The Central Powers in the First World War

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The events of the First World War which took place from 1914 to 1918 were a part of the grand struggle for domination in the world (including the top-priority territories in Europe, Asia and colonial areas) between the world powers. Before the war, the two antagonistic camps of the Central Powers and the countries of Entente alliance were organized. During the main course of the war, the dominance of the Central Powers treaty was absolutely evident. The troops of Germany and Austria-Hungary managed to win all the major battles, and annex a vast number of territories belonging mainly to Russia and France. However, in 1916 the character of war changed greatly demonstrating to the high officials of the Central Powers’ Army that it was necessary to start peace negotiations. That was a breaking point of the course of the war. Here, the question was why the countries of the Central alliance appeared in such a troublesome situation for themselves which eventually led to their defeat, and signing the shameful Treaty of Versailles. It was suggested by some historians that those countries found themselves in the economically disadvantaged situation which limited their resources, and became the reason for significant problems in the battlefields. However, the evaluation of the facts suggests that the resources of the countries of Entente alliance were also limited to the greatest extent; especially this situation became very complicated for Russia and France in 1914 and 1915. Thus, the reasons of Central Powers’ overthrow are to be searched in a different field. Overall, the analysis of the situation suggests that among the real reasons of negative outcome of the war for the Central Powers were strategic mistakes by military generals in the battlefields and the failure of the German Schlieffen plan; heroic actions by the soldiers of the Entente army, especially Russia and France; developing new types of armament by the scientists of Great Britain and Russia; and entering the war by the United States in support of the countries of the Entente alliance.

First of all, evaluating the real reasons of the defeat by the Central Powers in the First World War, it is important to identify the countries of this alliance and the economical situation in those countries before and during the war. The term “Central Powers” in the First World War was applied to define the wartime alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary; during the second and the final stage of the war, this alliance also included Turkey and Bulgaria (Herman 1992). Regarding the economical situation in the counties of the alliance, it should be stated that it was more than prosperous which can be proved by the following facts. In Germany, the population of the country was 65,000,000 people; the foreign trade was 1,030,380,000 £; GNP was 244.3 £; and the steel production amount was 17,024,000 tons. In Austria-Hungary, the population was 49,882,231 people; the foreign trade was 198,712,000£; GNP was 100.5£; and the steel production amount was 2,642,000 tons. In Turkey, the population was 21,373,900 people; the foreign trade was 67,472,000 £; GNP was 25.3£; the facts concerning the steel production amount were not available because Turkey did not engage in this industry actively during that period (Cawood 2001). Evaluating these data, it appears that the countries belonging to the alliance of the Central Powers were more than prosperous economically. This can be proved even by the mood prevailing among the leaders of German nation who were sure in their economical superiority, and were motivated by this fact to begin the war. According to Cawood (2001, p. 40-41),

In Germany, Walther Rathenau, President of the huge electrical combine AEG, had in 1908 predicted a long war of attrition, writing, ‘Modern wars will no longer be decided by the hand-to-and fights of homeric heroes.… The War God of our times is economic power’.

Rathenau was one of the primary figures in Germany responsible for economic preparations to the war. By 1914, he reported to the country’s high officials that Germany was ready economically, and the war could be successfully won by the country (Cawood 2001). This person’s opinion was a part of the whole picture of the situation before the beginning of the war. In reality, the heads of different branches of German economy stated that they were economically ready to the war in such a manner that would win (Hubatsch & Backus 1963). Therefore, the Central Powers were better prepared to the war economically than the countries of the Entente alliance. Such conclusion can be also made after comparing the situation in Germany and Austria-Hungary with the state of affairs in the countries of Entente alliance. While Great Britain had a rather competitive situation, in Russia, the economics was in its worst condition which could be explained by the effects of unstable political situation in the country, and the general arrearage of the country which continued during the centuries. According to Cawood (2001, p. 43),

Russia possessed 4.5 million rifles in 1914, but by 1915 had conscripted 10 million men. Consequently, some soldiers were issued with cudgels and in some units only one in five soldiers had a bayonet. By the end of 1914, front-line troops were without boots, mobile field kitchens or medical supplies. The shortage of heavy artillery pieces and shells was desperate. Existing government suppliers received huge orders for war materials, but this was insufficient to meet demand. The transition to war production was halting, and mobilisation robbed industry of 40 per cent of its skilled workers, which hit production during the first year of the war. Moreover, railway transport was requisitioned by the army, leaving raw materials sitting idle in sidings.

