Why did the Central Powers lose the First World War?

WHY DID THE CENTRAL POWERS LOSE?

World War I as it is called nowadays concluded with the triumph of the Allies constituted mainly of Great Britain, France and Imperial Russia over the Central Powers headed by Imperial Germany. It is a well known fact that the Central Powers with the best infantry divisions in the world from Germany took the initiative and had some advantage in the beginning as they successfully dominated Belgium and crushed the Russian army in Battle of Tannenburg but in the end, it was the Central Powers that suffered the ultimate defeat and were forced to capitulate. This essay with help from various sources and with the use of a set of situational, direct causes aims at shed lights on the key factors that brought about the defeat of the Central Powers in World War I.

To begin with, it is extremely vital to insist that World War I was definitely a total war carried out on an extremely large scale for a long period of time, because in such wars, the economy will play a much more important role and the economy might be a very decisive factor as it was the case for World War I. The Central Powers controlled a lesser amount of material resources as in 1913, Germany and Austria-Hungary had only approx. 19% of world production comparing to the 28% of world production of Russia, Britain and France. The imbalance between to sides was enlarged by far with the entry of the USA into the war. Besides, it is necessary to mention that the Allies consist of vast Empires such as Great Britain, France and Imperial Russia that have a substantial control of land and resources around the world had a distinct advantage. This could be seen as a situational cause of the loss of the Central Powers.

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Germany ever since the Franco-Prussian war, fearing a Franco-Russian alliance, had laid down a reserve plan named the “Schlieffen Plan” which was designed to avoid a two-front war which would bring much disadvantage for Germany. The plan was to quickly mobilize the troops to the western front attack France through Belgium and quickly capture Paris thus forcing France to surrender and then rally those troops by rail to the east to face the Russians before they had time to fully prepare. Speed and precision were certainly vital points of the plan but when put into practice, the German army failed to carry it out successfully as they were stopped at the battle of the Marne and the battle of Verdun which halted the advancing movements of the Central Powers in general and of Germany in particular. The failing attempt to execute the Schlieffen plan effectively destroyed the chance of winning of the Central Powers pretty much because they had to fight a two-front war which put much more pressure on both the army and the economy and also had a negative psychological effect on the army. This is seen as a direct unintentional cause to the loss of the Central Powers.

As it is stated in the book “Wars & Warfare” by John Tomkinson, the Central Powers had less useful allies than the Allies power. Austria-Hungary had passed its glorious days and both the army and the economy were inefficient and backward while the Ottoman Empire was undergoing a socio-political turmoil. This could be regarded as a situational cause. On the other hand, when the war became prolonged and became a war of attrition, the supremacy of the British navy ensured a more effective blockade and a better control of the resource while the supplies made available by the USA made the victory of the Central Powers in the war of attrition impractical. This is definitely an intentional direct cause to the loss of the Central Powers.

That having been stated in the beginning, the Central Powers basically lost the war despite of the heavy losses on the side of the Allies as well. Hopefully through the brief discussion, this essay has been able to provide readers with a short and concise understanding of few main factors that led to the defeat of the Central Powers in World War I.

*Sources:

- Wikipedia contributors. "Battle of Tannenberg (1914)." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 8 Feb. 2011. Web. 15 Feb. 2011.

- Wikipedia contributors. "Western Front (World War I)." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 15 Feb. 2011. Web. 15 Feb. 2011.

- Duffy, Michael. "Battles - The Battle of Liege, 1914." First World War.COM -a Multimedia History of World War One. Web. 15 Feb. 2011. <http://www.firstworldwar.com/battles/liege.htm>.

- Tomkinson, John L. Wars and Warfare. [S.l.]: Anagnosis. Print.

- Wikipedia contributors. "Schlieffen Plan." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 12 Feb. 2011. Web. 15 Feb. 2011.