What factors led to Germany's loss in WW1?

It can be further debated how, why and if Germany really did lose the war, but according to the political, economic and military factors studied, it is fair proof of Germany's poor decision making which led to their final defeat. Germany's ineffective aim for victory in the war was due to their lack of structure and organization, which hence instantly increased the probability of their chance of failure.

Germany's main interest was attacking the opposing country head-on, they wanted to attack with all means necessary and as fast as they could. The first mistaken plan which was taken into action was the von Schleiffen Plan, which meant that Germany would pass through Belgium, a neutral country, in order to make their way to France and attack by surprise. The Germans however did not think of the possible consequences, such as the fact of news spreading of the invasion of Belgium which would eventually reach France, and Germany did not consider that Belgium may have been treated as an alliance which would have made them an easier path way into attacking France. Without having alternative act for failed plans as such, Germany proceeded with the von Schleiffen plan and disturbed a country which was not involved in the war. In a successful attempt to humiliate Germany, Britain exploited Germany's fault and portrayed the Germans as a monstrous, vile society. This was made into a campaign known as “Poor Little Belgium” which lessened the image of the Germans and caused more British troops to join the war. Britain was able to create a witty campaign which benefited their country, whereas Germany used falsified information as their propaganda, claiming that the British acted cowardly, which led German soldiers to believe that Britain had a weak colonized army and so the soldiers entered the war unprepared and staggered when facing the enemy. This is a psychological opposition of both countries, showing Britain being a step ahead of Germany, who are unprepared.

After losing the possible ally of Belgium, Germany should have considered the U.S on neutral terms with each other so that no more countries may enter the war and turn against Germany. American nationalism rooted from Germany's two grand mistakes with the U.S. Britain was allied with the United States, and when Germany sunk the Lusitania (Germany attacked any British and French ships) which was a British ship which belonged to Queen Elizabeth 1, Britain enrolled more American soldiers to increase their chances of success. However, the U.S. Entered the war two years after said event, and used the Lusitania as reasoning. Germany was aware of the fact the Lusitania was disguised, it was a passenger ship but contained arms and weapons which were exported to Britain to support the military; Germany was angered by any countries which aided Britain or France. The second error which angered the United States was the Zimmerman telegram. In 1917, the time of Mexico's civil war when Mexico itself had no structured form of government, Germany sent a telegram to Mexico in hope for an alliance. Germany sought Mexico's support in the war, and as re compensation, Germany would retrieve the land that the U.S took from Mexico and give it back to the original country. Another reason why Germany asked for Mexico's reinforcement is because they would be financially supported by another country, and Germany's economy was low. In Germany's desperation for support, the “adherence” with Japan was also mentioned, showing that Germany needed endorsements. Mexico was unable to provide Germany with any of the requests as the country was undergoing political disputes, nevertheless the telegram angered the Americans, causing them to side with Britain and finally enter the war. In Germany's venture to increase their alliances beyond the span of Austria-Hungary and Serbia, they were unsuccessful and merely brought on more enemies such as the U.S leading to Germany's loss of faith.

In an effort to support their country, Germany was becoming increasingly unstable and so was it's nation. In 1917 the “Turnip Winter” arose – this was the rise in communism. Germany had no coast line and was unable to import resources to support her country which led to the starvation of society, which is when society began to question their government. When German soldiers were not being supplied with weapons, and were informed of the corruption of their society they were no longer willing to fight for their country. Germany's main allies, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman empire were untrustworthy as both countries were facing similar dilemmas and were unable to support each other. Britain, on the other hand, enforced the Defense of the Real Act which ensure that their country would be provided with necessities such as food and other resources, and the soldiers would be provided with adequate weaponry which encouraged them to maintain their contributions and fight in the war. Britain was organized and sustained a mature structure for their country. While Germany was struggling to obtain foreign backers, France, Britain and the U.S were able to elect a leader, Foch, in a sensible manner which would conduct the army's structure without any fall-outs and disagreements which would lead to disputes. The foreign alliances had increased their power and imposed a greater threat toward Germany, effectively reducing chances of German victory.

