First World War.com - Feature Articles - Germany During World War One Feature Articles - Germany During World War One Introduction The Great War, World War One, consisted of two stages: conventional warfare that lasted from 1914 to 1916, and a war of desperate expedients, when both sides struggled for their own existences, lasting until the end. The two sides of the war consisted of the Allied Powers (France, Great Britain, Russia, the United States, and other smaller counties) and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey/Ottoman Empire, along with other smaller country support). Though Germany turned out to be the Central Power most involved in the war, there is little or no evidence that the Germans had planned for war. There are several fundamental causes that had brought the world to the brink of war: nationalism, imperialist competition, militarism, and the build up of pre-war alliances. These growing appearance of these factors perhaps inevitably led to what was called the Great War, World War One. June 22nd - Conflict Begins The war began as a chain of events that revolved around several alliances made between countries.

These pre-war alliances called for the defence of various countries under attack, and all of the major players in the war had made these alliances. These alliances combined with tensions between militarily active countries set the world up for a major war. The chain of events that led up to the war began on June 22nd 1914, when a Serbian student named Gavrilo Princip, who was part of the militant group called the "Black Hand", assassinated Austrian archduke Frances Ferdinand and his wife. The assassination was a result of the nationalism caused by the moulding of the Yugoslavian provinces into a single state. The Serbian government was implicated as being involved in the plot and naturally the Austrians grew angry with them. Austria declared that they would go to war against Yugoslavia, but they were hesitant to do so because Yugoslavia held a defensive treaty with Russia. Germany had made a defensive treaty with Austria, so they promised that if Austria went ahead and made a move against Yugoslavia, Germany would defend them from Russia. Germany then told Austria to begin the war, and if it evolved into a larger conflict, Germany would support them. Germany had a variety of reasons for being willing to be involved in this war.

One of these reasons was that the assassination was an example of the Hapsburg's loss of control and if Austria were to decline to Germany's offer, Germany would be completely surrounded by enemies.1 The German government also knew that Russia would lose a major base in Europe if they were to lose Yugoslavia. An annexation of Yugoslavia would also leave Greece and Bulgaria open to attack. Germany believed that Russia would back down like they had in 1908, when Austria had annexed parts of Serbia. The only difference from the earlier conflict was that in 1908 Russia was also suffering from a revolution, but by 1914 Russia had not only stopped the revolution, but they also had recovered enough to fight against Germany or Austria. Aside from that though, Germany had recently made an alliance with Turkey, and that made them confident that they could defeat any European country. Another benefit that Germany had was that England would not enter the war if Russia were the aggressor. Little did Germany know that the general consensus around Europe was that even if Serbia had been involved in the assassination it was not grounds to conquer it. The Schlieffen Plan Germany had been developing plans for invasions into every European country since the time of Bismarck.

One of these plans was called the Schlieffen Plan. The plan basically called for quick, encircling movements that would surround and destroy the enemy. This plan was used for the invasion of France and also for individual conflicts like the Battle of Tannenberg. One of the key points of this plan was that it was absolutely necessary to put all possible force behind the invasion of France and not to hold any soldiers back in reserve. It was Germany's hope to end this war quickly by attacking France immediately and overrunning it before Russia had a chance to mobilize. The violation of this plan was what many consider to have caused the Germans to lose the war. This could easily be compared to Pericles and the Peloponnesan war. He warned the Athenians that the only way they could win the war was if they did not try to expand and colonize. In this example too, they broke the condition and therefore lost the war. Anyway, the plan involved attacking Belgium and then proceeding south into France. Unfortunately for Germany, the Belgians didn't simply step aside for the Germans; they fought back, making it much harder for Germany to carry out the Schlieffen Plan.

Aside from these war plans, Germany also tried to stop countries from getting involved in the war by starting revolutions in them. As we shall see, it worked in Russia but all attempts to start a revolt in Ireland failed. A State Of Imminent War Danger The Germans, in order to prevent England from entering the war, tried to make it appear as if Russia had really started the war. They announced that any conflict between Austria and Serbia was a local conflict in which outside powers should not interfere. Of course, the other European states saw right through this ruse and prepared themselves for a war that would involve all of the great powers. On July 13th, 1914, the Austrians made an ultimatum saying that they would require all Serbs to leave Albania. The Serbians were not willing to agree to any demand that would hurt their government, and they immediately mobilized for war. On July 28th, three days after Yugoslavia refused to yield to their demands, the Austrians officially declared war. The conflict was begun with the intentions of capturing a small part of Serbian territory and then bargaining that land for compliance with their demands.

On July 29th and 30th, Russia began its mobilization with the intent to protect Yugoslavia from Austria. Germany's only stop from entering the war was England. Their main energies were put into trying to keep England out of the war. England, as a result of the outbreak of war, tried to begin peace talks but none of the involved parties complied. Soon after this attempt at peace, the German government decided that England was not going to remain neutral, but they decided to engage in the war anyway. This was another reason the Schlieffen Plan would fail; Britain's entry into the war was not expected, at least not so quickly. On July 30th, Moltke, Germany's military leader, announced a "state of imminent war danger."2 The next day Russia completed its mobilization, but they still maintained that they would not attack if peace talks were to begin. Germany then replied that Russia must demobilize within the next twelve hours. This short deadline shows that Germany was really itching for a war and did not expect Russia to comply in any way. Russia naturally declined to demobilize and Germany used this as an excuse to declare war.

On July 31st William II ordered Germany to fully mobilize its armies. Moltke decided that a war would have to be fought and won on the western front before they could defeat Russia. If the Schlieffen Plan worked, he could concentrate all of his army on the Eastern Front. He went on to demand that Belgium allow him to cross through their country and on into France unopposed. As we shall see later, this refusal to comply was a key factor in the defeat of Germany. August 3rd, 1914 - World War One Begins The war began on August 3rd when Germany declared war on France, saying that they had infringed upon Germany's territory. The German army that took the field August 1914 has been described as the most brilliant the world had ever seen. The day after the declaration of war against France, Germany moved soldiers into Belgium, and the Belgians resisted. Three days later the Germans captured the stronghold of Liege, and Belgium fell. As the opening invasion into Belgium began, England sent an ultimatum to Germany saying that they had to withdraw from Belgium or England would enter the war. England effectively lost any element of surprise by announcing their attack beforehand.

By August 18th Germany had overrun all of Belgium and the German army was gathering on the French border to begin the offensive. Two days later the attack began, and the French were immediately driven out of Lorraine. The Germans continued to advance until they hit France's frontier fortifications. This offensive took the French completely by surprise even though a German defector had already warned them. On August 22-25 the French tried to begin their own offensive but were soundly defeated at the battles of Neuchateau and Longwy. Soon after this failed offensive, the Germans advanced into France from the north and quickly defeated the French at the battle of Namur and the British at the battle of Mans. The Battle At Marne By the end of the initial offensive, August 25th, Germany's front was uncontested by any of the other powers. The Schlieffen plan had stated that the German army should have been in France in 40 days and by the 32nd day the Germans were still 25 miles from the city. This was Moltke's largest mistake- the mistake that would eventually lose the war for the Germans.

