- 05 Dec 2016 11:03
#14745885
Although I agree there was an obvious morale boon from American entry into the war, it was hardly critical in the West. A Romanian collapse was irrelevant and the Italians were committed to the war; look at their objection to Austrian peace overtures.
The reality is that Germany was already collapsing economically by 1917; it was outnumbered and overstretched, unable to capitalise on any successes. Their push towards Paris in 1918 is a perfect example of how hollowed out they were, all it did was expose their weakness.
Assuming the general parameters of the war remained the same, I just don't see how Germany could have ever won WW1. Maybe if Russia has been knocked out early on the Germans would have been able to capture Paris. But the longer the war lasted, the more of a mountain the Germans had to climb.
Consider this detail: Britain's economy grew 7% during WW1 and Germanys shrank 30%. French production was sufficient to arm themselves AND the United States, whilst Germans were starving in soup kitchens.
Rich wrote:US involvement was critical to allied victory. If the US had stayed out of the war, then barring US entry, German victory was almost certain by April 1917. Few American soldiers arrived in Europe in 1917, but the US declaration of war was critical to sustaining allied morale after the collapse of the Russian war effort. Italy would probably have broken quickly following Romania in suing for a separate peace.
Although I agree there was an obvious morale boon from American entry into the war, it was hardly critical in the West. A Romanian collapse was irrelevant and the Italians were committed to the war; look at their objection to Austrian peace overtures.
The reality is that Germany was already collapsing economically by 1917; it was outnumbered and overstretched, unable to capitalise on any successes. Their push towards Paris in 1918 is a perfect example of how hollowed out they were, all it did was expose their weakness.
Assuming the general parameters of the war remained the same, I just don't see how Germany could have ever won WW1. Maybe if Russia has been knocked out early on the Germans would have been able to capture Paris. But the longer the war lasted, the more of a mountain the Germans had to climb.
Consider this detail: Britain's economy grew 7% during WW1 and Germanys shrank 30%. French production was sufficient to arm themselves AND the United States, whilst Germans were starving in soup kitchens.