Germany and the First World War 1914–1918

The First World War transformed Germany utterly. It began with patriotic euphoria in August 1914 and ended with military defeat, revolution, and the collapse of the Kaiserreich. The key question is: how did the war change Germany's political, economic, and social structures, and why did the monarchy collapse?

Key Definition: The Burgfrieden ('fortress peace') was the political truce declared at the outbreak of war, in which all parties — including the SPD — agreed to suspend domestic disputes and support the war effort. The Reichstag voted unanimously for war credits on 4 August 1914.

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The Schlieffen Plan and Early Campaigns

The German war plan (modified by Helmuth von Moltke the Younger) called for a rapid western offensive through neutral Belgium to knock out France in six weeks, before turning east against Russia. It failed:

• Belgian resistance delayed the advance
• British Expeditionary Force intervened sooner than expected
• Battle of the Marne (September 1914) halted the German advance; the war of movement became a war of attrition
• Eastern Front: Initial victory at Tannenberg (August 1914) against Russia, but the two-front war that Bismarck had always feared became reality

By late 1914, both fronts had stagnated into trench warfare. Germany now faced the nightmare scenario: a prolonged war of attrition against enemies with greater combined resources.

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The War Economy

Germany's economy was increasingly strained by the British naval blockade and the demands of total war:

The Hindenburg Programme (1916)

Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff, who effectively ran Germany from August 1916 as the Third Supreme Command (Oberste Heeresleitung, OHL), implemented a massive military mobilisation programme:

Measure	Detail
Auxiliary Service Law (December 1916)	All males 17–60 liable for war-related work
War production targets	Aimed to double ammunition and triple mortar/gun output
Centralised economic control	War Raw Materials Office (Walther Rathenau) managed scarce resources
Food rationing	Introduced 1915; bread cards, then meat, fat, and other staples

The Turnip Winter of 1916–17 was catastrophic. The potato harvest failed, and Germans survived on turnips. Civilian malnutrition contributed to an estimated 750,000 excess civilian deaths during the war. Infant mortality soared. The black market flourished, deepening social divisions.

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Political Change During the War

The Collapse of the Burgfrieden

The initial political unity disintegrated as the war dragged on: