In 1934 he increased the size of the army, began building warships and created a German air force. Compulsory military service was also introduced. Hitler had a vision of the German people becoming a master race and ruling the entire world, but he also knew that he could not achieve all this during the war he intended to start. He, however, had two major goals which were to bring all of central Europe together and form a larger Germany and to create more room for Germany to grow by taking over Poland. His first move was to test the other European powers by inserting troops into Germany’s coal mining area next to France.
However, although these factors were important in contributing to the decline of the Provisional Government, it was ultimately their internal decisions, one deciding to continue fighting in the war, that lead to the failure of it. Actions made by the Provisional Government towards the continuation in the war can be the seen as the main reason for their failure in 1917. Many within the Provisional Government believed that it was Russia’s duty to stay in the war, in particular, the foreign minister, Paul Milyukov, strongly believed that Russia’s future lay with victory over Germany. This sparked conflict between the Soviet and the Provisional Government, as the Soviet only accepted the continuation of war to stop Germany taking over, where as the the Provisional Government had other aims to claim territory. This clash of aims created trouble for the government, as in April 1917 demonstrations in Petrograd began to stop the war.
Source 1 state’s that ‘as early as 1906, Germany had in place a plan for an aggressive war.’ Suggesting that the plan was put in place to start a war when the time was right. Source 2 says, in agreement, that ‘as a reaction to the German war plan’ the French told the Russians to start mobilizing. This suggests that the Schlieffen plan pushed for war and also suggests that the French were being aggressive. Furthermore, this shows how the French - amongst other countries - had ‘confidence in victory’ as said in source 2. Many historians like Fischer, who’s also mentioned in source 1, believe, that if the Schlieffen plan was not aggressive then why would a war plan need to be devised in a time of peace?
One of the main causes of the war lasting so long was the failure of the Schlieffen plan. This was due to the Belgians putting up a fight that was not expected by the Germans and the British, honouring the 75 year old, ‘Treaty of London’, came to the aid of Belgium. Also, the Russians built up their army quicker than expected and forced Germany to split her forces and fight a war on both the eastern and western front. This was very important because Germany was not prepared for this war on two fronts. The Schlieffen plan predicted a quick victory over France within six weeks, which was the estimated time it would take Russia to fully mobilise.
The treaty of Versailles greatly humiliated Germany forcing it to accept soul responsibility for the war. Another fault in this treaty was that it did not work as intended. The idea that Germany could ever afford to pay the reparations to full amount was ludicrous as it was already suffering from the defeat of war. These reparations caused runaway inflation throughout Germany. But perhaps the biggest problem of all was that those who created it themselves did not enforce
Russia also feared the growing German threat and sought to ally itself with Great Britain, France, and even Germany itself for protection. The British, for their part, tried hard to remain out of the conflict, but found that having the world's most powerful navy made that impossible. Rebellious provinces within the Austro-Hungarian Empire made central Europe extremely unstable, and the leaders of the Ottoman Empire in the Near East sought to expand their power. Historians have generally noted that the European powers had managed to avoid war for so long, that when it did
Both soldiers and civilians blame the defeats in the war and the growing crises on the home front on Tsar. Even the Tsars only army stated it wouldn’t support him if a revolution occurred. Explain the importance/significance of World War 1 to the downfall of the Tsar WWI was a very significant event on the rule of Tsar Nicholas 11. Although it initially bolstered his position, it then became a large factor that contributed to Nicholas’ downfall. The Country was ecstatic when the Tsar made the announcement that Russia was going to fight against Germany in WWI.
10th grade Social Studies assignment The failings of the democracy in Germany between 1918 and 1923 Why was the new democratic system in Germany unpopular by 1923, and how was Hitler able to take advantage of that unpopularity? After their defeat in the First World War, Germany and its government faced many harsh consequences which had a great impact on the entire country and its political system. Each consequence created a substantial change in German history which made a chain of events that led to the rein of Adolf Hitler. Because the new democratic system proved to be unsuccessful, the people of Germany blamed their government and after that, things began to get chaotic and everyone suffered. The problems began after the 1st World War, and after the German government signed the papers at the Treaty of Versailles, agreeing to its conditions and punishments, the government was very much resented by the people.
Certainly an important lesson learned from Stalingrad was the Germans’ over stretching of their military resources—a factor that led to the German armed forces not massing enough combat power to achieve its objectives. In the Stalingrad campaign, there were two instances where the Germans overstretched their military capabilities. The first was Hitler’s decision to split up the German army and advance against Stalingrad and the Caucasus concurrently, reducing the forces available for each. The second was Hitler’s order to capture the city of Stalingrad in addition to interdicting the Volga, thereby expanding the German army’s mission without giving it more forces. The net result was that the army had less forces than it needed to ensure the successful execution of its missions, and this contributed to its defeat.
Russia’s early hopes were soon dashed however. Russia’s best chance of victory came at the very beginning of the war when a large number of German troops were invading Belgium and France, but instead of ceasing this opportunity the Russian generals blundered into defeat after defeat. Russia’s dreams of a swift victory were all but crushed in the Tannenberg and Masurian disasters that set the stage for further defeats in 1915. The First World War was a new type of war, a war dominated by modern technology, technology that the Russians were struggling with. Meanwhile the Germans were making massive advancements in both new technology and it’s utilisation but also the strategic aspects of