He saw that the Germans were doing well in France and therefore decided to send divisions to stabilize the eastern front, which had been compromised by a quick Russian mobilization. By August 27th, the German army had already been greatly lessened by the loss of the forces sent to the eastern front and the loss of the forces sent to survey the land around Antwerp. To add to this, the army was weakened by the siege of Maubeuge and at other forts along the way. The Germans had, on the western front, only 40 of the 52 divisions that had begun the war. This was enough to continue winning, but it became obvious that it was not enough to take Paris as the Schlieffen Plan dictated. On August 30th the Germans began their pursuit of the French army that was retreating towards Paris. The armies were directed to advance to two points near Paris. The emergence of another French army caused Moltke to have to rethink his plan. He ordered the southern armies to advance to the northwest and the northern armies to advance to the southeast. This action was intended to surround the French army.

The German armies were assembled for the new offensive by September 4th but this manoeuvre had made the left flank of the northern army vulnerable. The French noticed this vulnerability and attacked the German front with 52 divisions while they sent a smaller detachment to attack the exposed side. The ensuing battle took place at Marne. The German army turned and defeated the small detachment in three days of fighting, establishing their military superiority over the French. The complete turn to the west that the northern army made caused a gap to form in the northern front. The English army advanced into this opening, thereby placing the Germans in a weak position. Moltke saw this and ordered his army to retreat, and as they were doing so the French army advanced and began to attack the retreating soldiers. The eastern armies tried to resist the attack but Moltke ordered the withdrawal of the northern army due to its precarious position. The result of this battle, the Battle of Marne, was a major swing in the German army's momentum as they were now moving backward for the first time.

"Its [Marne's] loss by Germany meant the failure of the entire Schlieffen plan; the end of any prospect of a short war."3 A short war was basically what the entire German military was counting on as the only way to win the war. When this possibility was taken away, the prospect of winning began to fade. Moltke's lack of judgment in this matter can be attributed to the distance he was away from the actual line of battle. He could not make decisions because he could not see what was going on. The condition of the soldiers was also a factor as reported by a German officer: "Their faces coated with dust, their uniforms in rags, looking like living scarecrows. They march with their eyes closed, singing in chorus so that they shall not fall asleep…It is only the delirium of victory that sustains our men."4 A War Of Attrition - The Trench Forms On September 14th General Erich Falkenhayn replaced Moltke, and by the 15th the western line had been stabilized. By this time the German army was so hurt that even if they could have reached Paris, they could never have taken it.

After the battle, the two lines entrenched themselves as close as 800 yards away from each other. Here was where the trench warfare that caused so many losses began. The giant trench formed the western front, and the battle in the west from then on became a war of attrition. Falkenhayn decided that there was no way to win a war against England, France and Russia put together. He adopted the policy of attrition in order to tire out the western powers. He planned to be merely defensive on the western front while attacking the eastern front. On the days of October 17-30 the battle of Yser was fought, in a last effort to assault the French. The Germans committed all of their last resources to launch this attack on the French front but the battle proved costly and ineffective. The attacks lasted until November 3rd, when Falkenhayn was finally convinced that the west was hopeless and the only place a victory could be won was in the east. "Falkenhayn had to send into the holocaust thousands of half trained volunteers straight from school or the university, commanded by elderly officers.

Enthusiastically singing "Deutschland Deutschland Uber Alles", the youngsters were mowed down in swathes by the expert marksmen of the B.E.F." The Eastern Front While the conflict in the west was developing, Russia was having success with driving the Austrians back and also infringing on German territory. Their basic strategy was to concentrate all of their forces on Austria, but due to the success of Germany in France at the time they sent 28 divisions into East Prussia as a relief force. The Russians had mobilized more speedily than the Germans expected and were therefore able to overrun most of East Prussia before the Germans could react. The eastern general for the German force, Von Prittwtiz-Gaffron, hesitated before making any move. He was immediately deposed of, and on April 23rd General Von Hindenburg and Ludendorff, two of the most influential generals of their time, replaced him. Hindenburg was a veteran of the wars in 1866 and 1870. He was a very careful and calculating general. Ludendorff was one of the nationalistic zealots created by the outbreak of war. Hindenburg decided to attack at once.

He left a small force in Germany and lead 166,000 men against Russia's 200,000. These forces came against each other on August 26-31 at the battle of Tannenberg. The German army performed a perfect Schlieffen plan manoeuvre and encircled the Russian army. They captured 92,000 Russian soldiers while overall 3/5ths of the Russian army was destroyed (at least those in Prussia). The offensive ended at the battle of the Masurian Lakes (September 9-10) wherein the Russians withdrew from the rest of Germany without putting up a fight. The Austrians, on the other hand, were soundly defeated by the Russians due to the lack of coordination between the Austrian and German armies. At the beginning of the war the Germans had not even told the Austrians about the Schlieffen plan and their intentions to invade France. This shows that the Germans did not really care about the Austrians and what had initially caused the war. They acted like they were fighting their own war despite the fact that the Austrians supposedly started it.

By September 13th the Austrians had lost 300,000 soldiers and the entire army had retreated into the mountains. By February the army had lost 1.5 million soldiers. The Austrian army was also defeated at two attempts to invade Serbia. At this point, Austria was effectively out of the war leaving Germany and Turkey alone against the Russians. During October, while the battle of Yser was going on in the west, the German forces launched an offensive and advanced all the way to Warsaw and Iangorad, but by the end of October, a build-up of Russian forces along the border caused the Germans to retreat from Poland completely. Hindenburg moved most of his forces into North Prussia where they could strike against the unprotected northern front of the Russian army. He even got a promise from Falkenhayn of six divisions to join in on the offensive. Unfortunately for Germany, Falkenhayn decided that a withdrawal of western forces would be perceived as a retreat, so the divisions were never sent. Falkenhayn then decided to continue the attack at Ypres and again was defeated. On November 18th, the western army began to break off and slowly go to join the eastern soldiers.

The opportunity for Hindenburg's flanking manoeuvre however, was lost. Though Russia managed to destroy the Austrian army, The Battle of Tannenberg was the event that effectively knocked Russia out of the war. Later on, after the Bolshevik Revolution, the Russians would completely surrender to Germany. 1915 - Germany Slows Down The situation at the beginning of 1915 was definitely not in Germany's favour. The western front showed 90 German divisions against 108.5 Allied. On the eastern front, there were 78.5 German divisions against 93.5 Russian. Falkenhayn decided to leave only enough soldiers to hold the west and to bring the rest over to the east, to fight the Russians. These soldiers took part in the second battle at Masurian Lakes where the Russian army was again completely destroyed. By the last week of January, the Germans had also freed the trapped Austrian forces. The German army joined up with the Austrians and proceeded to break the Russian line in Austria at the beginning of May. The eastern forces continued their success through the summer of 1915, overrunning Poland, Lithuania, Galicia and Latvia.

