House of cards
French counter
German satirical print showing France and Britain looking to America – depicted as a god-like Woodrow Wilson – as their only hope. Though sympathetic to the Allies, the USA stayed out of Europe for some years
Mary Evans Picture Library
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In a similar fashion to the Germans, the French held a master plan in the event of war breaking out in Europe. Their version, called Plan XVII, was essentially a design to recapture Alsace-Lorraine (lost in the earlier Prussian campaign) and destroy German imperial expansion at the same time.
Unfortunately for France, while they were co-ordinating all resources towards pushing east in a drive of retribution, the Germans were planning on wheeling down from the north, in an attempt to reach Paris before the Russians could get going. The result was an unrecoverable delay as France, whose troops had already shot forward, then tried to pull resources back to arrest the invasion of their own land.
Britain commits
Though Britain had treaties with France, they essentially joined the war in support of the Belgians – a neutral state that had been invaded by Germany as a shortcut to northern France.
Before the war, Britain and Germany were experiencing something of an arms race, particularly in the area of shipbuilding, and Germany was certainly wary of competing directly with the British Empire and its navy. The Germans may have considered the likelihood of Britain joining the continental war as only a limited possibility. However – as had already been experienced – once a treaty was broken, destiny was set, as no nation or empire could bear to lose face on the international stage.
The Ottoman scenario
The Ottoman Empire covered much of the eastern Mediterranean, Near East and northern coast of Africa, but her position was not particularly strong where war was declared. The aging empire, slowly falling into decline, had been allied to Germany, who realised the potential benefits of 'picking up the pieces' of this once great world power.
Had the Balkans (once an Ottoman domain) not fallen into warfare, the Ottomans would surely have wished to stay out of any conflict. Again, it was the treaty-based manner of international diplomacy and politics of the day that inexorably drew them in. Turkey, the hub of the Ottoman Empire, duly declared war on rival nation Romania in 1916.
The long slog
Like a falling house of cards, any possibility of peace in Europe lay in tatters as each nation guaranteed their oaths and alliances. The old European nations and empires locked horns in a committed battle to the end and, as we know, the cost was enormous.
Nobody knew how long it could go on for. As the years went by and millions fell, the appetite for war became harder to sustain. Racial, ethnic, religious and revengeful tensions fuelled the engine of war and it was going to take the failure of a major component to alter the stagnant stalemate.
The balance of forces was such that the borders of conflict changed little throughout the campaign, and as long as this continued there was no end in sight. All was to change with two major occurrences: a revolution and the adoption of a ruthless submarine campaign.