WWI turning point- US involvement (1 Viewer)

[freightlp]

It would be much appreciated & very helpful to me if anyone has any information regarding the turning point/s and involvement in WWI.

 

[Westy22]

Well my understanding of the US entry is (off the top of my head):

• Entered due to German subs sinking a British ship that had Americans on it (not sole reason but sparked it)
• US involvement meant the German Generals knew defeat was imminent.
• So the German Generals decided to launch a spring offensive (Ludendorf offensive) to gain bargaining power in settlement treaty.
• Germans made significant gains.
• Allied counter attack won the war because of holes in the German lines retreating.

 

[Mongke]

• Allied counter attack won the war because of holes in the German lines retreating.

Germans went "ooh! food! havent seen that in a while... care for some pate?" the L offensives were too successful and when the G soldiers found the Allies food supplies, all discipline fell..... poor Germans.

 

[Westy22]

Germans went "ooh! food! havent seen that in a while... care for some pate?" the L offensives were too successful and when the G soldiers found the Allies food supplies, all discipline fell..... poor Germans.

Yeah...fat ass Germans.

 

[Silver Persian]

I don't think the Ludendorff Offensive was only to gain bargining power, because the Germans did manage to get in sight of France, so at that point there was a reasonable chance of actual victory.

The most important turning point of the war was the change in tactics - which was initiated by the Germans in the LO and then copied by the Allies after the Black Day. This ended the stalemate. A lot of historians say that the US involvement was helpful, but that if there hadn't been a subsequent change in tactics the Western Front would have remained in tact.

 

[Aceagain]

I don't think the Ludendorff Offensive was only to gain bargining power, because the Germans did manage to get in sight of France, so at that point there was a reasonable chance of actual victory.

The most important turning point of the war was the change in tactics - which was initiated by the Germans in the LO and then copied by the Allies after the Black Day. This ended the stalemate. A lot of historians say that the US involvement was helpful, but that if there hadn't been a subsequent change in tactics the Western Front would have remained in tact.

Yet the breaking of the Stalemate cannot be entirely justified by one event ( or collection - as change of tactics would encompass).

The Stalemate was broken because of many, many reasons. For instance, the blockade both Naval and U-boat, the entrance of the US, the withdrawal of Russia, the starvation of Germany, War weariness, change in leadership, events such as the Ludendorff Offensive, moral drops, the breaking of the French army at Verdun, the changing ways of technology and other contributing factors.

Not to say that change of tactics was not a major factor, but it was not entirely responsible for the breakthroughs of the Stalemate.

- Rhett

 

[Korrupt Soul]

the US became involved, when the British released recordings of the German govt tried to convince the German Ambassador Mexico to attack USA, something like that

 

[Testpilot]

Turning points in WW1:

• 1st Battle of the Marne, 1914. The Germans lose, Moltke has a breakdown and gets replaced after telling the Kaiser that the Germans have just lost the war.
• The Race to the Sea=Stalemate.
• The Verdun and the Somme.
• The Nivelle Offensive (forget the spelling)-leads to French Mutany.
• America enters war
• Failure of German Spring Offensive and Allied Counterattack.

 

[clairejw]

Well my understanding of the US entry is (off the top of my head):

• Entered due to German subs sinking a British ship that had Americans on it (not sole reason but sparked it)
• US involvement meant the German Generals knew defeat was imminent.
• So the German Generals decided to launch a spring offensive (Ludendorf offensive) to gain bargaining power in settlement treaty.
• Germans made significant gains.
• Allied counter attack won the war because of holes in the German lines retreating.

Thanks! and thanks to Testpilot as well.

 

[georgie.girl]

the US became involved, when the British released recordings of the German govt tried to convince the German Ambassador Mexico to attack USA, something like that

I think this was called the Zimmerman Telegram

 

[georgie.girl]

I don't think the Ludendorff Offensive was only to gain bargining power, because the Germans did manage to get in sight of France, so at that point there was a reasonable chance of actual victory.
/quote]

Ludendorff's spring offensives were the last throw of the dice. They threw everything they had (which included troops previously on the Eastern Front until Russian withdrawal) at the Allies in order to force Britain back against the french coast and out of the war. The idea was that France wouldnt fight on without their ally. They desperately needed to win the war BEFORE the US arrived.

The homefront was starving, manpower and munitions were running out and their allies were crumbling around them. Germany needed results fast, thats what Ludendorff was trying to get.

 

[el gwapo]

Turning points in WW1:

• 1st Battle of the Marne, 1914. The Germans lose, Moltke has a breakdown and gets replaced after telling the Kaiser that the Germans have just lost the war.
• The Race to the Sea=Stalemate.
• The Verdun and the Somme.
• The Nivelle Offensive (forget the spelling)-leads to French Mutany.
• America enters war
• Failure of German Spring Offensive and Allied Counterattack.

To add to that

- Russian defeat and revolution in 1917: probably hastened the end of the war as Germany. Many expected the war to continue on to 1920-21.
- Arrival of technology and 'total warfare' tactic adopted which made technology not a side issue of the war but a decisive weapon. But this would be hard to find an 'apex' in terms of a turning point, it arrived slowly.

 

[Silver Persian]

Yet the breaking of the Stalemate cannot be entirely justified by one event ( or collection - as change of tactics would encompass).

