1916 -1917

Impact of the war on Germany

Starter

How did the appointment of Ludendorff and Hindenburg affect Germany in the war and at

home?

Learning Objectives:To understand how Germany was affected by

the First World War

Success Criteria:To know how the events of 1916 & 1917

affected Germany socially, militarliy and politically.

Key Terms

Convoy System:A system of grouping merchant ships carrying

goods and providing warships to accompany them for protection.

Polarisation:When politics on the left and right become more

extreme.

Shortages

The shortages of fuel and raw materials were made worse by the desperately cold winter of 1916-17. Coal production in 1917 were only 90% of the production of 1913 despite the demand for fuel from war industries. Added to this were the freezing of rivers and railways made the problems worse. There were shortages of animal fats, coal, soap and clothing. In an effort to save on fuel, authorties cut back on street lighting and reduced tram services. The weather also massively affected the potato harvest, which was important due to the reliance on this crop due to reductions in wheat production. The affect was massive, and there was considerable hunger over the next two years.

Those who suffered the most were the urban working class as they had no access to cheap food.

People weer forced to use turnips as Ersatz potato up to the point that the winter of 1916-17 was known as the ‘Turnip winter’.

Soup kitchens were set up. 6m meals were handed out in Hamburg in April alone. Although these measures were useful to a point, there was little they could do to prevent malnutrition.

The bureaucracy controlled food prices but not supply. If peasants did not like the prices, they would hoard the grain.

Queuing became one of the defining experiences for Germans during the war.

Question

What were the potential political implications for the food shortages in the winter of

1916-17?

Food shortages, hunger queuing and state intervention had considerable social consequences.

• Peasantry & rural producers were alienated by state regulations. After 1917, they were hampered by labour shortages (despite 1m prisoners of war). State prices were low and took no account of production costs. Resentment was felt towards the Junkers who still kept their tax privaliges until 1916.

• The urban working class also resented state and bureaucratic controls, lack of food and queues. There was also resentment of the black market where between 25% and 35% of food was sold. They blamed the middle classes, speculators and Jews. This resentment often turned to violence.

• The middle classes entered into an insecure world wthout servants and savings that were worth less and less. The Mittelstand (lower middle classes, teachers and officials) experienced insecurity as the war closed the gap between salaried and non-salaried professionals and were also affected by the scarcity of food.

Social consequences

Resources of Allied and Central Powers, 1917If you were Hindenburg & Ludendorf, looking at these figures, what would your war strategy be?

Allies Central Powers

Aeroplanes 3,163 1,500

Field Guns 19,465 14,730

Heavy Artillery 11,476 9,130

Machine Guns 67,276 20,042

Military personnel 17,312,000 10,610,000

War 1917Jan 1917 – Hindenburg & Ludendorff decided the only way to knock out Britain of the

war was unrestricted submarine warfare even though Hollweg protested due to fear of provoking America.

In April the German navy sank 875,000 tons of Allied shipping. The convoy system soon prevented any repeat of this success. Britain were not knocked out of the war and America, as Hollweg predicted entered the war. This was a very important event in the polarisation of German politics. America was a democracry and for those who wished for increased democracy in Germany, the US was not a natural enemy.

March – German troops on the Western front withdrew to behind two long lines of defensive works known as the Hindenburg & Siegfried lines. Elite troops were trained to fight a new form of warfare based on movement.

Throughout 1917 the Allies tried in vain to break the German lines. Costly offensives such as Arras, Ypres and Chemin des Dames cost many lives. Resulting in 16 corps of the French army muntinying suring May-June.

In the East, the Italians were defeated at Caporetto in October followed by a disentegration of the Russian armies in Galacia and then the Bolshevik revolution in November. This all seemed to be heading in the right direction for Ludendorff’s plan for the breakthrough in 1918.

OppositionHuge losses led to opposition at home. Of the 13,2 million men mobilised, there were 6.2m

casualties, 2.05m had been killed.While some accepted the losses stoically, whilst others began to question the sacrifice.May & June 1916 – Strikers in Berlin held placards saying ‘Freedom, Bread & Peace’.One rally was addressed by Liebknecht who was then arrested for criticising the war.Further strikes occurred in support of Liebknecht and the pressure of the Hindenburg

programme, hunger and long working hours led to additional resentement.The Russian Revolution and the entry of America fuelled opposition to the war and inspired the

discontented.Large sacle strikes were again seen as bread rations were reduced in April 1917. Workers councils, similar to those in Russia, were formed, although, the Trade Unions & SPD did

not support them.There was a split in the SPD after the failure of many to vote for war credits.The independent Socialist (USPD) by 1918 had 100,000 members across Germany and spread the

message of: immediate end to war and social reform; immediate repeal of Auxilliary Service Law and no more war loans.

This split was a clear sign of growing polarisation in German politics.

Look at the following notes on the July Crisis of 1917 and answer the questions below.

1. Using a mind map or spider daigram: why did the July crisis of 1917 come about?

2. Summarise in your own words the main issues that polarised German politics in the second half of 1917.