The Russian casualties were estimated at 200,000. While this was going on in the east, an Allied offensive had begun to liberate France on September 25. Despite a 5:3 soldier ratio, the German army was unable to do anything about it. As a result of this failure, Falkenhayn decided to test his luck with yet another offensive against the French line. He decided to attack the French army's cornerstone at Verdun. The offensive began on February 21, 1916, and met with initial success but was soon stopped. The battle was reduced to a "grim endurance test on a narrow battlefield transformed by rain into a grenade pocked quagmire." Falkenhayn was attempting to "bleed the French white" by exhausting their resources, but the battle proved to be just as exhausting for the Germans as it was for the French. No one ever made any headway but both sides suffered severe casualties. Falkenhayn did not finally call off the attack until July 1916. Soon after the Battle of Verdun, the Allies launched their own offensive with 52 divisions at Somme.

After two months of fighting, Germany's line had only backed up six miles. With the offensives of Verdun and Somme, the casualties for both sides were over 600,000, with both sides losing almost the same number of people. The offensive was renewed in September of 1916. The Germans began to worry about the increasing number of Allied soldiers as well as the invention of the first tanks, a technology which the Germans had not pursued up until then. On the eastern front, the Germans were still making much headway. On August 27th, Rumania, one of the Balkan countries which was sitting on the fence over which side it would join, declared war on Austria and therefore Germany. Rumania did this because Russia promised them Transylvania. The fact that the Russians were also launching an offensive in the area was also a small part of their decision. On August 29, 1916, Hindenburg and Ludendorff were given complete command of the entire eastern front. The first act of these generals was to invade Rumania, and by December 6th, Bucharest was occupied.

The Effect of War Back Home During the fighting in the west and the east the people of Germany were mostly in support of the war. The belief was widespread that even though the war was forced upon the German people, it was for the "Greater Germany" that it could become. When the war started turning against Germany, there was still the general belief that at least they should gain something from their effort. The German people were mostly willing to have peace as long they did not have to give up any land. The government did not want peace because they thought it would be seen as a loss and the liberal party would lose popularity, and perhaps there would be a revolution. This situation can be compared to the conflict between Israel and the PLO, where Israel wants peace but does not want to lose land. Germany, in general, wanted peace, but not at the expense of the land they had taken. When the war was beginning, it had the support from a coalition of the SPD, the Progressives, and the Kaiser's conservative government. As the war continued and was becoming more and more a war of attrition, the SPD, who were already opposed to an offensive war, split into three groups: the Independent Socialists, the SPD and the International Socialists.

The international socialists (Spartacists) were opposed to any war of any kind while the other two groups were still in support of a defensive war. The leaders of the Spartacists, Liebknecht and Luxenburg, held a demonstration against the war on May 1, 1916. They were arrested, and in response to this the workers rose up for their first strike of the war. From this, there can be seen the first seeds of discontent among the people. The German economy was also going through more and more strain as the war went on. In 1914 the German economy was almost completely reliant on outside trade and therefore not ready for a protracted war. They had absolutely no large stocks of guns or ammunition and were forced to employ chemists to find replacements for substances that were made scarce by the war. They discovered things like a replacement for gunpowder ingredients, synthetic rubber, and the use of oil instead of coal in machinery.5 There was such a shortage that riots had already begun in 1916. The armed forces took all the hired labour out of the economy.

The immediate consequences of the war on the economy were more government control of goods and production, army control of what determined economic policy, and an increase in scientific pursuit. Entered World War One The German navy was not very active during World War One. In fact, the only major battle, the Battle of Jutland, was fought on May 31, 1916. Germany was the victor but was still behind in terms of naval superiority. An Allied fleet in the North Sea blockaded Germany, and as a result, Germany declared that they would sink any Allied ship that they find. The Germans initially did not try to get out any further than the Baltic Sea due to an U.S. ultimatum, but in 1917 they began to advance and sink various American ships carrying munitions and reinforcements, thereby drawing the U.S. into the war. 1918 - Germany Makes a Treaty With The Bolsheviks By 1917 and 1918 the German people had begun to lose faith in the war. The government was torn between what the people wanted, a "status quo" peace, and what Hindenburg wanted, a "fruits of victory" peace.

On November 7-8, 1917, a German encouraged revolution, the Bolshevik Revolution, began in Russia. After much conflict, the Communist leader Lenin was appointed their new leader. He wanted peace with Germany because of the instability of his position in the Russian government. On December 20, 1917 the central leaders and Russia met to make a peace treaty. The talks lead to nothing and Germany began its attacks on the Balkan states. Peace talks again resumed with Russia and by 1918 Germany had concluded a peace treaty with the Ukraine. By March 3rd, a treaty was made with Russia. Germany quickly ignored previous treaties and marched straight into the Ukraine, taking Kiev on March 1. From there they proceeded directly into Russia, despite recent treaties. The attack was so effective that the Germans had reached the Caspian Sea by September 1918. On August 27, 1918, the German government decided that they had enough land, and they signed another peace treaty with Russia. At this point, Russia had pretty much surrendered to the Germans.

At that point, Germany also made an alliance with Finland and deposited 150,000 soldiers in their country- soldiers that could have been used in the actual war. The German Army Is Defeated By the summer of 1918 the Germans had concluded most of their business in the east, so half of the eastern army was sent to aid the west. By March there were 190 German divisions in the west opposed to 170 Allied. Ludendorff decided to attack the point where the English and French lines met, hoping to separate the two armies and force the English to withdraw across the sea. On March 21, 71 German divisions prepared to attack the 26 British divisions. The British were overwhelmed and the French were pressed back. In the ensuing battle from March 21-April 5 Germany advanced 35 miles into the line, causing the British to lose 163,000 soldiers and the French to lose 77,000. The Germans tried to follow up on this success by launching an attack on April 9. This attack met with minimal success was basically considered a failure.

Ludendorff then decided to launch a new offensive, this time concentrated on the French lines, in the hopes that the Germans could cut off reinforcements to the British. When the British were in a position where they were unable to secure reinforcements, the Germans would attack the them. The offensive began on May 27th and the Germans were able to force back the French line. By June 3rd the Germans had reached a point five miles from Paris, but the Allies rallied and managed to stop the German advance. Ludendorff began to plan yet another offensive. In June of 1918 the first American soldiers fought the Germans. The Germans began their new offensive on July 15th with 51 divisions, this time against the combined forces of the British, the French, and the Americans. The German army was met with strong resistance and many losses. Three days later, the French began a counter-offensive lead by 600 tanks. The move by the French took the Germans by surprise and the Allies began to slowly push the Germans out of Marne. The German army suffered 30,000 casualties and lost 800 artillery pieces.

The Allies pressed their advantage, and on August 8, 1918, they began a huge offensive that completely broke the German's strength. This was the major turning point in the war, as the Germans not only lost their momentum but also began to lose more and more ground. The offensive was renewed against the German lines and the whole German army began to be pushed back. By September, the Germans had lost 1,000,000 soldiers, reducing their army from 3.5 million to 2.5 million. The previously superior German army was now down 191 divisions to the 400-500 of the Allies. The American involvement in the war rose from 200,000 in March to 2,086,000 at the end of the war. During the days of September 14-30, Allied troops caused the entire Bulgarian front to collapse. At the same time, the Austrians were also negotiating their own peace treaty with the Allies. Meanwhile, a combined French, British, Greek and Serbian army liberated the Balkans, and by November 10 they had moved into Rumania.