Russia was in economic ruin. Similar occurrences could be observed in France. For example “the national daily production of shells in August 1914 was a mere 13, 000, but the army demanded 100,000” (Cawood 2001, p. 45). This sad reality was explained by the lack of finance for the troops in the French Army. Besides, the situation, when the Central Powers were stronger economically even in spite of significant exhaustion on the reason of massy offensive operations, was preserved in all the stages of the war. Hence, the evidences prove that the reason of the Central Powers’ defeat was not in their disadvantaged economical situation. Below, the factors which affected the outcome of the First World War will be addressed in detail.

The reasons of the Central Powers’ defeat are to be searched in different areas. First, after devastating military campaigns held in the beginning of the war and tremendous military victories leading to annexing huge territories, German and Austrian troops decided that the whole course of the war was predestined. High officials of the Central Powers began underestimating their rivalry which marked their mistaken military course in 1915. As a result, the troops started suffering great defeats, and it was clear that the German Schlieffen plan failed. This, in turn, demoralized the soldiers who were also affected by the terrible weather conditions in the majority of battlefields, especially in Russia. German troops in the Eastern front experienced the situation similar o the one that Napoleon did. Moving fast to Russian depth, they did not expect such extreme weather conditions. Cold winter and spring along with their extreme frosts and snowfalls paralyzed not only the soldiers, but the military techniques which were designed for different weather conditions. In addition, Russian territories were full of bogs where German shells could not move.

As a consequence, in the beginning of 1916, the state of affairs for Russian army started changing for the better. The control over the situation in the Eastern front was lost by the German army which predestined its defeat in the other areas. When Russian Army managed to expel German troops out of its territory in the end of 1916, the war course changed. After this victory by Russia, the troops of the Entente were strengthened by the soldiers and armament from the United Sates. This development complicated the situation for the Central Powers’ alliance to the greatest extent. Even despite Russian exit from the war on the reason of Bolshevist revolution in the country, the Entente Army was already strong enough to win in the rivalry. In this situation, in 1917, the outcome of the war was predetermined for the countries of the Central block.

Moreover, while the Central Powers’ army became demoralized due to its losses in 1916, the army of Entente was inspired by patriotic hopes to expel the enemy who annexed vast territories of their Motherland. Exemplary spirit was shown by Russian soldiers who were ready to fight till their last drop of blood to protect their land (Cawood 2001). This spirit of Russian people was known for centuries. When some nation managed to invade their land, Russian people were able to attain unattainable. This was shown in the cases of Vikings, tartars, the French, and that was what German and Austrian soldiers had to face. Similar patriotic moods were observed in France where vast territories were also annexed by the troops of the Central Block. There, patriots organized multiple operations aimed to destroy both the enemy’s supply of armament and provision, and the enemy’s soldiers. Their success in the number of cases was mind-blowing as secret operations by partisans were often more successful than military battles in destroying the enemy’s power.

Further, after the beginning of 1915, the situation for the Army of Entente improved, and that signified a period of economical development in the countries of Entente alliance. As a result, the military industry of the Entente countries began supplying the Army with the newly developed weapons. Remarkable achievements were made in this area by Russian and British scientists who developed new types of naval, air and field armament along with chemical and biological weapons. According to Robbins (1993, p. 87),

Chemical warfare seemed to offer endless possibilities. Physicists and chemists were recruited and urged to put their knowledge to good use on the pretext that countless lives could be saved by drawing the war to a speedy end. Brains which later gained Nobel Prizes (and even a Stalin Prize) busied themselves on the notion. Tear gas was first used at the beginning of 1915.

