TIMELINE 2020
Military History
Sai Mehta, Middle School
‘To what extent was the Spring Offensive the main reason why the Germans lost the First World War?’
The Spring Offensive was the main reason why the Germans lost the First World War was because Woodrow Wilson’s 14 points were rejected by the Germans. When America joined the war in April 1917, Woodrow Wilson was neutral, as no Americans had been killed by the Allies or the Germans. This meant that he was not bothered about who won at this stage, so would not have minded a draw. The 14 points were created to have a draw: all borders would be returned to how they were in 1914, so all the German-invaded countries such as Poland, the Baltics, Czechoslovakia, Belgium and Russia, who went out of the war in 1917. One of the statements mentioned here were that every country deserves independence. This would have helped countries such as Poland, who had been part of the Soviet Empire previously, and had now been invaded by Germany, so the 14 points allowed Poland to gain liberty from other countries which did not have the right to own it. The Germans knew that if they agreed to the 14 points then they would have not had the countries which they gained for there empire in the war. This meant that they had to decline the offer.
PAGE 29