Ludendorff accurately summarized the outlook of the war when he said: "The condition of the army demands an immediate armistice"6 An Immediate Armistice Bulgaria (Germany's ally) collapsed in late September, and Austria-Hungary was soon to collapse. With no other choice left, the Germans proposed the armistice on October 3rd. The Allies declared that they would grant it only if Germany made no move to improve its military strength. On October 26th Ludendorff resigned because he was unwilling to sign the armistice. After his departure, the Germans amended the constitution to prevent people like Ludendorff from becoming virtual dictators. Instead, the general was made to require the support of the Reichstag. This shows that the Germans were not completely supportive of the war. The armistice was given to Germany. It basically required that the Germans retreat into their own borders and leave all of their weapons behind. William fled the country and Prince Max was put on the throne just long enough to sign the armistice. The German soldiers began to retreat into their own country and on November 11 the armistice was signed, officially ending the war.

Conclusion During World War One we were still seeing the nationalistic tide that was begun by Otto von Bismarck and would ultimately end after the Second World War. Germany was a country that had just unified forty years earlier, after decisively beating almost every European country. When Kaiser William came into power, he had very expansionist views. Furthermore, he did not have any of the political savvy that was displayed by Bismarck. The downfall of the German people was that they had a leader who was trying to repeat the conquests of the past while lacking the skills to do so. William "cleverly" tried to gain power by finesse and treating the Balkan conflict like the unification wars: localized and defensive. When the other powers saw through this fumbling ruse, he dropped all pretence of political manoeuvring and just started attacking everybody, a policy that would inevitably end with his destruction as he also, at the start of the war, lacked a military mind that could make up for his political bluntness. Moltke and Falkenhayn took a war that should not have been started in the first place and made it even worse by horribly bumbling it.

The people during this time period were only kept going by the leftover nationalism caused by the unification. The war was probably looked at from the point of view of a country that had never lost a major conflict. The German people went to war expecting to win because they knew of nothing else. They had been raised on the tales of the unification wars and to them, this was just another step. Bibliography 1. Holborn, Hajo. A History of Modern Germany 1840-1945. New York: Knopf, 1969, p.415 2. Holborn, Hajo. A History of Modern Germany 1840-1945. New York: Knopf, 1969, p.422 3. Ryder, A. J. Twentieth Century Germany From Bismarck to Brandt. New York: Columbia University Press, 1973, p. 115 4. Holborn, Hajo. A History of Modern Germany 1840-1945.

New York: Knopf, 1969, p.434 5. Ryder, A. J. Twentieth Century Germany From Bismarck to Brandt. New York: Columbia University Press, 1973, p. 154 4. Holborn, Hajo. A History of Modern Germany 1840-1945. New York: Knopf, 1969, p.506 First Invasions of World War I World Map / World War I / First Invasions of World War I First Invasions of World War I The outbreak of World War I was the result of many political and military developments in Europe in the beginning of the twentieth century. The early invasions established two clear fronts – the Western Front and the Eastern Front – on which war would be fought. Austro-Hungarian Invasion of Serbia Following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in June 1914, Austria-Hungary served Serbia a harsh ultimatum. Although Serbia had agreed to most of the terms, Austria-Hungary turned aggressive following a failure to comply with all the terms.

War was declared on July 28, 1914, and Austria-Hungary bombed Belgrade, Serbia. German Invasion of Luxembourg With the outbreak of war, Russia started mobilization of troops. Threatened by this, Germany asked Russia to halt mobilization of troops on July 31, 1914. With no promise of neutrality coming forth from France, Germany set out to implement the Schlieffen Plan. Desiring to fight and overcome France quickly before facing the Russian Army, Germany invaded Luxembourg on August 2, 1914. German Invasion of Belgium With the invasion of Luxembourg, Germany demanded that traditionally neutral Belgium allow German troops to march through and thereby assist in its invasion of France. King Albert of Belgium decided to resist German invasion. On the night of August 3, 1914, German troops invaded Belgium. Belgium’s stiff resistance was partly the cause of the delay of the Schlieffen Plan and brought Britain into the war. German Invasion of France A series of battles were fought along the borders between France and Belgium and France and Germany.

Known as the Battle of the Frontiers, the offensives commenced with the Battle of the Marne on August 14, 1917. Over two million soldiers were involved in combat, making it the largest battle of its time. The early invasions were accompanied by significant naval battles. The Battle of Heligoland Bight in August 1914 brought the two rival navies, the British Royal navy and the German Imperial Navy face-to-face. One significant outcome of the battle was the policy of unrestricted submarine warfare undertaken by Germany. This would ultimately lead to America’s entry into the war in 1917. Germany shouldered the blame for World War I in the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. It must be said, though, that at the time of the first invasions, neither the Allied nor the Central nations had anticipated a war of the scale and duration as World War I.

First World War erupts in Europe - Aug 01, 1914 - HISTORY.com First World War erupts in Europe Share this: First World War erupts in Europe Author First World War erupts in Europe URL Publisher A+E Networks On August 1, 1914, four days after Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, two more great European powers—Russia and Germany—declare war on each other; the same day, France orders a general mobilization. The so-called “Great War” that ensued would be one of unprecedented destruction and loss of life, resulting in the deaths of some 20 million soldiers and civilians and the physical devastation of much of the European continent. The event that was widely acknowledged to have sparked the outbreak of World War I occurred on June 28, 1914, when Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was shot to death with his wife by the Bosnian Serb nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo.

Over the weeks that followed, Austria-Hungary blamed the Serbian government for the attack, hoping to use the incident as justification for settling the problem of Slavic nationalism in the tumultuous Balkans region once and for all. However, as Russia supported Serbia, an Austria-Hungary declaration of war was delayed until its leaders received assurances from German leader Kaiser Wilhelm II that Germany would support their cause in the event of a Russian intervention. This assurance came on July 5; Austria-Hungary subsequently sent an ultimatum to the Serbian government on July 23 and demanded its acceptance within two days at the risk of war. Though Serbia accepted all but two of the ultimatum’s terms, and Russia declared its intention to back Serbia in the case of such a conflict, Austria-Hungary went ahead with its war declaration against Serbia on July 28, one month after the assassinations. With that declaration, the tenuous peace between Europe’s great powers was shattered: Germany warned Russia, still only partially mobilized, that to continue to full mobilization against Austria-Hungary would mean war with Germany.

While insisting that Russia immediately halt mobilization, Germany began its own mobilization; when the Russians refused the German demands, Germany declared war on the czarist empire on August 1. That same day, Russia’s ally, France, long suspicious of German aggression, began its own mobilization, urging Great Britain—the third member, along with France and Russia, of the Triple Entente alliance—to declare its support. A divided British government declined to do so initially, but events soon precipitated Britain’s move towards war as well. On August 2, the first German army units crossed into Luxembourg as part of a long-planned German strategy to invade France through neutral Belgium. France and Germany declared war against each other on August 3; that night, Germany invaded Belgium, prompting Great Britain to declare war on Germany. For the most part, the people of Europe greeted the outbreak of war with jubilation. The great majority of people—within government and without—assumed that their country would be victorious within months, and could not envision the possibility of a longer conflict.

