How important was the entry of the USA to the outcome of the First World War?
In 1918 over 1,600,000 American troops crossed the Atlantic over to Europe to help the Allies beat the Germans at the western front. The new fresh troops were well-fed and made a big difference at some of the last battles in the First World War. Many people would argue that the entry of the US was the most important factor to the end of the war. The Allies ‘outfought’ the Germans on the western front with help of the new soldiers to end the war of attrition. However, this traditional view might not have taken many other factors into account. Other factors such as Allied tactics and technology, Germany’s internal collapse or the success of the Allied blockade could be a more important factor to the end of the war.
Some people argue that Germany lost it and the allies were just the last to be there. Germany’s internal collapse was very important for the allies. The lack of food, political and economical issues produced riots on the streets. The German public had had enough of the war and the control and discipline failed. On top of this the German Keizer, Wilhelm abdicated and fled to the Netherlands. Germany was drained from all its resources because of the two front war. Germany’s allies had failed her and were relying on Germany’s money, weapons etc. Austria-Hungry was useless and the Turkish empire collapsed. Italy, Germany’s other ally at the start of the war had changed sides. This meant Germany was on her own. When the sailors refused to one last mission in the U-boats, German discipline started to fail along the western front. Soldiers were tired hungry and to weary to fight. From these factors it seems that Germany lost the war because of civil unrest and the British were very lucky not to have this in Britain. They saw Germany crumble and collapse without having to do much.
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