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

The naval blockade was crippling Germany and with the inevitable arrival of American troops, it was about to be beaten. Erich Ludendorff , the quartermaster General devised one last assault against the Allies to break their lines and deliver a knock-out blow before the influx of the American troops. It was named the ‘Michael Offensive’ and involved three fresh armies of elite storm troops attacking the sector where British and French forces joined. Before the pragmatics of the proposal took place, Ludendorff was famed to say: “The annihilation of ones enemy is more important than the seizure of his territory”

The British Blockade was the most incisive attack on the Germans by the Allies. It was drafted by the Secretary of the Royal Navy, Winston Churchill and was intended to starve the Germans into submission. On August 19th 1914, it was put into practice. The Royal Navy was able to deny Germany 64% of her merchant fleet which led to an enormous drop in her overseas trade. By 1918, the flow of vital foodstuffs to Germany had almost been eradicated by the British and very little fodder was reaching Germany through neutral countries. The effects of the blockade could be lucidly seen and felt in Germany. The average daily diet of 1,000 calories was insufficient even infants. There were 763,000 civilian deaths connected to malnutrition and starvation which was due to the blockade. The German government had to set food rationing to provide enough for the population. The blockade was also very effective in cutting off supplies of nitrates, which were vital for the production of both explosives and fertilizers. Before 1914 Germany relied upon importing millions of tons of fodder and fertilizers. The shortage of artificial fertilizers was made worse by labor shortages as more men were called to fight. The German Government gave high importance to the army and the soldiers were given the maximum amount of rations as illustrated by the ratio of cows sacrificed for the soldiers and for the civilian population: 6:1. Staple foodstuffs such as grain, potatoes, meat and dairy products became so scarce by the winter of 1916 that many people subsisted on a diet of artificial products that ranged from 'war bread' to powdered milk. The Government tried to take drastic measures to soothe any signs of revolt and introduced the Hindenburg Programmed which was introduced to raise productivity by ordering the compulsory employment of all men aged between 17 and 60. This scheme, however, only enjoyed success to a certain limit.

The war had ended in bitter defeat for Germany. To conclude, Germany was forced to resort to trench warfare after the failure of the ‘Schlieffen Plan’. If the Germans had beaten France and succeeded in carrying out the Schlieffen Plan, the entry of the USA would not have been necessary. The Ludendorff Offensive was Germany’s last hope of a breakthrough but it did not work for the reason that Germany did not have the resour

Some topics in this essay:
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