By the end of 1914, however, well over a million soldiers of various nationalities had been killed on the battlefields of Europe, and there was no final victory in sight for either the Allies or the Central Powers. On the Western Front—the battle line that stretched across northern France and Belgium—the combatants settled down in the trenches for a terrible war of attrition, which would continue, in Europe and other corners of the world, for the next four years. Related Videos World War I -- Belgium World War I: Belgium Figure 1.--Germany's invasion of France through Belgium was an act of military expediency. It brought the Germans very close to Paris and probably winning the War in just a few short weeks. It proved, however, an action that brought world opprobrium of a brutal aggressor nation on Germany. An assessment that Germany would more than live up to in World War II. Invading Belgium brought Britain into the War as well as laid the basis for eventual American entry. As in World War II, German leaders dismissed the importance of America. This cartoon was drawn by F.H. Townsend and published in 'Punch Magazine' during August 1914.

Germany with Russia allied with France conceived a war plan to rapidly defeat France before the superior resources of these two countries could be brought to bear on Germany. Because the French had heavily fortified the border, the German Schliffen Plan called for a massive stoke through neutral Belgium to avoid the French fortifications along the French-German border. The Germans invaded Belgium (August 4, 1914). This horrified the world because it was correctly seen as the Germans trampling the rights of a small neutral country in violation of international law. Thus from the beginning the Germans were seen in American and other countries as an unprincipled aggressor in the War. More importantly at the time, the German invasion brought Britain into the War (August 4, 1914). Britain had understandings with France and Russia, but there were not firm treaty commitments. Britain had guaranteed Belgian independence in the Treaty of London (1839). Britain may have entered the War anyway, but it was the invasion of Belgium that triggered the British declaration of war and the dispatch of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) to stop the Germans. The Germans gambled that they could defeat the French quickly as they did in the Franco-Prussian War.

They disregarded the Belgian Army and calculated that they could defeat the French army before the British could deploy a substantial force to aid the French. The Belgians put up and unexpectedly stiff resistance, slowing the German advance. King Albert I proclaimed, "Belgium is a nation, not a road." The BEF although at first small also slowed the Germans. A Russian offensive forced the Germans to divert forces from the drive on Paris. In the end the Germans were stopped by the Miracle on the Marne (September 1914). Although the Germans were stopped, they had overrun most of Belgium which remained in German hands for most of the War. Neutrality Belgium was a neutral country. It had declared its independence when it broke from the Netherlands (1831). Britain had guaranteed Belgian independence in the Treaty of London (1839). The signatories included the World War I belligerent powers. In the great power struggles such as the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71), Belgium had remained strictly neutral. The country did not participate in the series of alliances negotiated by the great powers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Country Belgium was a small country.

It consisted of the southern Netherlands, Flanders and the Walloon areas of Artois, It was thus a bi-ethnic country, the Dutch speaking Flemish and the French-speaking Waloons. The population in 1914 totaled about 7.5 million. It was an affluent, heavily industrialized country country with a prosperous economy based on trade and industry. Belgium had a steel industry with adequate coal and iron ore resources. There was an efficient railway system. Belgium prospered in the industrial revolution that transformed Europe during the 19th century. Like several Western European countries, however, it was a net food importer. This did not pose a problem before the War. The country's booming industries generated the foreign exchange need for food imports. The major ports were Antwerp and Ostend. The country had a constitutional monarchy. There was universal male suffrage but there was a voting system by which the well-educated and wealthy were allocated up to three votes each. Parliament at the time of the German invasion was controlled by Baron Charles de Broqueville and his Catholic Party. Both the Flemish and Waloons were Catholic. Military Defenses Belgium unlike neighboring countries did not feel impelled to maintain a large military.

They had no intention of attacking their two large neighbors and increasingly Belgians came to believe that their neutrality protected them from attack. Belgium in its early years as a result had virtually no army at all. The impetus for military preparedness came from the Belgian monarchy rather than democratically elected parliamentary figures. Constitutionally the Belgian monarch was Commanders-in-Chief of the armed forces. King Leopold II after the war of 1870 and faced with expanding German power in Europe decided that Belgium needed to upgrade its military defenses. Leopold oversaw the construction of the Meuse fortresses at Liege and Namur. He also convinced Parliament to authorize expanding the Army to 100,000 men raised by a national service system. There was not a great response and an additional law essentially based the Army on volunteers (1902). Military defense became a political issue. The Christian-Democrats generally supported defense measures. The governing Catholic party, however, was less supportive. Another national service law made further changes (1909). Service was limited to one son for each family.

The period of service was shortened, Other measures to entice service and enforce the law eventually helped with recruitment bringing in about 33,000 trainees annually. There short term of service meant, however, that they were barely trained and largely inexperienced. After their training they formed part of the active reserve for a total service period of 15 years. Belgian Public Opinion Belgian neutrality had for over 80 years been respected by the great powers. This included France and Prussia during the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71). Most Belgians believed that their country would never again be involved in a war. They looked at Switzerland which for centuries (with the exception of the French Revolution) had managed to avoid war through neutrality. Of course geography was on Switzerland's side. Belgium began its national life with strong cultural ties toward France. Over time this began to change, in part because of the economic power of the German empire. About 1910 Germany became Belgium's major trading partner. Along with economic influence, Germany began to impact Belgian cultural life. [Chauriaut] Increasingly Belgians looked favorably on Germany.

Here opinions differed, but many Belgians were impressed with the seemingly more orderly and disciplined German approached. More Belgian intellectuals began to spend more time in Germany than in the Sorbonne. The Flemish in particular often at odds with the French Waloons seemed attracted to Germany. Belgian Military Many sectors of Belgian society were in the years before World War I pro-German. The most staunchly pro-French sector of Belgium was the officer class of the Belgian Army. Belgium's regular army was very small. There were six infantry divisions (43,000 men) supported by an additional 115,000 trained reserves. The Belgian Air Force had one squadron composed of 12 aircraft. Schlieffen Plan (1905) Germany with Russia allied with France conceived a war plan to rapidly defeat France before the superior resources of these two countries could be brought to bear on Germany. Because the French had heavily fortified the border, the German Schlieffen Plan called for a massive stoke through neutral Belgium to avoid the French fortifications along the French-German border. Count Alfred von Schlieffen, became German Chief of the Great General Staff in 1891.

He worked on a war plan for years, perfecting a precise movement of troops. He submitted his plan in 1905. French foreign policy was devoted to ensuring that in another war with German, France would not fight alone. Kaiser Wilhelm's bombastic threatening and aggressive policies, including the construction of a high seas fleet, made the task much easier for French diplomats. France and Britain in 1904 signed the Entente Cordiale (friendly understanding), it was not a full military alliance, but it was clearly aimed at Germany. The French wanted to also involve Russia. The Germany military perceived the need for a military strategy if war came with France, this time aided by Britain and Russia. Schlieffen had for years been working on just such plan. Schlieffen's plan was premised on the critical need that France be quickly defeated before the British or Russians could bring forces to bear on Germany. Without France, Schlieffen was convinced that neither Russia or Britain would continue the war. Schlieffen estimated that Russia would take 6 weeks to mobilize its massive, but backward army. Thus to win the war, Germany must Therefore, it was vitally important to smash the French before the Russians could bring its forces to bear.

