British tanks were concentrated at the Battle of Cambrai and achieved a spectacular breakthrough. These tanks, however, were too slow and had too short an operating range to exploit the breakthrough. In consequence, demand grew for a lighter, faster type of tank, and in 1918 the 14-ton Medium A appeared with a speed of 8 miles per hour and a range of 80 miles. After 1918, however, the most widely used tank was the French Renault F.T., a light 6-ton vehicle designed for close infantry support.
World War 1 seemed to vindicate the power of the defensive over the offensive. It was widely believed that superiority in numbers of at least three to one was required for a successful offensive. Defensive concepts underlay the construction of the Maginot Line between France and Germany. By 1918 both of the requirements for the supremacy of the offensive were at hand: tanks and planes. The battles of Cambrai and Amiens had proved that when tanks were used in masses, with surprise, and on firm and open terrain, it was possible to break through any trench system. Consequently, the British Army did not have a single armoured division, and the French tanks were distributed in small packets throughout the infantry divisions. The Germans, by contrast, began to develop large tank formations on an effective basis.
In the air the technology of war had also changed radically between 1915 and 1930. Military aircraft had increased in size, speed, and range, and for operations at sea, aircraft carriers were developed that were capable of accompanying the fastest surface ships. Light and Medium bombers were also developed that could be used for the strategic bombardment of cities and military strongpoints.
After the rupture of diplomatic relations with Germany on Feb. 3, 1917, events pushed the United States inexorably along the road to war. Using his authority as commander in chief, Wilson on March 9th ordered the arming of American merchant ships so that they could defend themselves against U-boat attacks. Supported by his Cabinet, by most newspapers, and by a large segment of public opinion, Wilson made the decision on March 20th for the United States to declare war on Germany.
The entry of the United States was the turning point of the war, as it made the defeat of Germany possible. It had been foreseen in 1916 that if the United States went to war, the Allies’ military effort against Germany would be upheld by U.S supplies and by enormous extensions of credit. The United States’ production of armaments was to meet not only its own needs but also France’s and Great Britain’s. In this sense, the American economic contribution alone was decisive. By April 1st 1917, the Allies had exhausted their means of paying for essential supplies from the United States, and it is difficult to see how they could have maintained the war effort if the United States had remained neutral.
The U.S. declaration of war also set an example to other states in the Western Hemisphere. Cuba, Panama, Haiti, Brazil, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Honduras were all at war with Germany by the end of July 1918.
In August 1914 Great Britain and Germany were the two great rival sea powers. Neither of them at first wanted a direct confrontation, the British were predominantly concerned with the protection of their trade routes, the Germans hoped that mines and submarine attacks would gradually destroy Great Britain’s numerical advantage, so that confrontation could eventually take place on equal terms. The aggressive navies were employed as much in interfering with commerce as in fighting each other. Immediately after the outbreak of war, the British had instituted an economic blockade of Germany, with the aim of preventing all supplies reaching that country from the outside world. The two routes by which supplies could reach German ports were either through the English Channel and the Dover Straits or around the north of Scotland. During the early months of the war, only absolute contraband such as guns and ammunition was restricted, but the list was gradually extended to include almost all material that might be of use to the enemy.
The prevention of the free passage of trading ships led to considerable difficulties among the neutral nations, particularly with the United States, whose trading interests were hampered by British policy. Nevertheless, the British blockade was extremely effective, so much so that outward bound trade from Germany was brought to a complete standstill.
As the German strength on the Western Front was being steadily increased by the transfer of divisions from the Eastern Front, where they were no longer needed since Russia had withdrawn from the war, the Allies’ main problem was how to withstand an imminent German offensive pending the arrival of massive reinforcements from the United States. The Allies were determined not to lose, and fro their next blow they chose again the front north and south of the Somme. The British Army, including Australian and Canadian forces, with 450 tanks, struck the Germans with maximum surprise on August 8, 1918, overwhelming the German forward divisions who had failed to entrench themselves adequately. Ludendorff said “August 8th was the black the day of the German Army in history of war… It put the decline of our fighting power beyond all doubt… The war must be ended.” He informed Germany’s political chiefs that peace negotiations should be opened before the situation became worse. The German high command had abandoned hope of victory or even of holding their gains and hoped only to avoid surrender.
The clear evidence of the Germans decline influenced the allies to seek victory in the coming autumn of 1918 instead of postponing the attempt until 1919. All the Allied armies in the West were to combine in a simultaneous offensive to break the stalemate.
From this I am able to conclude that all factors contributed, whether one was more or less important depends in which areas. If one aspect failed or was non-existent the outcome would be very different indeed. This allows me to conclude that perhaps not all were necessary for the break down of stalemate, but were all infact equally important for the actual result to occur as it did.
