Americas Contribution to Victory

[anarchyintheuk]

The timing issue has always intrigued me but I've never read anything specific on that topic. Mostly confined my reading to the military aspect of WWI. If I find anything interesting, I'll let you know.

[FrankHunter]

My opinion is that the home front would have collapsed within a year. Austria, Turkey and Bulgaria were going to fall in 1918 regardless and maybe with troops in the cities Germany could have staved off revolution for another year, but that's it. There's an excellent book on the German home front at my local library which I read but I can't think of the title. I'll dredge it up, excellent read.

[Dirtdog20]

Americas entry into the war had everything to do with the debt that was owed to US industry. It was the unrestricted submarine warfare that gave Wilson the "moral ascendency" to ask Congress to declare war.

Wilson was as upset with the English Navy as he was with the Germans over the blockage of trade. By 1916, as I said at the start, with so much credit from American loans tied to the Allies it was imperitave to assure that theAllies won the war.

All one has to do is look at the measures Wilson took in assuring that any dissent was crushed and enthusiasim was preached. I also consider Wilson the most progressive president America would have up until LBJ. Yes that includes FDR. Wilson was at least embraced, but not welcomed warmly, by his old adversaries while turning a blind eye toward the former allies who re-elected him.

It would take the Supreme court till the mid 1920's to say that most of his actions were wrong if not illegal. But by that time haveing assumed the mantle of fallen hero, ( over the fight for the League of Nations), history has been kind to him in the long view.

[dan frick]

The French mutinies show that France was out of the war, if the Americans had not opted to join. The Russians fell apart anyways, but, that was mostly due to what a knucklehead the Tsar was. The Austo-Hungarians were teetering on the knife-edge at the time. But without the American entry, might have made it albeit fatally weakened. What the Kaisers Carl would have done in the forties is up for speculation, but I suspect the AH Carl would be hanging on for dear life, while the German Carl would be doing whatever he was told (not the sharpest knife in your back). The people doing the telling would be the Social Democrats. They would say the the war was caused by the "merchants of death" as in other Western European countries. This would cause the Kaiser to drop the militarists if he had an ounce of sense (there is no evidence that he did). My 2 cents. [>:]
Dan

[GWL_Tim]

Neil (Naill?) Fergusons book The Pity of War sets out the economic struggle during the war. Its a while since I read it and its not the most exciting book but his argument is that it was impossible for Germany to win the war against the economic might of the British Empire. Worth a read if you are interested in this aspect of the war.