Why did the Great War last so long.

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Why did the Great War last so long

        The Great War started with a lot of optimism many people thought that it would be short war and it would be finished before Christmas 1914. However they were very wrong in this belief; it turned out that the war in fact went on until 1918. There are several reasons why the war did go on for so long.

        Firstly there was military stalemate. The Germans tried to win the war quickly with the shifflen plan however this failed. The main area of this stalemate was the western front where the French and the British fought against the Germans. This was a slow front due to the trench systems, which were easy to defend but hard to attack. The size of the armies also meant that even if breakthrough were made then they could easily be stopped. Thus the allies in an attempt to win the war went and attack the Gallipolis Peninsula. This failed dramatically which left only the option of the western front. Due to all these factors the First World War has often been described as a war of attrition.

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        Secondly is the naval stalemate. During the First World War there were two major naval powers these were Germany and Britain. However throughout the war Britain had the upper hand. However their only problem was how to use this to their advantage. To do this the British set a blockade that eventually would help them to win the war but would take a long time. Lastly the British managed to defend against u-boats and thus could maintain control of the seas.

         Many of the big countries had strong economies. To be able to go on fighting they would have ...

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