It also severely restricted Germany’s military power. The treaty, to Germany, was something that was not only unfair, but also humiliating. This caused Germany to bear resentment against the winning powers and caused some to thirst for revenge. America’s policy of isolationism also played a major part in starting World War II. Their refusal to join the League of Nations severely weakened it, and effectively destroyed the League of Nation’s ability to follow through with its threats and stop wars.
The limitations it placed on Germany's armed forces, and especially the War Guilt Clause that blamed Germany and her allies for starting the war, left many Germans feeling humiliated. For these reasons it was deeply unpopular. Economic The Republic failed to pay full reparations to France so the French invaded the Ruhr region of Germany and took control of key industries and natural resources. This worsened the economic crisis in Germany. The inflation rate rose so dramatically that the German currency lost virtually all value.
What actually happened: The Schlieffen Plan was a big gamble by the Germans, and it could have well resulted in defeat for France and Russia, however the plan backfired on the Germans. The first problem that the Germans encountered was that the Belgian Army had put up a resistance, which they had not expected which in turn slowed their advances. The next big problem the Germans had not anticipated was that Britain declared war on Germany because of the pledge to protect Belgium, which they had called a ‘scrap of paper.’ Their gamble had not paid off and soon, when the Russian Army was quicker to respond the Germans had to switch troops to the eastern front however the Russians had still invaded Germany 10 days later. Explain why a Stalemate
The first key issue I would like to discuss is the limited nature of the German revolution and how this damaged the prospects of German democracy. The way that Ebert used to take control lead damaged the prospects of democracy from the outset. Historians have criticised Ebert’s use of force to crush radical groups such as the Spartacists and his use of the Freikorps. Together with the crushing Spartacists in 1919 caused these left wing radicals to become divided and were therefore unwilling to compromise on reforms in the Reichstag. This made it far more difficult for coalitions to form and for democracy to function in the designed fashion.
The stalemate was created because German soldiers came into France via Belgium and vainly expected French soldiers in the valued Alsace Lorraine. This vain expectation led to a little fear so, to be ready the Germans dug defensible trenches. Then the French heard where the German armies were concentrated and got 'ferried' by taxi cabs to the battle of the Marne. The French also had to dig trenches to avoid being easy open targets for the Germans thus creating a massive stalemate.
The war caused a great deal of problems for the government, originally they had announced that their involvement would be entirely defensive but were pressured into an offensive battle by the Allies. This greatly angered the already the de-moralised soldiers, due to conscription the army was made up of mainly peasants who weren’t trained to fight and wanted to return home and gain more land for themselves. The June Offensive, which was put in place with the hope that a victory would strengthen moral, did the exact opposite. Far from strengthening Russian army morale, this offensive proved that Russian army morale no longer existed. No Russian general could now count on the soldiers under his command actually doing what they had been ordered to do.
The harsh reparation payments by the Treaty Of Versailles ( £6600 million) was indeed a threat to the Weimar Republic. However, there was low unemployment of 17% and a growth in foreign investment. This economic crisis led to a more extreme political threat within German and therefore should be considered as more significant. There a high amount of tension between parties, and strikes between both the Left and the Right were becoming ever more apparent due to the lack of faith within the government. In fact the groups within the right such as the Freikorps and consul organisation showed an increasing amount of violence because of their lack of support on democracy, which of course created a tremendous threat to the Weimar Republic.
Also the state of the country during World War One left a lot to be desired and created a lot of dissatisfaction amongst the Russian people. Tsar Nicholas II was responsible for the fall of the Romanov dynasty, but to a notable extent, as there were other factors more significant to account for the collapse of the Romanovs. It’s reasonable if one states that Nicholas II was responsible for stardom’s collapse. Many criticized the Tsar as a Monarch whose capacity for hard work and commitment wasn’t matched by outstanding intelligence, and had no clear vision for Russia’s future. Nicholas was not suited to his role as Tsar, and would rather spend his time with his family.
The other reason why the plan failed was lack of mechanised brigades, because most of troops had to carry their full battle equipment, weighing up to forty kilograms. Soldiers were under pressure to move quickly having met strong resistance. This led the soldiers to have severe fatigue which means the really tired this could have been one of the cause why the plan failed because they were tired and decided to take a short cut. This was wrong because the plan had directions and any mistake would make the plan fail. Another reason why the plan failed, the Germans were not expecting any resistance from Belgium, but the Belgium army fought bravely and helped managed to delay the German advance.
In addition Strachan states that Germany lost due a lacking military unity with her allies, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire, who would launch their own military operations, which did not benefit their allies due to a lack of planning. The Western Forces (Britain, France and America) however, managed to put aside their differences in order to fight against Germany and her allies effectively . Strachan’s arguments seem very convincing however I believe that other factors, such as too much success on Germany’s part in Russia and the British Blockade also added to the unrest and demoralization within Germany which eventually caused the signing of the Armistice in November 1918. The