World War One: Stalemate

Due to the increased pressure from the German public to end the stalemate and indeed the war, the seas around the British coast were declared a war zone by the German government in 1917. Any ship found there on or after 18th February 1915 faced sinking without warning: unrestricted U-boat warfare began for the first time in history. This plan was devised by the German Admiral von Pohl to effectively starve Britain into submission. This was massively promoted by the tensions in the northern part of Germany and the desire to end the war quickly. The plan was largely successful; in fact at one point Britain only had six weeks’ worth of food left. Although this did not directly lead to the breaking of the stalemate it did serve to increase pressure on Britain to end the war, it also prompted the US to join the war, due to the loss of their ships.

During the first few years of the war the USA had been officially neutral but had been supplying loans and equipment to the Allies. The German plan to starve Britain out with unrestricted submarine warfare was in full swing in 1917. This tactic also involved the sinking of American ships notably the Lusitania in 1916 which had 198 American citizens on board. The USA, under President Woodrow Wilson, declared war on Germany in April 1917 prompted by their ships being sunk on the British coast and an intercepted telegram from Germany to Mexico suggesting an alliance and that Mexico declare war on the US. The new troops from America arrived with no experience of the trenches supported by tanks aircraft and improved artillery. This improved allied troop morale and even though there were only 85,000 U.S. troops in France when the Germans launched their last great offensive in March 1918 they still made a great difference. The sheer force behind the American entry into the war can be said to directly influence the breaking of the stalemate as the new troops revived the old and new equipment was coming in.

By 1918 Germany was in poor condition. They had lost 40,000 men and had no fresh reserves. Riots were breaking out on the streets due to the meagre food rations and violent crime was rife. The German government knew that they had to take one last gamble if they were going to put an end to the war. General Ludendorff was put in charge of Germany’s last great offensive in 1918 which he hoped would break the stalemate. The surrender of the Russians had given the Germans one last opportunity to achieve a military breakthrough, as it allowed all Germanys troops to be sent to the western front. Rather than the “over-the-top” assault by wave after wave of troops he trained special storm troopers to break through the enemy lines armed with machine guns and flamethrowers. The ten million soldiers that had been secretly assembled broke through the enemy lines in many places. The most successful attackers were, for the second time since 1914, within sight of Paris. This attack resulted in the first significant movement since the Germans invade and effectively broke the stalemate. Unfortunately the advance was held up due to the poor discipline of the soldiers as they stopped to look for food. This gave the allied forces time to counter attack. Even though it didn’t win them the war it did create significant movement and decisively ended the attrition warfare that had been the underlying tactic for four years. Although it did break the stalemate the Ludendorff offensive would not have happened if Germany had not been desperate.

I believe that all the above listed causes played a big part in the breaking of the stalemate, some more directly than others. For instance, the German U-boat campaign indirectly led to the stalemate being broken by getting the Americans involved. The Ludendorff offensive was the only direct act which can be said to have ended the stalemate but the other three points are just as crucial. However, based on my research I have decided that the Blockading of German Ports was the most influential point because it prompted the German U-boat campaign which in turn led to the USAs involvement which itself led to the Germans last great attack, The Ludendorff offensive.