The majority of European countries where marked by signs of WW1's intrusion, but no country faced a defeat such as Germany (and her allies). Although Germany was able to succeed in a number of battles, they were never guaranteed success in the war. Due to Germany's disorganization concerning their political and economic structure, their military eventually fell through when society formed their “cultural revolution” and supported communism. Despite Germany's flaws, their rivals had a higher chance of thriving in victory because they were supportive of each other and proved themselves of being well organized in all factors that Germany was not. Had the Germans constructed back-up motives and had regulated and made their tactics efficient, it is probable that the out coming underachiever of the war would have been different.

WWI: Imperialism

There were four major contents which contributed to the outcome of World War 1, apart from nationalism, alliances and militarism, imperialism was the most outstanding. It is seen as the most vital factor of WW1 because through it's strengths and weakness, it effectively leaded to the other 3 causes, which resulted in the war.

Imperialism was formed during the creation of industries and scientific discoveries, and was made an issue before global rivalries had occurred. Imperialism, historically is defined as the policy of forcefully extending a nation’s authority by territorial gain possible with the use of establishing economic and political superiority over other nations. At the start of industrialization, imperialism began to take it's affect, abruptly becoming more and more obvious in European countries such as Britain, France and Germany. As scientific knowledge grew, so did the lust for foreign lands which led to the tension in European countries, hence afterwards leading to WW1. Europe later on focused their economic growth in Africa, where Germany and Britain were the two competitive countries looking to own land in both Africa. There were many feudal battles based upon their arguments, and since they could not be resolved, the war was yet to come. A contributing factor to this particular dispute is also militarism, which clarifies that imperialism was not the only cause of the war, but simply the root.

While two successful military countries were arguing over ground, Nationalism was being established in Europe - citizens were striving to success their country's monarchy and were eager to support the Royal family. After the creation of nationalism, welcomes another imperialistic event: the assassination of Austr0-Hungarian archduke Franz Ferdinand. A Serbian nationalist named Gavrilo Princip was the assassinator of the heir. Austria-Hungary, who were evidently a stronger country than Serbia, thus created the Austro-Hungarian Ultimatum, meaning that Serbia now had to live under Austro-Hungarian rule. At the time this was being decided, Austria-Hungary was unaware of the joint alliance between Serbia and Russia. This consequently caused a chain reaction between European countries, meaning that Russia then became involved in the Austro-Hungarian problem with Serbia, and then Austria-Hungary, feeling weak, included their ally, Germany which claimed that the only solution would be war. Militarism is also involved in this example of imperialism, since the armies of four countries were involved.

An additional event of imperialism was in 1903 the Berlin-Baghdad railway was at the point of being built, easily connecting Berlin to Baghdad where Germany had wanted territory and control of ports in order to establish better trade routes. With such manipulations over Baghdad, Germany would've been the peak of the trading powers, therefore angering Britain. Germany was constantly angering both Britain and Russia, who had control over some trade ports in Baghdad.

Subsequently, imperialism was the birth of all conflicts and tensions found between European countries which led to the final outcome of World War 1, which would not be ceased because imperialism itself seemed to be unstoppable. Countries were at competition with each other and refused to let go of land, territories, and trade. Alternative episodes occurred which created more density while countries were attempting to protect their nation and economy. There is enough factual proof to support one's opinion of imperialism being the greater cause, because the 3 factors were associated after imperialism existed.

Germany Chapter 1

PART I

Kaiser Wilhelm - was the last King of Prussia after his brother Frederick Wilhelm had passed away. He attempted to strengthen the Prussian army when France and Austria had turned to war due to the unification of Italy and so appointed Bismarck to a form of relative superiority in order to pass a bill of the army's expenses through the approval of Parliament.

Zollverein - a German organization formed to balance out currency and the system of weights and measures soon morphed into the Prussian Customs Union in order to enable internal trade in the Confederation and to expand Prussia's industry. Eventually there was a total of 25 states consisting of a population of 26 million people who joined the union, yet Austria was excluded. The Union became known as the Zollverein in the middle of the 19th century and sealed economic unity with political unification of the states to soon follow.

