Group+2+-+WWI+DBQ

In the summer of 1914 several events occurred that led to the beginning of World War One. Although many believed that this would be a quick war, it lasted for years. For the next four years the opposing sides effectively battled to a stalemate.During this time three major forces, starvation, exhaustion and liberalism, arose which would lead to a break in the stalemate and eventually an end to the war. During the period of stalemate many people did not have enough food, some were even starving, which sometimes lead to food riots. During this time many people were also lacking freedoms, leading to them becoming exhausted with the war. At the same time there was a growing fear within the neutral United States of the conduct of the German Navy. After years of the war of attrition, these three forces led to the break in the stalemate and eventually an end to the war.

Starvation and exhaustion in Russia were caused by the continuing stalemate in Europe. Russia had sustained massive casualties while preventing occupation of their land by the Germans, who fortunately did not have the power to go on a strong offensive. The exhaustion from this constant front, combined with poverty, sparked a revolution among the Russians, who subsequently overthrew Tsar Nicholas in March 1917. Soon after, the Bolsheviks brought down the temporary government and signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which surrendered a large section of the Ukraine to Germany (Treaty of Brest-Litovsk map). This aided Germany in breaking the stalemate by allowing their armies to withdraw from the fallen Russian front and move west to focus their energies on a single-front war. With these added troops, the Germans were able to force the Allies back, leading them, once again, nearly into Paris. This large-scale movement had not been possible during the stalemate, and ultimately was only possible due to the collapse of Russia.

Along with Russia’s exit from the war and Germany’s advances on the western front, more forces were at play that affected the end of the stalemate. The war of attrition was long and grueling, and it deprived the citizens of Europe from many luxuries of everyday life; the dearth of food, money, and freedoms exhausted civilians. Support for the war in Germany – including the militarist and nationalist movements that aided its beginning - ebbed as people grew war-weary. The poverty-stricken, starved, and grieving citizens became angry with the leadership that led them to their circumstances. Calls such as “Comrades! Soldiers! Sailors! And you workers! Arise by regiments and arise by factories… Announce the fall of your masters and demonstrate your solidarity,” (Liebknecht) reflected the discontent of the people, partly caused by more than 700,000 Germans deaths due to the British blockade alone (food riot map). The Germans had to act to keep their country intact: in an attempt to tip momentum in their favor, they reactivated the submarine blockade in February of 1917. The strategic move to do so brought a lot of changes to the playing field, such as the addition of the United States to the Allies and the privation of British citizens, but it failed overall. While it destroyed what was left of the stalemate, it also weakened Germany’s chances of victory, and by November of 1918 the war ended.

A surge of liberalism in America led to its entrance into the war, therefore adding to the powers of the Allies and ensuring that the end of the war would come quickly. America at this point in the war, headed by President Wilson, was attempting to make peace talks, and in Germany, as Count Johann von Bernstorff described they tried to follow the example when “the Imperial Government had hoped to reach this goal [ending the war] by negotiations”. Unfortunately for Germany, the Entente Powers refused to cooperate and instead responded with a heavier continuation of the war; therefore, Germany, starved and needing resources, decided that “sea traffic will be stopped with every available weapon”, implying that submarines would once again be used in warfare. America viewed the bringing back of the submarine blockade Germany had created as "a malignant militarism that threatened liberal institutions all over the world" (114, The Twentieth Century and Beyond). With a zeal of liberalism, the US—fresh and ready, entered the war, mobilizing its navy more quickly than expected. While land troops did not transport until months later, the navy was increasingly stronger than Germany, subsequently leading to the development of new antisubmarine weapons with Britain, and eventually to the failure of the German submarine offensive. On land, due to the collapse of Russia, Germany was able to push the Allies back, but the Allies empowered with the invigorated and able-bodied US, were still able to prevail. Liberalism inspired the Americans to enter the war, and by doing this, also enabled them to end the war. With the added power of the US, Germany was not able to keep up and was finally forced to resort to peace treaties, leading to the cessation of fighting in 1918.

World War One was a war of attrition. Although military strategy was directed towards the opposing soldiers, the citizens of the nations at war were also affected by the war. There was a lack of food, as well as other necessities, and many people suffered from starvation. This lack of necessities along with a lack of freedoms, led to citizens becoming exhausted with the war. Growing discontent because of the starvation and exhaustion from citizens led to the revolution in Russia which allowed Germany to end the stalemate. Starvation and exhaustion among the citizens of Germany also led to the reopening of the submarine blockade against Great Britain. Finally, liberalism in the United States led to their joining of the Allies, tipping the odds back in their favor, and subsequently the ending of the war. The forces of starvation, exhaustion and liberalism effectively ended the period of stalemate in World War One, as well as the war itself.

__Bibliography__: Goff Richard, Walter Moss, Janice Terry, Jiu-Hwa Upshur, and Michael Schroeder. //The Twentieth Century and Beyond: A Brief Global History.//7 ed. New York: McGraw, 2008. Print