This video is like a spinoff to my recently uploaded History of the German Empire in Countryballs.
So check that out.
Undoubtedly, the failure to achieve victory in World War I was a major cause in the downfall
of the German Empire.
However, the war was not a completely lost cause for Germany until the very end.
Moreover, many German citizens were influenced by and agreed with former-General Ludendorff's
Dolchstosslegende, or the "stab-in-the-back-theory," which stated that Germany did not lose the
war on the battlefield, but lost the war due to internal conflicts.
In summary, Ludendorff believed that the war was winnable on Germany's part, and so did
an insignificant politician known as Adolf Hitler, along with the millions of masses
that would be ruled under his hegemony.
The following theories are mere speculations, and even if they were put into action, they
would not have necessarily guaranteed Germany's victory in World War I.
Not only that, as World War I is known for its complexity and multidimensionality, a
lot of the theories are generalizations themselves, or based off of generalizations of actual
historical events.
So, don't watch this video if your sole purpose is to be deeply educated about World
War I, but please do watch if you are fascinated by the war and would like to know how things
may have gone differently.
That was a long introduction.
So here it is, the five ways Germany could have won World War One!
Number One, not invading Belgium.
Germany's invasion of Belgium was smart in a way that by not directly attacking the
fortifications on the French border, Germany was able to advance pretty quickly.
However, Britain had militarily guaranteed neutral Belgium's sovereignty and supported
its reluctance to let German troops in peacefully.
Thus, when Germany was fed up by Belgium's unwillingness to let their troops pass, Germany
made an unprovoked attack, prompting Britain to declare war.
Germany could have avoided this action, although it may have prompted a lot more casualties
during the initial phase of the war and may have slowed down the process of attacking
France significantly, and it could have taken them even longer to reach the outskirts of
Paris than when they arrived at the Marne River in our real timeline.
However, if we try to predict the long run, France had a population of 39 million in 1914
compared to Germany's 67.
Therefore, by not giving Britain's 9 million (5 million on the Western Front) troops a
casus belli to join in with the Allied Powers, Germany may have been able to successfully
hold out a war of attrition, which is not exactly to their liking, but would have been
worth it for a positive outcome of the war anyway.
And needless to say, Germany's initial plans of having a mobile attacking force in the
actual process of the war quickly died out after the First Battle of the Marne, from
which the trench warfare tactic was introduced.
In addition, avoiding a conflict with Britain would have meant that Britain's powerful
navy would not have been able to blockade German ports, and the morale in the motherland
would have lasted for much longer, indicating a possible chance of the Kaiser Wilhelm II
retaining his Pickelhaube for a little more.
Number Two, Correcting Naval Flaws.
Germany had the world's second largest navy at the start of World War One, but it really
wasn't well-used.
It only engaged in one major battle, the Battle of Jutland, and even in that particular conflict
the result was indecisive.
After that, the German navy, despite still boasting 10 dreadnought ships, were confined
to domestic ports, unwilling to have another engagement with the superior British navy.
Therefore, from a certain perspective, the large investment in dreadnoughts and other
battleships was a waste, for the majority of the German navy became a fleet in being.
The last time those ships were planned to be in use was when Operation Plan 19 was issued,
which was essentially a last-resort suicide plan.
This mission caused the Kiel Mutiny among German sailors, eventually spreading to the
German Revolutions of 1918, overthrowing the Kaiser and playing an instrumental role in
removing the German threat from the battlefield.
As numerically a direct confrontation with the British navy would've been suicidal
anyway, the Kaiser could have authorized more investments in the production of U-boats,
a part of the navy that actually caused considerable damage.
However, even the U-boat indirectly led to the German Empire's demise when they resorted
to unrestricted submarine warfare in 1915, stopping the custom of surfacing when attacking
merchant ships and letting passengers and the crew escape.
This new tactic led to the U-boat sinking the Lusitania in a highly controversial manner.
This event did anger the United States, but not enough for them to issue a full declaration
of war.