Crimean War - Between the years of 1854 and `856 was when Austria was left standing alone after the failure of offering support to Russia, Britain and shortly after, France. Bismarck, being a superior in Prussia, felt obligated in a way to take advantage of the now incapable Germany, therefore persuading them to give in to Prussian rule - this then created the North German Confederation.

Otto von Bismarck - Prussian ambassador (by the word of King Wilhelm) in both Russia and Paris. Bismarck's actions were what led to the final unification of Germany.

The Seven Weeks War - Bismarck is able to manipulate Austria in away that his provocations lead up to war, in which Austria is defeated after seven weeks. Austria had to then accept Prussia's overcome in Germany and agreed to the North German Confederation.

Schleswig and Holstein - These were two territories (duchies, meaning under dukes/dukedom) under Danish sovereign. Holstein being part of the German Confederation consisted mainly of Germans whereas Schleswig, not part of the Confederation, consisted a mixture of both Germans and Danes.

Franco-Prussian War - Bismarck's foreshadowing of the war in 1870 went as planned. Although it was the French under the lead of Napoleon who had declared the war, Germany was able to dominate them in order for the French to forcefully sign the Treaty of Frankfurt, giving the Germans French territories.

The Ems Telegram - a telegram from the King addressed to Bismarck, detailing the meeting with the French ambassador. Bismarck cunningly edited words from the telegram to give a false and worse impression of the French; he had the new telegram published and gained moral suppoer from Southern states.

Alsace and Lorraine - During the Franco-Prussian war, the French territories of Alsace and Lorraine were the new additions to Germany. The French swore and were determined to retrieve their lost lands.

PART II

1. With the rapid expansion of population and nationalism in Europe, people were now defined by their social class. Although old inventions were still in use, throughout the years Europe was becoming slightly more modernized and less agricultural. There were new inventions blooming such as the steam engines (enabling people to travel to cities faster), railways and electricity.

2. The tensions that disrupted the passivity in Europe were mainly due to nationalism and ethnicity, although there were hints of political and economical feuds.

3. The Zollverein was mainly successful because it was able to maintain political independence to the many states that seeked to join; this eventually aided with the unification of Germany's states. Since the bond in the economic unity was solid, they found no regret in enabling political unity. This seemingly intact organization however excluded the powerful state of Austria, a known rival of Germany.

4. Bismarck could ultimately be blamed for the war since it was his intention to trick Wilhelm. As in other similar cases the usual outcome of an angry leader is war, and the Prussian army was able to trample the French, forcing them into signing the Treaty of Frankfurt giving the territories of Alsace and Lorraine to the Germans. The French became the new known enemies to Germany.

5. Bismarck's leadership, despite his intentions, without Bismarck as a leader there would be no united Germany.

Economy, since the rapid growth of the industry and the form of the Zollverein, the economy of the German Confederation escalated at a faster rate. Prussia was the main European power at the time because the economic growth was the foundation of both Prussia's political and military strengths.

Nationalism, Bismarck

Military buildup, military buildup led to successful wars which aided and brought together the states of Germany.

Provocation of other countries, Bismarck is seen provoking two different countries; if he had not subtly pushed Austria into war with Prussia, there would have been disagreements in the created on the North German Confederation, meaning that many countries such as Saxony would've been excluded from any possible advantages.

6. (Chapter 1 essay)

Throughout unobvious evidence it is understandable that despite Bismarck's intentions, good or bad, Germany would've been unified eventually. Examining Source 16 it is clear that even Meinecke was unsure of Bismarck's actions; in his work he says "...makes it impossible to pass over in silence the query whether the germs of the later evil [i.e. Hitler] were not really implanted in Bismarck's work from the outset..." and by saying this he supports the theory and questionable argument on whether or not Hitler being involved was indeed part of his initial plan.

On another note, Source 24 states otherwise about Bismarck. The united German Nation although powerful became increasingly weakened after Bismarck's rule. Eyck believes this was so because Bismarck had cruel intentions, this is stated from a quote in his source "...It is therefore no mere chance that his work did not last..." it does not seem to be a coincidence of the downfall. Reading these four sources which are relatively indifferent to eachother, readers can see that Germany could have in fact been united without the actions or intentions of Bismarck, but with him leading he did infact assist in the unity of the states.