Impact of WW! Flashcards
1
Q
Burgfrieden
A
- 4 August 1914, Recihstag passed an enabling act known as burgfrieden
- Concept of national unity based on shared on shared suffering
- Reichstag delegated all of its powers to Bundesrat which was to rule the home front by emergency legislation
- Recihstag had power to review said legislation but out of 800 laws passed during war, did not change anything.
- War ministry took over bureaucratic function of running the war
2
Q
War in 1914
A
- Made strong progress through Belgium with the Schlieffen plan and all but wiped out the BEF- - advanced alowed as supplies struggles to keep up
- Hindenburg and Ludendorff saw huge victories in the east at Tanenburg and Masurian lakes.
- Germans halted at Battle of Marne in September. Dug in and ‘race to sea’ beagan.
- Result was hundreds of miles of trenches on the western front and 650,000 German casualties by the end of 1914
- Best opportunity for victory had passed
3
Q
War in 1915
A
- New Chief Commander of the General Staff von Falkenhayn was faced with dilemma of how to win war on two fronts
- Solution was to focus on one and knock opponent out of war
- Decided to focus on the east and a successful campaign in Poland pushed the Russians back 250 miles but was not enough to knock them out the war.
- On western front, allies had suffered great losses attacking German defensive positions and attack at Gaalipoli had failed
- Falkenhayn conlcuded that victory lay on the western front with knocking britain out the war with subamarine campaign
- Sinking of Lusitania drew the US closer to joining the war
- German forces were stretched out across Europe, Asia and Africa by the end of 1915
4
Q
Food during the war
A
- Germany not self sufficient in food production, 1914 imported 25%
- 4 Feb 1915, Germany announced submarine blockade of Britain which responded by ordering Royal Navy to seize all shipments destined for Germany
- State’s response was to assume control of regulation and distribution of food
- Jan 1915 Imperial Grain Corporation set up by Bundesrat to administer the rationing and distribution of grain - folowed by creation of 40 different Imperial Corporations that competed with federal, state and regional governments to administer food supply
- State set up War Food Office in 1916 to solve bureaucratic mess - but did not have power to exert control over all the other organisations
- Decision making was poor and convoluted e.g early 1915, 9 million pigs were killed as they were consumers of grain. Led to less pork and fertilizer for rest of war, damaging on food production
5
Q
Early Shortages
A
- By end of 1914, half of agricultural labour force had been called up to serve in the armed forces
- Conservative nature of society meant women were not conscripted to work. (does not mean women did not work, by end of war, 1/3 of industrial work force were women)
- Women sought work in war industries as it was better paid, gave many an opportunity to change jobs for better pay
- Jan 1915 saw the rationing of bread, and soon other items
- Introduced ersatz goods such as coffee made from tree bark
6
Q
Extent of opposition 1914-16
A
- SPD’s support of the war had ended some of the mistrust that was evident in pre-war years.
- However, not all socialists were in favour of the war
- By end of 1915, 20 SPD members headed by Karl Liebknecht voted against war credits
- Small numbers of radicals including Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg argues the only way to peace was through revolution - impact was limited and they spent most of the war in prison
-Small numbers of pacifists organised groups such as the German Peace League but they were marginal and the impact was negligible
7
Q
1916 year of attrition
A
- Falkenhayn came to conclusion that the only way to win the war was through attrition and endurance (ERMITTLUNG)
- Feb- launched assault on Verdun to wear down French forces.. 700,000 casualties for no gain
- May 1916, battled Royal Navy at Jutland. Sunk more ships but retreated back to port and the Royal Navy blockade continued.
- July Allies launched attack on Somme with murderous results
- Russians launched attack against Austrians and Germans were forced to send reinforcements, eventually reversing the Brusilov offensive
- Augist- Romanians entered war on side fo the allies. By end of month Falkenhayn had fallen from position, broken by the attrition he had planned
- Casualties in 1916 totalled 1.5 million
8
Q
Hindenburg and Ludendorff’s military dictatorship
A
- Hindenburg appointed head of OHL and Ludendorff as General Quartermaster
-Ludendorff now most powerful man in Germany, but still some contraints:
Kaiser needed to be consulted
Bureaucracy ran the war effort
Reichstag still held budgetary control and representative of public opinion - From August 1916 it was them that decided on the strategy of the war
- Rejected idea of a negotiated peace
- War should be prosecuted with all available resources
- Russia should be knocked out of the war and subjected to harsh peace sttlement
- German people would be rewarded with vast annexations of land.
