Figure 1.--

Following the Napoleonic Wars in the 19th century it became clear that Germany was moving toward unification. The question became whether it would be under the aegis of Prussia or Austria. After the faulue of the liberal Revolution of 1848 there was no possibility of a liberal German union. Under Chancellor Bismarck's astute diplomacy, militaristic Prussia emerged as the unifying force. A unified German Empire was built around the Prussian Kingdom with its deep military tradition. It was achieved with three short wars with Denmark, Austria, and then France that did little damage and shed only mininal blood. Unification created the most powerful country in Europe. Germany (the Holy Roman Empire) throughout the long medieval era and early modern period was by far potentially the most powerful force in Europe, but because of disunity was not dominant. Finally with unification the Germans had the most powerful state in Europe. And tragically the German people became acustomed in the 19th century to thinking of war as a low-cost tool of national policy. And the Army became the country's most pretigious national institution. And Kaiser Wilhelm rembering the excitement of the Franco-Prussian War from his boyhhod and the accolades it brought to his grandfather and Chncelor Bismarck. He was desired to leave his mark on German history. Largely due to Kaiser Wilhelm's diplomacy, World War I proved not to be a short war and Germany was forced to fight a two-front war of attrition. And while Germany had the most powerful army in Europe which gave it an advantage in a shirt war. Germany's smaller population, lack of raw materials, and need to import food meant that it was poorly equipped for an extended war of attrition. While not prepared for a lengthy war of attrition which after the French Miracle on the Marne Germany was forced to fight. The Germans achieved one advantage on the Western Front. As the trench lines were began to form in a march to the sea, the Germans got much of the high-ground and as a result their soldiers generally had better conditions (1914). And as they occupied most of Belgium and norther France, they despite being the aggresor, benefitted from the advantage of the defense. The machinegun in paricilar was especially effective as a defensive weapon. To win back the lost territory, it would be the Allies who would have to attack. And the belligerants on the Western Front found this could be terribly costly. Unfortunately the generals at the front did not learn this as quickly as the men a at the front. The trenches created, as the British found on the Somme, a curtain of death for any attacking force. The Germans were generally better situated on the Western Front than the Allies and for the bost part took a defensive position. Falkenhayn set out to destroy the French Army at Verdun (1916). He nearly suceeded, but the casulties also seriously weakened the German Army. The Germans had to fight on two fronts and carry the bulk of the fighting against the much larger number of men mobilized by the Allies. Finally the Germans because the leadership saw the war of attrition was not only weakening the Army, but undermining the Home Front. This meant that to stave off defeat, Germany had to take the offensive. Their great 1918 offensive, however, not only failed, but the resumption of unrestructed submarine warfare, had brought America ino the War. America had virtually no army when it entered the War, but set in motion plans to build a 4 million man American Expoditiinary Force (AEF) and commit it to the Western front (1917). The Siegfried line cracked and the Germans asked for an armitice (1918). Germany and Austria-Hungary even with a fraction of the AEF committed suffered massive casuaties--over 7 million men each. Only Russia suffered greater casualties. Even if not killed, the casualties with the new gas weapons sufferd terribly debilitating wounds. Nearly 1.8 million Germans were killed--virtully an entire generation of young men were killed or wounded. France suffered fewer caualties, but a higher portion compared to its smaller population. The British and Americans suffered far fewer casulaties. The German people were staggered. Nothing in their modern history had prepared them for casualties of such magnitude. And they did not understand how with their powerful Army and the sacrifices they made, how they could have lost the War -- especially after winning on the Eastern Front. The public in general felt passionately that there must never again be another War. And it was the casualties that were most in their mind. Af first only a minority of right-wing zealots wanted another War to redeem Germany's honor. Memorials to the fallen as in the Allied countries appeared all over Germany.

Created: 4:46 AM 2/4/2008
Last updated: 9:20 PM 9/6/2016