The collapse of the Central Powers can be linked with various reasons. The on-going debate about the paramount factor which led to the defeat of the Central Powers still rages. The purpose of this essay is to list the main contributing factors in order of importance which led to the defeat of Germany and her allies including the failure of the Schlieffen Plan, the success of the British Blockade, the failure of the Ludendorff Offensive, and additional aspects. The question "why did the Central Powers lose the War?" cannot be answered in a clean-cut way. There are multiple ways one can tackle it, hence, the purpose of this essay. The leading factor which I shall discuss foremost is the failure of the Schlieffen Plan". This was Germany's best chance at defeating the allies and with its failure, came the gradual demise of the Central Powers. .
The Schlieffen Plan was Germany's premier offensive strategy in the war. The plan involved using 90% of Germany's armed forces to attack France. Fearing the French forts on the border with Germany, Schlieffen suggested a scythe-like attack through Belgium. The rest of the German Army would be sent to defensive positions in the east to stop the improbable Russian advance. Even with the inclusion of most of the soldiers, there were a number of significant factors which the Germans were gambling on, to work in their favor: Due to the capricious reputation of the Russian Army and the inept ruling of the country by the Tsar, the German leaders assumed it would take the Russians up to 6 weeks for mobilization; Germany was also banking on its army to overrun Belgium and have Paris encircled in six weeks. This was a preposterous premise on the German part as they completely discounted the bravery of the Belgian army and its treaty with Britain. They surmised that Britain wouldn't intervene with their plot. The Kaiser had a lowly opinion of the British and was not intimidated by their navy.