9
Q
Hindenburg Programme
A
- Marked the beginnning of TOTAL WAR
- Aim was to compensate for Germany’s lack of resources by introducing greater efficiencies and drive
- War economy was rationalised
- Auxiliary Labour Law introduced to mobilise all male labour for war effort - all but forced labour
-Supreme War Office failed to solve bureaucratic chaos. General Groener found it difficult to shut down non-essential businesses, coming up against a range of vested interests
-ALL failed to mobilise large numbers of extra men as they simply did not exist
-PLaced greater strain on supply of raw materials but did have a positive impact on the production of munitions.
- 1915 production of explosives 70,000 tons
1917 140,000 tons
10
Q
Shortages 1916-18
A
- Shortages of fuel and raw mats made worse by winter of 1916-17
- Coal production in 1917 only 90% of 1913 levels
- Freezing of Germany’s rivers and railways made transportation incredible difficult
- Conditions led to a potato blight, leading to the use of turnips as an ersatz good (‘turnip winter’)
- Shortage of potatoes had a knock on effect through the food chain - dairy production and animal fats fell by a third in 1917
- 6 million meals handed out in April 1917 in Hamburg alone
-Bureaucracy controlled food prices but failed to gain control of the food supply (peasants would hoard food if the prices were not acceptable)
11
Q
Social Consequences of shortages 1916-18
A
- Peasantry and rural producers were alienated by government regualtion and lack of labour, depsite 1 million POWs tending the land. Resentment of the Junkers wo maintained tax priveleges until 1916 and industrialists who seemed to be making a fortune out of the war
- Urban working class resented state nd bureaucratic controls, lack of food, and the black market. Many blamed the middle classes, and in many cases, the Jews
- Middle classes entered an insecure world as their savings were worth less and less and they were hit by the lack of food
12
Q
War 1917
A
- Jan 1917, H&L decided the best way to bring britain to its knees was through the use of unrestricted submarine warfare
- B-H objected as he thought it would lead to American involvement
- In April alone, 875,000 tons of alllied shipping were sunk
- Adoption of the convoy system by Britain meant H&L’s tactic was no longer viable
- April 1917, US declared war on Germany due to its campaign of unrestricted warfare
- Was very important in the polarisation of German poltics. US seen as a beacon of democracy, so to those on the left, they were not seen as a natural enemy
- March - German troops withdrew behind Hindenburg and Siegfried Lines
- Allies tried in vain to break the lines at at Arras and Ypres.
- Defeat of Italians at Caporetto in October plus the Bolshevik revolution in November heralded a possible victory for the Germans
13
Q
Growing Opposition
A
- 6.2 million casulaties
- Some began to question the sacrifice
- May 1916, strikers in Berlin carries placards the demanded “freedom, bread and peace”
- One rally was addressed by Liebknecht and thousands went on strike in protest of his subsequent arrest
- Events of Russian revolution and American entry into war galvanised many discontented Germans into opposition
- April 1917 reduction in bread ration met with large scale strikes -300,000 in Berlin
- Some workers formed workers coucils (soviets). While the majority of SPD members objected to this, a small minorirty boke off and founded the USPD. By 1918 the party had 100,000 members. Clear sign of growing polarisation
14
Q
July Crisis
A
- SPD leaders continues to tentatively support tgw qE,
- Kaiser presuaded by B-H to give a hope of reform, and on april & 1917 in his ‘Easter Offer’, the Kaiser promised to end Prussia’s three class voting system and reform the Bundesrat.
- Did little to convince growing numbers of people who desired a ‘peace without victory’
- In a debate on war credits in July 1917, the Centre Party and SPD tried to divert more funds towards finding a peace without victory.
- B-H opposed this – had lost confidence of Reichstag and military command
- Resigned and was replaced by George Michaelis
- Catholic deputy Matthias Erzberger persuaded a majority in the Reichstag to vote in favour of a ‘peace resolution’ that promoted the idea of a peace without land annexation.
-August - Pope Benedict XVissued a peace note - ignored by Ludendorff but cheered Erzberger’s supporters
-September - Germand Fatherland Party founded. promoted the cause of a victorious peace - supported by Ludendorff and Tirpitz. Had 1 mill members by end of year
-Prompted creation of Peace League for Freedom and Fatherland that promoted a more moderate peace
-October - Michaelis sacked as the Reichstag passed resolution to reform Prussian voting system. Replaced by Count Hertlin of centre party
(Michaelis and Hertling were considered to be puppets of Ludendorff and Hindenburg)
15
Q
Opposition in 1918
A
- Jan - a series of huge strikes gripped the nation.
- Strikes were inspired by the USPD and 1 mill workers took part (SPD and Trade Us tried to seize initiative)
- Wanted an end to war, more food, democratic rights
- Political initiative wung back to military matters
- March- Treaty of Brest-Litovsk signed and supported by all parties except USPD
- Germany seized 3/4 of Russia’s coal and Iron, all of its oil and cotton and 1/3 of its population
