![]() ![]() ![]() Germany had essentially no reserve troops left to replace losses, so the Spring Offensive was by its nature a desperate, all-or-nothing gamble to capitulate France before Allied troops could reinforce their frontline with fresh troops.Īs for the Spring Offensive itself, the goal of the offensive changed constantly even down to the days before the offensive's start. Ludendorff knew that once fresh troops from the US started arriving in large numbers, the war was surely lost. ![]() ![]() What the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk did do though was free up 50 German divisions from the East for the Spring Offensive. The resulting Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Russia however, which saw an extreme amount of territory taken from Russia shown here, was seen as so harsh in its terms that it strengthened Allied resolve against Germany in fear of similar terms enforced on them, no negotiation was opened because of this. Erich Ludendorff, chief of the German General Staff, had initial hopes that Russia's withdraw from the war would begin a negotiation with the remaining Allied Powers from a position of strength. Now lets get to Germany itself, where its misfortunes in 1918 start with its victory against Russia. They were going to fall regardless of the outcome on the Western Front. This is to show that no matter how successful a German Offensive might be in the West, Germany's allies were all in a hopeless or failing situation. 1918 saw a complete reversal of all Austro-Hungarian success on the front made in 1917 at the Battle of Caporetto, and its entire army was for all purposes obliterated at the Battle of Vittorio Veneto in October 1918, suffering over half a million casualties/captured in just under 2 weeks. Next is Austria-Hungary, who was still engaged in bitter fighting on the Italian Front. No matter the outcome for Germany in the Western Front, the Ottoman Empire was going to fall. By 1918, the British and Arab Revolt would be in Damascus and Aleppo and poised to push into the heart of Anatolia. Baghdad was captured by the British in March of 1917, along with Jerusalem just before Christmas of that year. The Ottoman Empire in 1918 was in no position to combat the British/Arab combined offensive up the Levant and Mesopotamia. We have to talk about Germany's allies within the Central Powers. Germany may have closed the Eastern Front and could devote their remaining troops to a large offensive on the Western Front, but the German Army and the Empire's internal politics was deteriorating at a rapid pace, and ultimately fell victim to riots, mutiny, and at the end, revolution.īefore I get to the meat of the issue that was the Western Front. The war wasn't exactly a "down to the wire" narrative as its often portrayed during Germany's Spring Offensive. Previous AMAs | Previous Roundtables Featuresįeature posts are posted weekly. May 25th | Panel AMA with /r/AskBibleScholars Please Subscribe to our Google Calendar for Upcoming AMAs and Events To nominate someone else as a Quality Contributor, message the mods. Our flaired users have detailed knowledge of their historical specialty and a proven record of excellent contributions to /r/AskHistorians. Please Read and Understand the Rules Before Contributing. Report Comments That Break Reddiquette or the Subreddit Rules. Serious On-Topic Comments Only: No Jokes, Anecdotes, Clutter, or other Digressions. Provide Primary and Secondary Sources If Asked. Write Original, In-Depth and Comprehensive Answers, Using Good Historical Practices. Questions should be clear and specific in what they ask, and should be able to get detailed answers from historians whose expertise is likely to be in particular times and places. Nothing Less Than 20 Years Old, and Don't Soapbox. Be Nice: No Racism, Bigotry, or Offensive Behavior. Downvote and Report comments that are unhelpful or grossly off-topic.Upvote informative, well sourced answers.New to /r/AskHistorians? Please read our subreddit rules and FAQ before posting! Apply for Flair ![]()
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