Helen Tiffney 10DM
Why was Germany Defeated?
“It was the entry of the USA into the war which brought about the surrender of Germany in 1918”. Use your own knowledge to explain if you agree with this view.
The USA entered the war due to unrestricted submarine warfare. A German U-boat attacked the British passenger liner, Lusitania, and over 120 American passengers drown. This built tension between the US and German governments and in April 1917 the USA declared war on Germany.
The Entry of the USA into the war was clearly a key factor in the surrender of Germany. When the USA entered British morale was greatly boosted because they felt that they had been backed up and become stronger. It gave the both the British troops and the British public more hope and confidence towards winning the war so spirits were higher in fighting and they therefore did better. Also the arrival of the USA meant the arrival of new materials and supplies. This was important because before Russia had left the war they had drained out all of the troops supplies. With new supplies and materials, the troops could do better in battle and again it gave them higher morale. One million German troops were moved to the Western Front due to the Russian defeat. They decided to take a gamble and this led to another reason for their defeat.