The Stalemate was broken because of many, many reasons. For instance, the blockade both Naval and U-boat, the entrance of the US, the withdrawal of Russia, the starvation of Germany, War weariness, change in leadership, events such as the Ludendorff Offensive, moral drops, the breaking of the French army at Verdun, the changing ways of technology and other contributing factors.

Not to say that change of tactics was not a major factor, but it was not entirely responsible for the breakthroughs of the Stalemate.

- Rhett

The factors that you listed (coming entrance of US, exit of Russia, starvation etc.) were important in motivating the Ludendorff offensive, however none of them explains how Germany broke the stalemate. Most of those factors reflect the problems facing Germany but it was not German weakness that lead to the collapse of the trench warfare system, but rather the fact that the nation's forces were able to unleash a set of new tactics that were able to overcome the defencive capabilities of the British trench system. There's no denying that by 1918 Germany was in a dire situation, and if it hadn't acted aggressivley it would have been overwhelmed by the Allies. However this context provides only the motivation for breaking the stalemate, not an explanation of how this was actually achieved, which rests with the change in military tactics (which includes the use of new technology like you mentioned).

 

[mzduxx2006]

In a nutshell the turning points of WW1 were purely due to the USA Involvement. --> btw this sounds strangely reminiscent of 2006 Section I HSC paper for 2006 *nods head*

um yes continuing, main turning points include:

---> Battle of the Somme [relieved pressure on the French at Verdun] and The Marne [delayed German offensive in capturing Paris with the Schlieffen Plan]
---> American involvement in late 1916 early 1917 [Zimmermann Telegram and Unrestricted Submarine warfare]
---> American troops centred at the Battle of the Marne and Somme [Boosted troop morale]
---> the "Race to the Sea", US provided armaments, weaponry, soldiers etc.
---> US Financial support, on the homefront and battle front [once again reffering to whole concept of "Total War".

Ofcourse being a senior HSC student who does their studies, you guys should know all of this! LMAO!!!

 

[CrOsToWnTrAfFiC]

You won't get good marks if you say that Allied victory was completely due to US involvment in the war. It was heaps of things that combined.

The Spring Offensive was initially succesful due to the extra troops from the eastern front, and infiltration- tactic where the German army would attack the weakest spots on the allied line with huge forces.

It was initiated because the Germans knew the US would be entering the war and wanted to ensure victory before they felt the full force of the US army.

US entry was due to unlimited submarine warfare, which led to the sinking of many american trading boats and especially the lusitania which involved civilian deaths. And the interception of the Zimmerman telegram which ensured Mexico some of the southern US states (can't remember which ones) if they entered the war.

1. The British Naval Blockade meant that the german home front was in chaos. The huge shortages of food, coal, etc. caused riots and complete instability

2. The German troops were exhausted after 4 years of war and the spring offensives, walking for miles, suplies were low = Morale of German troops was destroyed.

3. Unity of command within the allied forces. British and French troops all came under the command of one person (can't remember who) which meant much more effective coordination of troops

4. Finally the US entered, iceing on a cake - fresh US troops against war weary, exhausted, low moraled (i don't know if thaht's a word) German troops. Also funding from US in war loans.

I probably forgot some things but I hope this helps

 

[Robbeh]

LOL @ France fighting.
'They were obliterated and verging on mutiny', was the way my history teacher expressed the French fighting capacity.

• US involvement was caused a combination of the aforementioned Zimmerman Telegram (an intercepted ciphered message obtained by Britain) which outlined a direct threat US national security and the sinking of the Lusitania (almost 2000 civilians) by a German U-Boat. The effect of USA in WWI was minimal to say the least. They were not very efficient fighters, but what they did do was bolster up the amount of men the Allies had and assured that if there was to be prolonged attrition, the Allies would have the last fighting men left.
• Russia's withdrawal from the War also marked a turning point. But it wasn't the absence from the war which was the truest turning point, it was the giant, the unfathomable, colossal blunder of continued German deployment of troops in the East. 33 divisions traveled from the Eastern Front to the Western Front and enabled the Spring Offensive, but a further 50 was left behind. And what did they do? They set out to claim land - being the imperial nation Germany desired to be, they were only there to ruthlessly expand Germany's borders.
• Ludendorff's Spring Offensive saw German infantry achieve advances of up to 80 kilometers through effective storm-trooper movements after artillery had paved their paths. But the artillery could not keep up with these ground troops, and as British troops were rushed to the front by rail, these tired German infantrymen had to face fresh British units, without the cover of artillery. The effort thrown into this failed offensive meant that Germany ran themselves into the ground.
• The resulting "Hundred Days Offensive" marked by the Battle of Amiens, August 8 1918, saw - as Ludendorff himself describes it as the "black day of the German army". Allies, unlike Germany in the Ludendorff Spring, didn't advance too much - and allowed artillery to reposition. Germany soon agreed to the Fourteen Points propsed by Wilson, and the resulting armistice -- of course only to be angered by the lack of the Fourteen Points... but that's another subject.

Look, there are other (more valid) reasons on why German lost/Allies won. And in truth, there is no definitive turning point, like when (SPOILER) Frodo threw his pet into Mt. Doom, but because the syllabus says it has some - then for the love of Samwise, there are!