Schlieffen envisioned committing 90 percent of the Germany army to attack France as soon as war was declared. He was afraid of the strongly engineered French border fortifications. He thus conceived of an attack west through the neutral neutral Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg and this invade France through the poorly defended Belgian border. The Germans would then swing east, take Paris and push the French Army back against their eastern frontier fortresses and the Swiss frontier. Helmuth von Moltke replaced von Schlieffen as German Army Chief of Staff in 1906 and modified the plan by not invading the Netherlands and in weakening the right wing--a move von Schlieffen had specifically warned against. The Germans in the revised plan would advance over the flat plains of Flanders. Moltke was convinced that that the Belgian army could not effectively resist a massive German offensive. King Albert I King Albert is the most beloved of Belgium's monarch, largely because if his role in resisting the Germans. Albert while visiting Berlin in 1909 was informed by Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany's war plan.

He is famous for remarking about the Germans, "Belgium is a nation, not a road." Albert was aware of the German invasion plans, but could do nothing, as Belgium's neutrality prevented the country from arming itself. In August 1914 Germany demanded permission to march its army through Belgium to attack France. Albert refused. Germany not withstanding the Treaty of London (the famous "scrap of paper"), invaded Belgium. It was later said by French Prime Minister Clemenceau when asked how history would remember the start of World War I, replied "One thing is for certain: they will not say that Belgium invaded Germany." Germany occupied most of Belgium before stopped by British and French troops. The Belgian constitution provided that the King would become Commander in Chief in case of war. Albert led the Belgians in delaying actions against the powerful Germans drive preventing the Germans from gaining victory in first month of the War as they had planned. While the Belgian Army was small and poorly equipped, The gallant Belgian action in the face of the massive German invasion force did slow the German advance, probably saving Paris and was a key factor leading to the French "Miracle on the Marne" that finally stopped the German Army.

Albert became regarded as a great hero of the War. Nearly all of Belgium, however, was occupied by the Germans through 4 years of war. King Albert declined to cooperate with the Allies and maintained separate command of the Belgian forces. In 1918 Albert finally gave in to pressure and cooperated with the allies in the final offense of 1918, being made commander of the Flanders Army Group by General Foch of France. Outbreak of War (July 28-August 1-4) Austria-Hungary was determined to punish Serbia for the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Austria was hesitant to attack because of Russia was committed to defend the Serbs--fellow Slavs. When Kaiser Wilhelm wrote Emperor Franz-Josef a blank check, however, the Austrians felt secure to attack, expecing a quick victory. The Kaiser' s decision to support Austria's desire to punish Serbia turned a Balkans crisis into a major European war. Austria-Huguary declared war (July 28). Two days later Ruusia issued mobilization orders (July 30). This set the clock ticking.

Germany held the military advantage, but his would soon b ngated when Russia mobilized its huge manpower reserves. Kaiser Wilhelm and Tsar Nicholas exchanged telegrams (July 29-August 1). Their personal relationship could not restrain the developing tragedy. France allied with Russia also issued mobilization orders. Russia had the largest army in Europe and once mobilized posed a formidable danger to Germany. Germany thus felt impelled to strike at France before Russia could mobilize. Germany declaring war on Russia (August 1) and France (August 3). Germany seized neutral Luxembourg (August 3). The world focus then turned to Belgium. After the War, the Allies demanded that Germany accept the guilt for launching the War. German Invasion of Belgium (August 4) As Europe wa hurdling toward war, the question became Britain. Taking on Rusiia and France ws quite an undertaking even for the powerful German Army, but adding the British Empire was an entirely different matter. It mean that the Germans would be going to war against a much more powerful eneny coAlition with far greater resources than Germany even with Austria-Hungary added. Britain has developed closed relations with France, but had no treaty relations required it to come to France's defense.

And Britain had until this point had more conflict with Russia which was threatening India than Germany. This is where Belgium which wanted mothing more than to remain neutral comes into the picture. Britain did have treaty relations with Belgium, guaranteeing its neutrality. The schlieffen Plan was no secret. It was the German war plan and had been the basus for German strategic thinking for three dcades. Now that German had declared war on France, Kaiser Wilhelm now had to decide wether to activate the Sclieffen Plan, knowing that it would likely mean war with Britain as well as France and Russia. Actually it was never aeal possibility that they would not activate the Schliffen Plan. The German generals pushed for the Sclieffen Plan which was already in motion, troops and supplies moving toward the Belgin border and Luxenbourg seized. The option was a frontal attack on heavily fortified French border defenss. The German generals insisted that here progress would be slow allowing Russia time to monilize. The Kaiser was not one to disagree with his generals. The Kaiser and his generals calculated that the Belgian wiuld put up little resistance and France would be defeated before Britain could bring its considerable forces to bear.

German troops poured across the Belgian border (August 4). German Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg dismissed Britain's treaty with Belgium as a 'scrap of paper' in his final meeting with the British ambassador in Berlin, Sir Edward Goschen (August 4). Within hours Britain declared war with Germany. Foreign Secretary Grey famously described the 'lights going out all over Europe'. Britain may have entered the War with out Germany invasion of Belgium, but the invasion provided both the causus bellum and popular support for war. Germany probably would have prevailed in a war with France and Russia. The invasion of Belgium provided tactical advantages, but at the cost of bringing Britain and the Empire with its immense military and material resources into the War. Even worse for the Germans, the Belgins put up an unexpectely stiff resistance and the British Expeditionary force reached Belgium in time to alsp slow down the Germans. Some authors have laid the blame for the War largely on Germany. [Fischer] Other historians are more inclined to ascribe the blame to other countries as well seeing war in most instances as a reciprocal event.

[Strachan] PPremoer when asked this question replied simply, "Belgium did not invade Germany." Ostend Belgium has only 70 km of coast on the North Sea and Ostend is set in the middle of it. Ostend or East end is Belgium's only important coastal city. It was before the War a popular seaside resort frequentely by royalty and high society. All this changed with the War. The inland port of Bruges could accomodate ocean-going vessels, although Antwerp located inland was the principal Belgian port because of Rhine River connections. As the Germans swept through Belgium (August 1914), they occupied almost the entire county, except for the coast. After the defeat on the Marne, the Germans and Allies conducted the Race to the Sea. It is at this time that Bruges and Ostend were taken by the Germans. The major fortification in Otend was Fort Napoleon, built by Napoleon (1811) to defend Ostend from British attacks. Must more elaborate emplcements would be built by Hitler during World War II as part of the Atlantic Wall. The Germans used it as a headquarters facility.

The BEF and the Belgian Army made a stand south of Ostend, thus holding a tiny corner of the country out of German hands. The British Royal Navy managed to evacuate some people from the city. We are not entirely sure just who they were and just how they selected and who decided to flee rather than stay in the port as the Germans approached. Ostend was a valuable prize for the Germans because of its port. And its location (just a little north of Dunkirk) close to the mouth of the Channel meant that they could base ships and U-boats in Bruse to attacks British troop and supply ships crossing to France. To end these attacks, the British launched two attacks known as the Ostend Raids designed to close the shipping chnnels to Bruse (1918). They were only marginally effective. Bruges remained an active raiding base for the German Navy until liberated by the Allies a few days bfore the end of the War (October 1918). [Tarrant] German Attrocities The German invasion of neutral Belgium was a clear violation violation of international law. This was tragically not the only outrage committed by the Germans.

