World War 1

In war, stalemate occurs when neither side can advance or achieve the objectives of its war plans. There is no way forward for either side. There were many reasons why stalemate occurred on the Western Front during World War One. A major reason was the failure of the German Schlieffen Plan, a plan that aimed for a swift defeat of France by the Germans. Incompetence by the Generals and their poor leadership also contributed to a stalemate situation. Technology was also a factor because it advantaged the defensive side so much, the critical offensive strikes could be easily defended.

Failures to meet the objectives of the Schlieffen Plan by the Germans was the leading reason for the stalemate along the Western Front. The Schlieffen plan failed because of changes and poor execution of the plan by German Chief of Staff von Moltke. The Plan failed on many levels. The Schlieffen Plan did not take into account exhaustion experienced by infantry through long flanking movements. The infantry advanced in such extraordinary time it out ran its supply lines and communications network.

Liddell Hart, one of Britain's leading military historians, believed that the failing of the Schlieffen Plan was due to the lack of foresight when it came to transport. Hart compares the French transport arrangements to that of the Germans, "While his troops would have to march on their own feetÐ'...French would be able to switch troops by rail." [1] This shows how under prepared the German and Schlieffen Plan was.

Another failure was the Germans not adequately protecting the Eastern Front from Russian attack and then having to move men from the Schlieffen Plan to defend the attack. The result of this was a weakened attack from the right flank. As seen in Source A, the Germans now did not have the manpower to encircle Paris and take it over. Furthermore, French General Joffre counter-attacked the German line on the River Marne and German troops retreated back to the River Aisne. It was here that the stalemate on the Western Front began. The Germans Ð''dug in' and built trenches that were unconquerable. The French, unable to advance their attack, also Ð''dug in'. The front quickly turned into a defined set of defensive positions. The Schlieffen Plan had failed, Germany did not achieve a decisive victory over France. The war of manoeuvre had ended.

This prompted the Ð''Race to the Sea' and the continuation of the stalemate. This is where both Allied and German armies tried to outflank each other and capture important strategic channel ports. It was essential to gain control of the ports to re-supply for a long drawn out war. The continual attempts of outflanking by the Powers lead to the establishment of clear lines of trenches stretching from the Swiss Border northwards to the English Channel, creating the Western Front.

The Commanders and Generals, of their respective armies were influential in the development of the stalemate. The role of the Commanders was to lead, keep up morale amongst the troops and to make important strategic decisions. Many Generals were unsuccessful at these roles. The weakness of many of the Generals was their inability to provide effective offensive strategies for their armies. However to their credit, they could organise a counter attack, which lead to a successful defence. Unknown to the commanders, this was the way stalemate began.

Common to all the Generals was their unrealistic aims of war and their war plans, continuing to base war on the ideology of Ð''gentlemanly' combat and underestimating the potential of their opposition.

A major problem faced by the Generals was the major discontent and dissatisfaction in their ability from the troops. Both historians and many of their own men held the Generals responsible for causing needless suffering. William Oliver, a barrister in British Columbia wrote to his brother F. S. Oliver in London, in November 1915 saying there is a feeling growing very strongly everywhere that the British generals one and all are the most incompetent lot of bloody fools that have ever been collected together for the purpose of sacrificing armies in historic times [2].

One of the many other instances of unrest and annoyance towards commanding officers was from Siegfried Sassoon in his poem Ð''Base Details' (Source B). In the poem Sassoon expresses his irritation towards superiors in the form of sarcasm, "Guzzling and gulping in the best hotel, / Reading the role of Honour. Ð''Poor young chap' / I'd say . . . And when the war is done and youth stone dead, / I'd toddle safely home." The Generals just sent groups of men continuously over the front line, many only lasting a matter of minutes in no-mans land. This slaughter was set to continue as Generals kept on commanding them over the top, with many lives needlessly wasted.