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World War I
Home » Germany » Germany: A History » World War IUnder the young and inexperienced Emperor William II, Germany found itself in deep water. William II tried to shorten the lead of other imperialist powers, yet found himself increasingly isolated. The German Social Democrats, who held the most voters, continued to be more or less excluded from political power. It was not until the old establishment was defeated in World War I that they were given an opportunity.
None of the powers involved consciously sought World War I, even though tension had built up to such an extent in the Spring of 1914 that an armed solution to the various war aims of the European powers was reluctantly considered a welcome option.
The Germans failed in their aim to quickly vanquish France, yet after the Battle of the Marne both sides became embroiled in a gruesome war of attrition with an immense loss of human life and no clear military advantage.
When the U.S. entered the war in 1917, this brought a turning point that had long been developing and which even the revolution in Russia and peace in the East could not halt. Political upheaval followed military defeat and as a result of the German revolution in November 1918, Emperor William II and the princes yielded their thrones. The disaster abroad led to the failed monarchy ceding to an alternative at home that it had been combating for decades, namely a republic.
Related Germany: A History Articles
- Germany: A History Overview
- The Middle Ages
- The Bismarck Reich
- World War I
- World War II
- The Cold War
- The New Berlin Republic