The Getmans in their drive through Belgium coomuuted serious attrocities against Belgian civilians. After the War, the British were charged with exagerating Ferman attrocities as a way of drawing America into the War. This was true, but it does not change the fact that the Germans committed very serious attrocities. Nothing like the behavior of the race obsessed NAZIs, but attricities that should not be lost to history. This included the shooting of civilian atrocities and the destruction of cultural treasures. This included Leuven University and its priceless library. It also included the destruction of so churches and cathedrals at Visï¿½, Diksmuide (Dixmude), Louvain, the Cathedral at Ypres, the Cathedral at Malines, and others. [Denry] Perhaps even worse than the actual attricities, as bad as they were, is the fact that they were part of a German policy of terror azfopted by the German Army's High Command. These attrocities were not the inevitable reults of civilians and cultural trasures caught in the crossfore of war, unintened casualties.

They were the result of am intentional policy decesion of the German Genetal Staff. An important historian of the War writes, "The turn of events in Belgium was a product of the German theory of terror. Clausewitz has prescribed terror as the proper method to shorten war, his whole theory of war was being based on the necessity of marking it short , sharp and decisive. He said the civil population must not be exempted from war's effects but must be made to feel its pressure and be forced by the severest measures to compel their leaders to make peace. As the object of war was to disarm the enemy, he argued reasonably, 'we must place him in a situation in which continuing the war is more oppressive than surrender'. This seemingly sound proposition fitted into the scientific theory of war which throughout the nineteenth century it has been the best intellectual endeavor of the German General Staff to construct. It has already been put in practice in 1870 when French resistance sprang up at Sedan.

The ferocity of reprisal at that time in the form of execution of prisoners and civilians on charges of franc-tireurs warfare, startled the war agape with admiration at Prussia's marvellous six-weeks' victory." [Tuchman, p. 306.] World Public Opinion The German invasion horrified the world because it was correctly seen as the Germans trampling the rights of a small, neutral country in violation of international law. Thus from the beginning the Germans were seen in American and other countries as an unprincipled aggressor in the War. The American public reaction was particularly important. With the major world powers locked in mortal combat and relatively even balanced, American action would likely determine the outcome of the War. And here there was no preordained outcome that America would join the Allies. At the time, America's largest immigrant group was German. Americans of English ancestry generally had lost connection with England. There were very few French-Americans. The Irish, a major immigrant group, were strongly anti-British. Jewish Americans were strongly anti-Russia. There were a range of conflicts with Britain during the 19th century, including one as recently as the 1890s.

There had, on the other hand, been no major confrontations with Germany. Many prominent Americans such as Theodore Roosevelt were pro-British, but public opinion strongly was for staying out of the War. It was the Germans who largely changed American public opinion through a series of actions beginning with the invasion of Belgium. The clumsy German actions were cleverly and often not honestly manipulated by British propaganda. Belgian Government The Belgian government convened at Le Havre, France. King Albert I, as commander in chief of the army, remained with his troops in unoccupied Belgium along the Yser River. The ruling Belgian Catholic Party government was enlarged to include some Socialists and Liberals in an attempt to create a national unity government (1916). Belgian Royal Family during the War Kaiser Wilhelm before the War explained Germany's war plans to an outraged King Albert. He wanted Albert to agree to let the German Army pass through the county unhindered. World War I began with the German invasion of Belgium. Much of the fighting on the Western Front was fought in Belgium or northern France. Almost all of the country was occupied by the Germans in the first weeks of the War.

King Albert led the small Belgian Army in a dogged defense that along with British help delayed the German advance and ultimately played a key role in France's successful defense of Paris at the Marne. The German invasion of Belgium gained them a military advantage, but it also brought the opprobrium of aggressor on Germany that would significantly color world public opinion, including American opinion. This would ultimately be a major factor in America's entry into the War. Albert and Elizabeth refused to abandon their subjects and stayed on while the country's valiant, although futile, effort tried to resist the German onslaught. Albert stayed with the Belgian Army which help to hold a small area of the country, the southwest corner. Elizabeth, using the medical knowledge she had acquired at her father's clinic, opened a field hospital where she served as a nurse. Occupied Belgium After the Battle of the Marne, the Western Front rapidly became a huge system of fortified positions and trenches stretching from Switzerland to the Channel. Although the Germans were stopped, they had overrun most of Belgium which remained in German hands for the rest of the War. The German Army seized control of the civilian food supply setting up a humanitarin crisis and potential starvation. German authorities governed with repressive measures.

The Germans confiscating houses and other property for the occupying troops. German troops killed civilians who resisted. While the German actions were nothing like those perused by the NAZIs in World War II, they were bad enough and shocking at the time. They were effectively used by British to sway public opinion in America. The Germans also used civilians for forced labor. These laborers were poorly fed. The Germans also seized food supplies with little or no concern about the impact on the civilian population. The British naval blockade in the North Sea caused shortages in the occupied areas which eventually spread to Germany itself. Belgium like Germany was not self sufficient in food production. German occupation authorities attempted to take advantage of the Flemish-Walloon division. They supported Flemish Activists--a radical nationalist group that agreed to work with the Germans hoping to gain independence for Flanders. Flanders during the German occupation seceded from Belgium (November 1917). At the time, it looked like the Germans might finally win the War. The great majority of the Flemish remained loyal to King Albert and Belgium. There was little support for the German-supported Council of Flanders.

Nor was the German decision to change the University of Ghent from a French-language to a Flemish-language institution well received. (The Belgian government made the State University of Ghent partially Flemish and then in 1930 fully Flemish.) Casualties There were 267,000 men who served in the Belgian Army during World War I. Causalities totaled 54,000 were wounded and 14,000 killed. Retreating Germans (November 1918) The German occupation did not end until the Allies launched the War-winning Hundred Days Campaign After the failure of the German Spring Offensive (April-May 1918, Allied Armies significantly strengthened by the large and growing American Expeditionary Force smashed into the German Western Front and began liberating areas of Belgium (August-November 1918). After the Germans asked for the Armistice, the Flemish government collapsed (November 1918). As part of the Armistice the Germans had to withdraw from the remaining areas of Belgium they still occupied. One of the conditions of the Armistice was that the Germans immediately evacuate all of Belgium.

Belgium's suffering, however, did not end with the Armistice. A frantic week followed the Armistic. Retreating but still heavily armed German soldiers stripped museums, galleries, and private homes of anything remotely valuable. [Bray] Post War Belgium After the War, the Flemish leaders cooperating with the Germans were tried for treason. Some were hung. Sources Bray, Paul, "Brussels under German occupation," The Telegraph (December 30, 2014). Chauriaut, Henri. La Belgique Moderne (1910). Denry, Fabien. E-mail message (July 15, 2014). Herwig, Holger. The Marne, 1914: The Opening of World war I and the Battle that Changed the World. Tarrant, V.E. The U-Boat Offensive 1914ï¿½1945 (1989). Tuchman, Barbara. The Guns of August. The subject of attrocities is a difficult one. The British picked up every report and fed it to both their public and even more importantly, the American public. This was important in affecting American public opinion.

