Explain why Germany and her allies were defeated in WWI and assess their treatment in the 1918/1919 settlement

There were m whatever factors that played a part in Germanys defeat in knowledge base War oneness, and none of them ignore be singularly attributed to its loss. Despite this, some factors did play a more important part than others. Some of the major factors were Americas entry into the war, low team spirit in Germany, and Germanys Ludendorrf Offensive.The American entry into the war was a major factor contributing to Germanys defeat. When the Americans declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917, they provided a huge injection of funds, soldiers and productive capacity to the Allies war effort. The millions of American soldiers that were sent everyplaceseas in 1917 and 1918 were fit, young, and most importantly, fresh with relatively high morale compared to the other Allied soldiers. military man War One was a war of attrition. The side that could wear down the enemy side number 1 would be victorious. The section of the American soldiers, funds and resources to the Allied side al lowed them to survive for longer than the Central Powers. Therefore, the entry of America into World War One was a major factor causing Germanys defeat.The Ludendorrf Offensive, which was launched on March 21, 1918, was a series of three offensives undertaken by the Germans to try to force an Allied surrender after the Russian withdrew from the war. With the Eastern front line free, the Germans concentrated all their resources on the Western front to try to break the stalemate at that place.At first the Ludendorrf Offensive was successful, but the German troops advanced so fast that their contribute lines could not keep open up. This allowed the Allied forces to surround and defeat the stranded German troops. The Ludendorrf Offensive was a gamble by Germany. It infallible an input of high levels of resources, and as it was not successful, these resources were ultimately wasted. As World War One was a war of attrition, the Ludendorrf Offensive accelerated, if not caused, German ys defeat.By 1917 and 1918, morale amongst the German people was very low. They had begun to lose religion in the war. An outbreak of Spanish Influenza in Europe had hit Germany, and had created unrest amongst the population. Shortages of consumer essentials spread astray throughout Germany. The Germany public began to resent the war, calling for peace at any cost. The production of munitions fell, and the weapons supply to the German soldiers fell to levels much lower than the Allies. The low morale amongst the civilians and soldiers worsened the German position. Therefore, low morale amongst the troops and civilians on the German side was a major factor leading to Germanys defeat in World War One.There is no obvious single factor for Germanys defeat in World War One, but among the main reasons were the Americans entry into the war, the Ludendorrf Offensive, and the low morale among soldiers and civilians at the home front.The Treaty of Versailles was the climax of the 1918/1919 peace settlement process that was obligate on Germany by the Allied powers in 1919. The pact imposed a number of harsh conditions on Germany. As a result of the treaty, Germany had to reduce its army to c 000 men, and give up its air force altogether. Germany had to give away thirteen percent of its land, and hand over control of its overseas colonies. Germany was forced to pay over 6, 600, 000, 000 in war repatriations. Also, and significantly, the Treaty of Versailles demanded Germany accept across-the-board responsibility for starting the First World War.To assess Germanys manipulation in the 1918/1919 settlement, it is useful to examine the motives understructure the key negotiators, Germanys aims, and Germanys guiltThe British public were very angry and were out for revenge. Hang the Kaiser and Make Germany even up were both very common calls in the time just after the war and the British charge Minister David Lloyd George could not afford politically to be easy on Ger many. This shows that Britains intentions when contributing to the Treaty of Versailles would read been to harshly punish GermanyThe then president of France, Georges Clemenceau, was figured to see that Germany was punished so harshly that it would never be able to start a war again, as he believed they had done. As was the case with the British, there was also widespread public anger towards Germany.The American President, Woodrow Wilson, was the third major participant in the treaty negotiations. He too wanted to punish Germany, but also had an interest in a lasting Europe, which would depend on a stable Germany.Given the attitudes of the Allies who met in Paris for the peace negotiations, Germanys treatment in the Treaty of Versailles would definitely have been harsh, as all three entered the negotiations with a view to punish Germany.When judged by its previous actions, it can be argues that Germany was not justified to expect a settlement any more favourable than what they received. They had already proven that in victory they could be as harsh as the Allies with the treaty they presented Russia upon their withdrawal from the war, the Brest-Litovsk Treaty. In this treaty, the Germans demanded that Russia hand over large areas of its territory and pay considerable repatriations.Given the harsh treatment the Germans imposed on Russia after its defeat, the treatment of Germany in the Treaty of Versailles can be justified. There is an line of reasoning that if Germany had won, they would have imposed penalties as harsh or harsher on the Allies. This supports the argument that the Treaty of Versailles was not too harsh on Germany.But perhaps the best way to determine whether or not the Treaty of Versailles was really harsh on Germany is to see the effect on Germany of the treaty, and the continuance of time it took for Germany to recover.