However, in January 1917 the German government announced that it would again conduct full
unrestricted submarine warfare, lowering American public opinion of the country once again.
Undoubtedly, unrestricted submarine warfare did play a key role in involving American
troops in the Great War, only narrowing the chances of a German victory.
Number Three, Not Sending the Zimmermann Telegram.
The Zimmermann Telegram was a diplomatic note to the Mexican government which proposed an
alliance between the two countries in case of an American entry into World War I. Mexico
was offered the retrieval of territories that were lost during the Mexican-American War.
However, this proposition never came to fruition as British intelligence intercepted it, and
the American public opinion reached boiling point.
To make matters worse, German Foreign Secretary Arthur Zimmermann publicly admitted that the
telegram was genuine...not sure why he did that, but that was the action that basically
fueled the US Congress to ratify the bill for war.
Yes, a lot of misfortunes were clearly involved regarding the Zimmermann Telegram, but perhaps
not sending one prior to an actual American involvement may have been smart, as there
may have been a chance of Mexico simply reporting the contents of the secret note to the American
government as well.
Not only that, Arthur Zimmermann's public confession was also a diplomatically insane
move.
The American involvement, which was basically sealed from this telegram, would bring in
a large amount of fresh troops not worn out by the tiresome war, and Germany would have
no chance of escape.
Number Four, Using the French Army Mutiny of 1917
After the disastrous Second Battle of the Aisne, unlike the promises of a French victory
by General Robert Nivelle, the shock of failure damaged French morale significantly.
Suicidal mutinies occurred, revolts occurred in 21 army divisions in May, and a record
of 27,000 soldiers deserted in 1917.
However, General Philippe Petain was able to restore morale by talking to soldiers and
demonstrating only moderate discipline, allowing 90% of mutineers to have their sentences canceled.
A truly amazing fact about this large-scale mutiny is that the French military was able
to hide it so well from German intelligence, and its extent was not revealed until decades
later.
Just think about the change it would have made for Germans to have known about this
massive unrest within their enemies.
A bombardment of high-spirited attacks upon the French during this period may as well
have defeated the nation entirely.
Number Five, Not Starting a War on Two Fronts.
Although the Eastern Front was a victory for the Central Powers in the end, the win came
at a hefty cost.
Four grueling years of battle with a death toll of 173,858 soldiers and the absence of
nearly one and a half million soldiers from the action of the Western Front.
As Germany had to face the opposition of the British, the French, and the Belgian by itself
in the Western Front, having the most, if not all, of its troops allocated in that theater
of the war would have been quite helpful.
The Schlieffen Plan, the initial war tactic of Imperial Germany, was to concentrate on
invading France while keeping less forces on the East as Russian mobilization was expected
to take a long time.
However, the estimation of the time the Russians needed to mobilize was quite off the charts,
and the Imperial Russians attacked East Prussia in August of 1914, and managed to shake the
Austro-Hungarians quite heavily.
Russia was damaged considerably from the Battle of Tannenburg, though, losing 170,000 troops
to Germany's 14,000.
However, the bloody Brusilov Offensive in 1916 changed the tide significantly, and the
Russian Army made large gains by crippling the Austrian army.
Not only that, Romania also entered on Russia's side in 1916, only worsening the situation
and causing more attrition.
If the February Revolution had not occurred, Germany's victory on the East would not
have guaranteed as well.
All this is to simply portray just how devastating the Eastern Front was, and how relieving it
would have been to avoid the conflict, or delay a proper confrontation until the affairs
of the Western Front were settled.
Germany could have let Austria-Hungary try to delay the Russians' advance alone for
a while, and perhaps with minor help from the Ottoman Empire as well.
Germany being fully focused on the Western Front could have the element needed to secure
the nation's victory.
These are the five possible ways Germany could have won World War I.
Keep in mind, these are only speculations, and thus their validity will never be fully
confirmed.
Many of these theories were based off of those from an article by National Interest, if they
looked familiar to some of you, so go check that out.
For now then, have a nice day.
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