Demoralised and isolated, German troops began to surrender in staggering numbers. This problem was significantly worsened by the arrival of some 2 million American soldiers in France over the course of Led by General John J. Pershing , American forces were green and led by officers with little relevant pre-war experience.
Trained by British and French advisors, they nevertheless fought the war firmly under the wing of the French army, receiving substantial support in the planning and execution of their attacks especially regarding the use of artillery.
In many ways, American forces repeated some of the tactical mistakes that Entente forces had made earlier in the war, attacking with too many men and not enough fire support.
The results were predictable: high casualties and meagre gains. Despite some early growing pains, the arrival of large numbers of fresh American troops on the Western Front ensured that the sheer numerical superiority of the Allied forces would eventually prevail over Imperial Germany.
As a result, the Allies were able to capitalise on the advantages conferred by imitative tactics and relative surprise; in just over three months they rapidly wore down the German army. The Germans went from having nearly thirty fresh reserve divisions in August to fewer than four in October. Contrary to the propaganda of the National Socialists, the Western Front was won militarily, in the field.
By the German army could no longer effectively defend itself. Had the German government insisted that it continue to do so, the Allies would have invaded Germany, an act that risked throwing the nation into civil war a subdued form of which raged throughout Germany after the Great War ended.
The Germans also tried different, albeit similar policies of outright attrition Verdun and pushing for grand strategic victories in the field the Ludendorff Offensives of The Hundred Days proved that the Western Front could in fact be won if the right methodology and technology were used. It was a fitting, unceasing, mechanistic finale to a grand and horrible industrial war.
Krause, Jonathan: Western Front , in: online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War, ed. DOI : Version 1. Western Front. By Jonathan Krause. Other Combatants and Other Fronts, , Basingstoke The First World War.
Myths and Realities, Chatham , p. For more see: Foley, Robert T. Verdun , London , p. Les mutineries de , Paris , p. Verdun to Vichy, Washington D. The End of the Great War, London , p. Bruce, Robert B. Doughty, Robert A. Falkenhayn, Erich von: General headquarters, , and its critical decisions , London Hutchinson. Greenhalgh, Elizabeth: Foch in command. Horne, Alistair: The price of glory. Verdun , London Macmillan. Ousby, Ian: The road to Verdun. Philpott, William: Bloody victory. The sacrifice on the Somme and the making of the twentieth century , London Little, Brown.
Les mutineries de , Paris Imago. Sheffield, Gary: Forgotten victory. Myths and realities , London Headline. Stevenson, David: Watson, Alexander: Enduring the Great War. Zabecki, David T. A case study in the operational level of war , London; New York Routledge. Citation Krause, Jonathan: Western Front , in: online. Metadata Subjects.
GND Subject Headings. LC Subject Headings. Rameau Subject Headings. Regional Section s. Thematic Section s. Australian soldiers walking through the devastated Chateau Wood, near Ypres. Battlefield near Ypres October British machine gunner explains the working of his weapon to Americans. German machine gun crew. Poison gas release. Haig and Foch inspecting troops. Poison gas attack, Battle of Loos, 25 September No man's land, Verdun.
Retreat across the Aisne. German Storm troops. Trees cut down during the German withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line, France Map of the Battle of the Somme. Map of the Meuse and Argonne Offensives. German Spring Offensives Mountain of shell cases. Concentration Areas of Opposing Armies, 2 August Map of Allied gains in late German trench near Saint-Souplet, The stablized Western Front and major offensives in Related Articles.
External Links. All Partners. Beacon Index. RSS Feed. Gary Sheffield, ed. War on the Western Front. New York: Osprey, All Disquiet on the Western Front Question. The trench lines had the effect of turning western Europe into two fortresses whose armies laid siege to each other along a single border.
For more information Tony Ashworth. Stephen Bull. Trench Warfare. New York: Sterling, Paddy Griffith. Fortifications of the Western Front National Army Museum 10am - 5. Toggle navigation. View this object. British gunners take a break during the bombardment of Zonnebeke, Background Weapons played a big part in creating the difficult and unusual circumstances of trench warfare which the British Army encountered during the First World War Quick Firing pounder field gun Mk I, Artillery Artillery was the most destructive weapon on the Western Front.
Aerial photography of the front, 25 August Machine guns The machine-gun was one of the deadliest weapons of the Western Front, causing thousands of casualties. It was peculiarly horrible to watch. The gun was so successful that it was later fitted to aircraft.
A Sopwith Snipe ready for a patrol over the German lines, Aircraft Aircraft were a such a new technology during the First World War that no one recognised their potential as a weapon at first. Flying goggles used by the Royal Flying Corps, Two British fighters destroying a German aircraft, Mortars Mortars of all sizes were used on the Western Front.
Australians loading a 9. The Hawthorne Ridge mine detonating during the Battle of the Somme, Mines Tunnelling and mining operations were common on the Western Front. Ammonal bag from the Durand Mine, Vimy Ridge, Royal Engineers mining under Messines Ridge, Short Magazine Lee Enfield.
Rifles Rifles were by far the most commonly used weapon of the war. Gas hood, Gas The Germans first used gas against the French during the capture of Neuve Chapelle in October when they fired shells containing a chemical irritant that caused violent fits of sneezing.
In vain I looked for my landmarks in the German line, to guide me to the right spot, but I could not see through the gas. Inevitably we scattered Men were clearly disorganised and running and walking in the direction of the German trenches, looking like ghouls in their gas helmets.
Despite this, the British Empire suffered over , gas casualties during the war. Gas rattle, A Vickers machine gun team wearing gas masks, Morning star made from a polo ball and bullet spikes, Trench clubs Not all actions on the Western Front were large scale battles.
British Mark IV female tank, Tanks Tanks were developed by the British Army as a mechanical solution to the trench warfare stalemate. My first impression was that they looked ready to topple on their noses, but their tails and the two little wheels at the back held them down and kept them level. Big metal things they were, with two sets of caterpillar wheels that went right round the body.
German 13 mm anti-tank bullet, The effectiveness of the tank as a weapon, was not fully realised until the inter-war years. German barbed wire at Beaucourt, November In many sectors of the front, the dead were buried in or near the trenches. Artillery blasts could dig up the bodies, then bury them again. Every two weeks, usually at night, new units came up to the front lines through the communication trenches.
They relieved those who had served on the line. The unit being relieved then had a week or two of rest in the rear. The troops welcomed rest periods, even though they were never very far from the front lines. Rest camps were usually set up in deserted villages where doughboys used old stone barns or houses for shelter. Soldiers found the few villagers they did meet to be solid people who still supported the war even after they had lost nearly everything.
The villagers and the Americans became friends. Also in the rear, the American Red Cross, the Knights of Columbus, the YMCA , and other organizations provided many of the little comforts that made life on the front easier. The most important things the doughboy brought with him, more important than his training and his weapons, were his youth and confidence.
The Americans were not as experienced as the Germans, but they made up for any lack with energy and enthusiasm. More than that, the time they spent in the trenches convinced them that the only way to win the war was to break out of the trenches and force the Germans into the open country beyond.
There, the Germans could be defeated by superior American weapons and the strength of the young, confident doughboys. North Carolina Civic Education Consortium. North Carolinians and the Great War. NC Department of Cultural Resources.
US Army, Signal Corps. Map by Google. Does this refer to the Allies or the Germans on the Western Front? Was the rotation system organized to both forces? A very helpful and informative article! I learned some things I hadn't known before. Thank you very much! Are you interested in getting a citation for this entry?
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