Thursday, October 20, 2011
Homework Question 10/19
My main questions after this reading were in regards to Germany. Germany's war strategies don't really make sense, so why didn't they step back and re-evaluate, and develop a more intricate, strategic plan? Why did they insist on attacking the French when this had previously proved futile? Why did many of Germany's actions during the course of the war seem to further isolate them from the rest of the world, even their allies?
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This is a complicated question with a complicated answer with several variables. From my perspective, they didn't really have many good options. Other than attack the French, what alternative was there? They were surrounded and running out of supplies. When they did make attempts at the "do or die offensive", they were successful. That success ended when they ran out of supplies and as the Allies added US support. as far as their allies, I don't know that Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire, two aging and cripplied empires, were much of an assistance to them. Perhaps they knew that WWI would mean the end of them and were acting in what they believed to be their best interests. Lastly, do not forget that diplomacy was in its infancy at this time while military power was at its height.
ReplyDeleteI think Germany was very nationalistic and over-confident in its strategies. Also, I agree with Mr. Geary, Germany didn't really have any "good" choices. I think Germany tried to stick to its Schlieffen Plan, even though they knew it would end in failure. Germany should've re-evaluated some how, but I don't know what they could've done. I think they tried to do what they thought was best, when, in reality, it wasn't.
ReplyDeleteAfter the class discussion about our questions, and the Keegan readings, I feel I have a better understanding of why Germany behaved the way they did. They were not supporters of the world war from the beginning, and ultimately were dragged into the conflict. They were dragged in because they had no other option; with the world powers gearing up for battle, Germany found themselves in the middle of the conflict (literally-think about geography!). If Germany were to stay out of the war, they would still be the logical center of the fighting between the western and eastern fronts. As a defensive move, I think it made sense for Germany to become involved. They had everything to lose, and so would gain the most from victory. They had to go in to the war with the attitude that they would win, because otherwise they were setting themselves up for failure. German troops would not be supportive of a war they knew they were destined to lose. I think this is another reason that Germany stuck to the Schlieffen Plan. In the beginning, this plan seemed unrealistic, but once Russia dropped out this gave Germany the perfect opportunity to try the plan once again. They thought that they could attack Britain, which only worked at first.
ReplyDeleteI think once the war began, Germany did not have the time or the talent to develop a new stragegy. Britain, France, and the rest of the Allies, just had to respond to the German advances (Germany was the side that always had to make the first move) so they did not have the same problems. This is yet another thing that contributed to the Allied victory.
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