Among the other advanced military technologies of those days were lighter shells from Russia, and British steams which were better adjusted for the naval campaigns than German military ships. As a result, the Army of Entente began its triumphal path to the victory in the end of 1916 expelling the enemy form its own territories, and capturing the enemy’s territories.

Finally, the crucial moment in the war occurred in 1917 when it became clear for the United States that the Central Powers were going to lose, and the country entered the war supporting the troops of Entente alliance. By 1917, the recourses of Germany were already exhausted whereas the Army of the United Sates was in its full tactical efficiency (Spiering & Wintle 2002). Germany did not expect that the United States would join the Entente Alliance. Instead, secret data prove that before initiating the war, Germany and the United States had negotiations concerning their possible alliance (Hubatsch 1963). American authorities were not in hurry to decide which party of the conflict they would join. Only when it became clear that Germany was going to loose, the decision was made to enter the war supporting the Army of Entente. Joining the troops of Great Britain and France in the Western front, the Army of the United Sates became the determinate power in the First World War. Fresh American troops were arriving in the amount of 10, 000 a day. With regards to such development, it was already impossible for German troops to replace their battlefield losses. In the spring of 1918, Germany started conceding the initiative in France. By the autumn of this year, the battlefield had moved to Germany. On November 11, 1918, the joint Army of the Central Powers announced its defeat which became the official date of the end of the First World War. Germany and its allies had no choice but to initiate peace negotiations which ended after the ratification of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919 (Robbins 1993).

Concluding on all the above-discussed information, it should be stated that the supposition that the Central Powers lost in the First World War on the reason of their disadvantaged economical situation does not seem to be just. Such conclusion is especially just with regards to the initial period of the war which took place before the end of 1915. The evaluation of the facts shows that even under the effects of serious exhaustion of the Central Army due to the massy offensive campaigns, the economical situation in the courtiers of the Entente alliance (especially Russia and France) was much worse during the whole course of the war from its beginning in 1914 to the moment of the entering the war by the United Sates in 1917 when the war was about to end. Therefore, the reasons of defeat should be searched in the other areas.

Examining the situation, a few major factors become evident which seem to affect the real situation during the war. First of all, in the end of 1915 and in the beginning of 1916, the armies of the countries of the Central Powers had a number of unsuccessful campaigns. The main German Schlieffen plan failed. Such state of affairs could be explained by strategic mistakes of the generals and undervaluation of the enemy, and by heroic action of the soldiers of the Entente armies especially by Russians who were ready to fight till the very last drop of their blood to save their Motherland. In addition, after 1916, the war machine by of the Entente countries was empowered by progressing technologies in the air, sea and field produced by the Nobel prize winning scientists from Russia and Britain which paralyzed the Army of the Central Powers. Eventually, some of the most important developments during the war became joining the Entente Alliance by the United States. As a coward, this country was waiting during the whole course of the conflict to support the side of those who were going to win. As the course of the war was rather complicated, it was long unclear who was winning. Only in the end of 1916, it became obvious that the Entente was going to win. Thus, in 1917, the United States entered the war in support of the Entente alliance which became the finish of the winning hopes by the countries of the Centre. Very soon the joint American, British and French armies defeated the enemy in the Western front. Germany and its allies had no choice but to engage in shameful peaceful negotiations which ended in 1918 after the ratification of the Treaty of Versailles.

References

Cawood, I 2001, The First World War, Routledge, London.

Herman, G 1992, The Pivotal Conflict: A Comprehensive Chronology of the First World War, 1914-1919, Greenwood Press, New York.

Hubatsch, W & Backus, O 1963, Germany and the Central Powers in the World War, 1914- 1918, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS.

Robbins, K 1993, The First World War, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Spiering, M & Wintle M 2002, Ideas of Europe since 1914: The Legacy of the First World War, Palgrave, New York.

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The Central Powers in the First World War

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