroy enemy guns, but the supply of weapons to both sides would soon become inexhaustible. If you destroyed a machine gun or two, there were many more available behind the lines, and the factories back in each country were soon geared to producing extra munitions. Hence, it went on and on. Even machine guns, barbed wires and new artillery could not make a breakthrough for you.

Therefore, this defensive war technique leaded to a stalemate. Both the opponents ended up defending themselves and not attacking at all. I think that the most important cause that led to a stalemate was the use of trenches because the soldiers were hiding from the war instead of attacking.

3. The following were equally important reasons why the stalemate on the Western Front was finally broken: (10)

* new technology like the tank

* the American entry into the war

* the blockading of German ports

* the German offensive in March 1918

The tank was a British invention, which was used for the first time at the Battle of the Somme. They advanced ahead of the infantry, devastating barbed wire defences and spraying the enemy with machine gun fires. They caused alarm among the Germans because of their size and crushing ability. Everyone though that this was the weapon that could achieve a breakthrough. However, these gigantic machines moved at walking pace. They were very unreliable because even one small technical flaw could make the whole tank break down. More than half of them broke down before they got to the German trenches because they could not keep up. They were not very manoeuvrable because of their mass. They blasted through enemy lines so quickly that the infantry could not keep up with them. But they did help break the stalemate as tanks created a lot of destruction behind them.

In April 1917, the USA joined the war against Germany. Bad feeling had been growing between Germany and the USA since 1914 because of Germany's irrational behaviour. The USA was officially neutral but was clearly supplying loans and equipment to the Allies. When they joined the war, the allies thought that the tide was turning in their favour. But by late 1917, there was little cause for optimism because the Americans had not arrived in force and the French armies were still reeling from the mutinies of early 1917. But the USA did make a big contribution in breaking the stalemate just because the USA was and is the most powerful country in the world.

The German situation was also desperate by early 1918. The Allies' blockade of German ports had starved the economy of raw materials and the amount of food. This put Germany in a fix because their economy had decreased incredibly and the quality of their army had gone down.

Through the early months of 1918 Germany transferred troops from the East to the Western Front. In March 1918 the German Commander Ludendorff launched the great gamble to win the war. It started with the typical huge bombardment and gas attacks. However, instead of the usual wave of infantry, he followed up with attacks by smaller bands of specially trained and lightly equipped storm troops. The idea was to stop the Allies massing their defence in a single place, hence making it easier to attack many places. It was very effective as the Germans broke through the allied lines in many places. Soon they advanced 64km nearer Paris which was now in range of heavy gunfire.

Personally, I feel that the German Offensive was the most important reason why the stalemate on the Western Front was finally broken because the German commander took a winner take it all chance, a risk only a brave soldier would have taken. In the end, the Germans suffered a few losses but broke through the allied lines in many places.

I do feel that a couple of factors are inter-linked to each other. For example, the entry of USA in the war and the allied victory are linked to each other. If the USA had not entered the war and supplied loans and arms to the allied powers, they could never have won. Basically, support from USA, the most powerful nation, gave rise to the allied victory over the war.

I also feel that the Allied blockage of the German ports and Germany's defeat in the war are inter-linked. If the German ports had not been blocked, then their economy would not have "starved" and this led to a dramatic drop in their efficiency. This was one of the major factors that led to Germany's defeat in the war.

Ranjan Kale 10KA 6