Myths of World War I
Myths of World War I
German Soil[edit]
No Allied soldier ever set foot on German soil. Alsace-Lorraine was part of Germany, and French troops did mount an invasion of the area, capturing the town of Mulhausen briefly in 1914. For the duration of the war, they held positions in the Vosges Mountains that were on the German side of the pre-war border.
Petain and Nivelle were heroes at Verdun[edit]
The decision to fight at Verdun was an emotional choice that needlessly threw away hundreds of thousands of French lives. Although it was well-fortified, it was surrounded on three sides by the Germans, and closer to German railheads than French. Resupply was difficult, and had to be done via the Voie Sacree, the Sacred Road. Although it felt good to say, "They shall not pass," and it certainly had propaganda value, the French took unsustainable casualties. Falkenhayn knew that this would happen, and Petain and Nivelle fell right into his trap.
By 1917, the French army was no longer capable of offensive action and there were widespread mutinies. Had it not been for the intervention of the United States, the Battle of Verdun would have been seen as a main contributor to French defeat in the war.
In hindsight, a more mobile, defense-in-depth strategy would have saved many French lives and left them more capable for later in the war. The French learned the wrong lesson from Verdun, and it would cost them in the next war as well.
Stab in the back[edit]
Myth that Germany could have kept fighting through November 1918 if not betrayed by communists and Jews at home.
Reality was that every other Central power had quit the war by then, Germany was scraping the bottom of the barrel in manpower, economy in shambles, and facing the combined might of the USA, UK, France, Belgium, Italy, and many other countries. The army was giving ground nearly every day with no way to counter the Allies' methodical advance.
In late October 1918, the navy, though still powerful, refused to go to sea, believing it to be a suicide mission, which it likely would have been. The mutiny was part of the widespread social unrest that led to the abdication of the Kaiser.
Treaty of Versailles was unfair[edit]
Myth that Germany was treated more harshly than necessary.
Other central powers lost much more land. Austria-Hungary was dismembered and both Austria and Hungary dramatically reduced. Ottoman Empire also dissolved.
Reparations paid by Germany were to make up for the devastation they caused in northern France. It would have been unfair to make France assume the entire burden of reconstruction. At any rate Germany borrowed from the Allies to make the payments and then defaulted or was forgiven for most of the loans.
Treaty was not harsh enough because it failed to prevent Germany from starting another war.
Offensive action was impossible[edit]
By 1918, innovations such as combined arms, better reconnaissance, and infiltration tactics evolved to break the stalemate in the trenches. Russian General Brusilov was one of the first to demonstrate these in 1917. The Germans used stormtrooper tactics in their spring offensive in 1918, and gained significant ground. The Allies during the 100 days offensive in fall of 1918 retook all that ground and more. Given more time the Allies would probably have been able to invade Germany itself.