1. Comparison of economic strength.
In terms of economic strength, the allies are at a disadvantage. War is a contest of a country's comprehensive national strength, especially its economic strength. In the allied group, only Germany can be regarded as an industrial power, and the industries of Austria, Bulgaria and Turkey are very backward. German officers inspected the equipment of the Austro-Hungarian army and came to the conclusion that "we are forming an alliance with zombies". Before the war broke out, the percentage of Germany and Austria in the world manufacturing output was19.2%; Although Britain and France lagged behind Germany after the second industrial revolution, the percentage of the three countries in the world manufacturing output was 27.9%, which was better than that of the German-Austrian Group. Before the war, the German-Austrian army was 6.23 million, and the British-French-Russian army was 8.73 million, which had absolute naval power. The British and French fleets can blockade Germany and Austria and cut off their overseas ties. Judging from the reserve forces of the war, the population of Germany, Austria, Bulgaria and Turkey was 65.438+0.45 billion, and the population of Britain, France, Russia and Italy who later defected to the Allies reached 288 million. Allies can only control their own resources and the resources of the occupied countries seized by the war, while allies can make extensive use of the resources of colonies and neutral countries, which is conducive to long-term operations.
Before the United States entered the war, the British sea blockade successfully prevented the German-Austrian Group from obtaining all kinds of urgently needed materials from the United States. As a result, the trade between the United States and its allies plummeted to almost zero, but the trade with its allies tripled. After the economic interests of the United States and its allies are closely linked, they can no longer watch the fire from the other side, but wait for an opportunity to participate in the war. After the second industrial revolution, the United States became the world's number one industrial power, and its participation in the war brought great benefits to the allies, and a large number of military materials were continuously transported to the European battlefield. The United States not only interrupted the supply of weapons to Germany and Austria, but also greatly increased its loans to its allies, reaching $35 billion. This prepared the conditions for the final victory of the allies in terms of materials.
2. Military strategy.
The mistakes made by the allied group in military strategy are very obvious. Because of its geographical position, Germany tried to avoid fighting on two fronts and planned to make a quick decision, so it formulated the "Schrieffen Plan". But this strategy underestimates the strength of the opponent and is based on wishful thinking. After the war broke out, the Germans did not fully follow the "Schrieffen Plan". In particular, Schrieffen repeatedly stressed the need to strengthen the power of the right wing of the western front, but it was cut. Germany thought it could "defeat the enemy without fighting" against Belgium, but it did not expect tenacious resistance. Only one fort in Liege resisted the Germans 12 days. The French resistance was also tenacious, and they quickly retreated from the Franco-German border. Russian troops on the eastern front completed mobilization in a short time; The British army soon joined the war. All this was beyond castle wolfenstein's expectation, which decided the German bankruptcy. Germany was dragged into the quagmire of two-front operations, protracted wars and positional warfare.
3. The internal contradictions of the alliance group.
The world war, which lasted for several years, aggravated various contradictions within the warring countries, which was more obvious in the countries of the Allied Group. The war has caused huge economic losses, and a large number of peasants have been enlisted in the army, resulting in a large number of barren land, a general decrease in agricultural products and livestock products, but rising prices. The severe winter of1916 ~1917 was even worse. German urban residents have to rely on vines to feed their hunger, and many people freeze to death and starve to death. At the end of the war, revolutions and uprisings usually take place in the Allies. The non-German people in the Austro-Hungarian Empire had an independent movement, and Hungary made peace with the allies alone, which led to the disintegration of the empire. Beginning with the Sailors' Uprising in Kiel Port, the "November Revolution" broke out in Germany and overthrew the monarchy.
4. International power comparison.
The balance of international power is not conducive to the allies. At the beginning of the war, Japan joined the Allies and sent troops to occupy China, Qingdao and Germany's colonies in the Pacific Ocean, which made Germany lose its sphere of influence in the Asia-Pacific region. Italy was originally a member of the Allies, but after the outbreak of the Great War, Italy violated the Covenant and declared neutrality. At the same time, it bargained between two rival groups to get higher remuneration. Since most of the territory Italy hopes to acquire belongs to the German-Austrian bloc or neutral country, there is no direct conflict with the Allies. 19 15 In April, the Allies signed the London Agreement with Italy, agreeing to Italy's territorial claims, and Britain also promised to lend Italy 50 million pounds as the cost of participating in the war. In May, Italy tore up the three-nation alliance treaty, joined the Allies to fight, and stabbed the Allies in the back.
19 17 years, the warring parties were in a stalemate. The United States joined the Allies. Allied forces have been supplemented by a large number of troops and combat materials; Driven by the United States, many countries joined the Allies, and the number of Allies expanded to 27, further enhancing the strength of the Allies.