Revised by Colonel von Moltke before 1914 because of fear of Plan XVII (French Offensive) and overstretched supply lines and communications.
Changes: a stronger left-wing, bottlenecked through Belgium (not Netherlands and Luxembourg), didn't encircle Paris with right-wing.
Failed: overstretched supply lines, inadequate communications, underestimated Belgian resistance, speed of Russian mobilisation and Britain's entry into the war.
Race to the sea (control ports and military supplies), dug in (trenches from English Channel to Switzerland).
Western Front
Feb 1915 Battle of Champagne (French offensive): gained 8km with 90,000 casualties.
Apr 1915 Second Battle of Ypres (German offensive): 50,000 British casualties.
Feb-Dec 1916 Battle of Verdun (German offensive): 'bleed the French white', 377, 000 French dead, 337,000 Germans dead.
Jul-Nov 1916 Battle of the Somme (British and French offensive): General Haig, 620,000 Allied casualties, 450,000 German casualties.
Aug 1917 Battle of Passchendale (British offensive): 30,000 British casualties.
Eastern Front
Battle of Tannenburg and Battle of the Masurian Lakes: 200,000 Russians dead.
Heroes: Ludendorff and Hindenburg
Mediterranean
Mar 1915: British tried to take Constantinople, lost 6 ships.
April 1915: Galipoli campaign. Underestimated Mustapha Kemal, Turks' strategic locations, extreme climate. Retreated late December.
1917: Central Powers Winning
Russia in throes of revolution
Serbia, Romania and Montenegro defeated
French army starting to mutiny
US months away from joining the war
German troops fallen back to strong Hindenburg line
U-boat warfare reinstated
Total War
Advanced industrial countries evenly matched.
Government power over production and allocation of resources, female labour, rationing introduced, propaganda, censorship, conscription, higher taxes and longer working hours.
Defeat of the Central Powers
Blockade, u-boat countermeasures (convoys, depth charges and Q-boats), USA entry into the war (money, morale & men), allies defeated, failure of the Ludendorff Offensive (Goal: victory before US entered war. Failed: influenza pandemic, overstretched supply lines, deserters, scorched earth policy.)
Woodrow Wilson's 14 Points
Advocated: National Self-Determination, League of Nations, Freedom of the Seas, Free Trade, Defensive Military
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