The Germans played doen the reports, denying many, and attributing it all to Allied war propaganda. Tuchmans's work is important in wadeing theough the contending charges and claims becuse she is a respected Noble Prize winnining historian. CIH -- WW I Adolf Hitler - World War II - HISTORY.com Google To avoid being arrested for evading military service in Austria-Hungary, Adolf Hitler left Vienna for Munich in May 1913 but was forced to return–then he failed the physical. He volunteered for the Bavarian army the following year and served during all of World War I on the Western Front. His experiences in the fighting affected his thinking about war thereafter. After World War I, Hitler came to control the National Socialist German Workers Party, which he hoped to lead to power in Germany. When a coup attempt in 1923 failed, he turned, after release from jail, to the buildup of the party to seize power by means that were at least outwardly legal. He hoped to carry out a program calling for the restructuring of Germany on a racist basis so that it could win a series of wars to expand the German people’s living space until they dominated and exclusively inhabited the globe.

He believed that Germany should fight wars for vast tracts of land to enable its people to settle on them, raising large families that would replace casualties and provide soldiers for the next war of expansion. The first would be a small and easy war against Czechoslovakia, to be followed by the really difficult one against France and Britain. A third war would follow against the Soviet Union, which he assumed would be simple and quick and would provide raw materials, especially oil, for the fourth war against the United States. That war would be simple once Germany had the long-range planes and superbattleships to fight a power thought inherently weak but far distant and possessing a large navy. Once Hitler had come to power in 1933, German military preparations were made for these wars. The emphasis in the short term was on weapons for the war against the western powers, and for the long term, on the weapons for war against the United States. In 1938 Hitler drew back from war over Czechoslovakia at the last minute but came to look upon agreeing to a peaceful settlement at Munich as his worst mistake.

When he turned to the war against France and Britain, he could not persuade Poland to subordinate itself to Germany to ensure a quiet situation in the east; hence, he decided to destroy that country before heading west. He was determined to have war and initiated it on September 1, 1939. To facilitate the quick conquest of Poland and break any blockade, he aligned Germany with the Soviet Union, assuming that concessions made to that country would be easily reclaimed when Germany turned east. Hitler had originally hoped to attack in the west in the late fall of 1939, but bad weather–which would have hindered full use of the air force–and differences among the military led to postponement until the spring of 1940. During that interval, Hitler made two major decisions. Urged on by Admiral Erich Raeder, he decided to seize Norway to facilitate the navy’s access to the North Atlantic and did so in April 1940. Urged by General Erich von Manstein, he shifted the primary focus of attack in the west from the northern to the southern part of the force that was to invade the Low Countries. They might then cut off Allied units coming to aid the Belgians and the Dutch.

The new strategy at first appeared to work when the Germans in a few days broke through the French defenses and, within ten days, reached the Channel coast behind the Allied forces. Ordering their air force to destroy the cut-off Allied units, the Germans first wanted to turn south to prevent the buildup of a new defensive line, a decision on which the German commander, Gerd von Rundstedt, and Hitler agreed. As it became clear that many Allied soldiers might escape, the direction of the armor was reversed again, but too late to halt the evacuation of much of the British Expeditionary Force and many French soldiers. The thrust southward in early June 1940 brought a swift collapse of remaining French resistance, and this complete victory gave Hitler an aura of triumph, which assured him the enthusiastic support of almost all of Germany’s military leaders, especially as he systematically tied them to himself by generous promotions and a system of mass bribery. Because it looked as if this war was over, Hitler and the military began planning for the wars against the United States and against the Soviet Union.

On July 11, the resumption of construction of the navy to defeat the United States was ordered; by July 31, after first hoping to invade the Soviet Union in the fall of 1940, Hitler, on the advice of his military staff, decided to attack in the east in the late spring of 1941. As Britain refused to accept defeat, Hitler planned to combine three measures to knock it out of the war: the German air force would destroy the country’s capacity to defend itself; there would be an invasion if Britain did not surrender; and the expected quick defeat of the Soviet Union would remove that country as a possible source of aid for Britain and, by ending any danger to Japan’s rear, encourage that power to move in the Pacific and tie up the United States. Hitler wanted Japan to join in the war with Britain and promised to join Japan in war with the United States if that was thought necessary by Tokyo, assuming that this would be the other way for Germany to acquire the navy for war with the United States.

A short campaign in the Balkans was to secure what he believed might be a vulnerable southern flank; the last step in this, the airborne seizure of Crete, proved so costly that the Germans attempted no major airborne operation thereafter. The German invasion of the Soviet Union, begun on June 22, 1941, seemed at first to work as planned but quickly ran into trouble. The initial blows, which were supposed to bring the Soviet Union crashing down in a few weeks, did not have that effect. Thereafter, the question always was which sector to attack and whether to retreat. In this, Hitler was at times at odds with some generals, but others always took his position. As the war turned increasingly against Germany, disagreements became more frequent. Hitler still expected to win while some generals were trying to find a less messy way of losing. None advised against going to war with the United States. For the 1942 offensive in the east, Hitler and his military leaders agreed on striking in the south; this project ended in disaster at Stalingrad. A new major offensive in 1943 not only ended in defeat at Kursk but also was followed by the first successful Red Army summer offensive.

When retreats were advocated, Hitler was always concerned about the loss of mat[eacute]riel that could not be hauled back, about the need to reconquer whatever had been given up, and about shorter lines, which released Red Army units for new offensives. Some generals, Erwin Rommel and Walther Model, for example, occasionally acted without or against orders to pull back and were not punished. Others were sent home to collect their monthly bribes in retirement. As Hitler saw increasing danger from the western Allies, he relied more on Admiral Karl D[odie]nitz to hold them off by submarine warfare. When that effort was blunted in 1943, he both supported the building of new types of submarines and geared strategy on the northern portion of the Eastern Front to protection of the Baltic area, where new submarines and crews could be run in. Enormous resources were also allocated to new weapons designed to destroy London. It was Hitler’s hope that the Germans could drive any Allied troops who landed in the west into the sea and then move substantial forces east in the interval before any second invasion.

When this plan failed, Hitler turned to holding all ports as long as possible, to hamper Allied supply lines and to prepare for a counterstroke that would defeat the western Allies. This counterstroke, the Battle of the Bulge , would then provide the opportunity to move forces east after all. As the Allies closed in on Germany, Hitler increasingly hoped for a split in the alliance he had forged against himself. He believed Germany had lost World War I because of the collapse of the home front and therefore assumed that establishment of a dictatorship and the systematic killing of all Jews would guarantee victory this time. When the end was near, he married his mistress and then committed suicide with her. The term “Hitler’s War,” sometimes attached to World War II , is accurate at least to some extent; obviously, only the massive energies of the German people, harnessed to his will, made the war possible and made it last so long. But there cannot be any doubt that in harnessing that energy to extraordinary projects and horrible crimes, Hitler placed his stamp on that war and on the twentieth century. The Reader’s Companion to Military History. Edited by Robert Cowley and Geoffrey Parker.

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Question: World War I was triggered when Germany invaded which country?
Answer: Belgium