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HI136 History of Germany Lecture 5

HI136 History of Germany Lecture 5. Total War. The July Crisis. 28 June: Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassinated at Sarajevo. 5 July: Kaiser Wilhelm II offers Germany’s unconditional support (the ‘blank cheque’) to Austria-Hungary. 23 July: Austria issues her ultimatum to Serbia.

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HI136 History of Germany Lecture 5

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  1. HI136 History of GermanyLecture 5 Total War

  2. The July Crisis • 28 June: Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassinated at Sarajevo. • 5 July: Kaiser Wilhelm II offers Germany’s unconditional support (the ‘blank cheque’) to Austria-Hungary. • 23 July: Austria issues her ultimatum to Serbia. • 28 July: Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. Russia orders ‘partial mobilisation’ of her armed forces. • 30 July: Russia orders general mobilisation. Austria orders general mobilisation. • 1 August: Germany declares war on Russia. France orders mobilisation. • 2 August: Germany issues an ultimatum to Belgium, demanding to be allowed to move troops through Belgian territory. • 3 August: Germany declares war on France. Italy proclaims her neutrality. • 4 August: German troops cross the Belgian frontier. Britain declares war on Germany.

  3. The ‘Spirit of 1914’ Enthusiasm and Sympathy for Austria on the Streets of Berlin (August 1, 1914) August 1, 1914, in Berlin by Arthur Kampf (1914)

  4. Burgfriede • A political truce called by the parties in the Reichstag for the duration of hostilities. • Even the SPD agreed to this and voted for War Credits. • The SPD supported the war because: • They had been convinced that this was a defensive war against autocratic Russia. • Many Socialists were also patriots and were proud of Germany and her achievements. • The party leadership hoped to gain political legitimacy through supporting the nation in its hour of need.

  5. The Schlieffen Plan • Drawn up by General Alfred von Schlieffen (1833-1913), chief of the general staff from 1891 to 1905. • Designed to cope with the prospect of a war on two fronts. • Its objective was to quickly knock out France, leaving the German army free to face Russia. • Several flaws in the plan, which were compounded by unexpected reverses once operations commenced.

  6. The Schlieffen Plan

  7. The Failure of the Schlieffen Plan • The invasion of Belgium made Germany seem like the aggressor and brought Britain into the War. • The plan had not been updated to take recent Russian and French military reforms into account. • Moltkeweakened the thrust through Belgium by diverting troops to Alsace and Lorraine and East Prussia. • The Germans faced stiffer resistance than anticipated – in particular they had not expected to have to fight the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). • The German advance halted at the First Battle of the Marne (4-10 Sept. 1914) and the Battle of the Aisne (15-18 Sept. 1914). • September-December: The ‘race for sea’. • By December 1914 the front had stagnated into a 400 mile system of trenches running from the Swiss border to the North Sea. The War as it was supposed to be fought: German Infantrymen March Singing into the Battle of Langemarck, November 10, 1914 … And the war as it was fought: digging in to defensive positions, 1914

  8. Paul von Hindenburg (1847-1934) • 1847: Born at Poznan in Prussian Poland, the son of an East Prussian landowner. • Educated at cadet schools in Wahlstadt and Berlin. • Fought at Königgrätz (1866) and in the Franco-Prussian War. • 1878: Joined the General Staff. • 1905: Promoted to the rank of General. • 1911: Retired from active service. • 22 August 1914: Brought out of retirement to command the German Eighth Army in East Prussia. • Victory at Tannenberg and the Masurian Lakes made him a national hero. • In many ways the archetypal Prussian Junker.

  9. The ‘Easterners’ Paul von Hindenburg, Erich Ludendorff, Max Hoffmann and August von Mackensenby Oskar Bruch

  10. Trench Warfare The Battlefield in the Argonne Forest (1916) Postcard: Resting in the Trenches, c. 1914

  11. Trench Warfare German troops attacking, July 1916 (Top Left), posed photograph of a ‘Storm Trooper’ (Bottom Left), German soldier wearing First World War trench armour (Above)

  12. Verdun (1916)

  13. State Intervention • 1915: Kreigsrohstoffabteilung (Raw Materials Department, KRA) – ensures the acquisition, storage and distribution of materials vital to the war effort. • 1915: Bread rationing introduced. • 1916: Zentral-Einkaufs-Gesellschaft (Central Purchasing Company) – acquisition of goods from neutral countries. • 1916: Reichsgetreidstelle (Imperial Gain Office) – controlled food supplies and issued ration cards . • Hindenburg Programme (1916) – Intended to concentrate industry on the production of munitions. • Auxiliary Service Law (1916): Government could conscript workers and decide where they should work. Walter Rathenau (1867-1922), industrialist and founder of the Kreigsrohstoffabteilung

  14. War Finance • Germany already had a large budget deficit before 1914. • Taxation not sufficient to finance the war, and proposals to raise taxes vetoed on political grounds and the fiscal privileges of Junkers continued unabated. • Only 16% of the cost of the war met by taxation. • War financed by printing money and war loans. • This led to massive inflation – by 1918 the mark had lost 75% of its value. • Also a fall of real wages (20% in war industry, 40% in other branches).

  15. Food Shortages • By the autumn of 1916 food shortages,Inflationand mounting casualties beginning to effect the public mood. • 1916-17: The ‘Turnip Winter’ – exceptionally cold weather and a poor potato harvest lead to a severe food and fuel crisis. • Between 1916 and 1917 deaths from hypothermia and malnutrition rose from 121,000 to 293,000. • Infant Mortality at 50% by 1918. German Food rations (October 1918): 50 g. (1.8 oz.) of meat, 57 g. (2 oz.) of fat, 25 g. (.9 oz.) of butter, 5 lb. of bread, 125 g. (4.4 oz.) of legumes, 250 g. (.6 lb.) of flour, 4-5 lb. of potatoes, 1 lb. of marmalade, ½ litre (1 pint) of milk, and 1 g. (.04 oz.) of sugar.

  16. Mobilisation for Total War Measures Failures • War Raw Materials Office: coordination of industrial products. • Food rationing in 1915. • War Food Office 1916. • Substitutes – clothes with paper fibres. • Gaps in the labour force filled by women (emancipation – double burden). • Auxiliary Labour Law (1916): Government could conscript workers and decide where they should work. • ‘Dictatorship’ of ObersteHeeresleitung (OHL) – Hindenburg and Ludendorff – loss of influence for civil government – strengthening of army influence. • Scarcity of clothing, soap, food. • Agricultural production fell, meat consumption only 12% of pre-war level. • Malnutrition and starvation – ‘turnip winter’ 1916/17 (consequence: up to 750,000 dead). • Polarisation: pro ‘Siegfrieden’ (victorious peace) with far reaching war aims, pro peace without contributions and annexations. • Middle Classes: pauperisation, living conditions closer to working class – but many now more nationalist, angst (loss of status) . • Working Class: spontaneous strikes in 1916 and 1917.

  17. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (March 1918) Source: G. Layton, From Bismarck to Hitler: Germany, 1890-1933

  18. The Final Gamble:The 1918 Spring Offensive Source: P. J. Haythornthwaite, The World War One Sourcebook

  19. Dolchstoßlegende(Stab in the Back Myth) The co-chairman of the SPD Philipp Scheidemann and Matthias Erzberger betray the troops.

  20. Casualties of the War

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