why did world war one start off as a mobile conflict then end up as a static one?

Answer 1

Because none of the parties could gain a considerable advantage over any of the other ones.

Answer 2

Germany's Eastern front remained mobile throughout the war. It was only the western front that got bogged down in trench warfare.

After 'The miracle of the Marne', where they were thrown back by French, British and Commonwealth troops, the German Army simply dug in along a 350 mile line.

Then the German strategy was to concentrate on the town of Verdun, knowing that the French would do all in their power to defend it. They tried to bleed the French Army to death, rather than outmanoeuvre it.

The Allies were simply not ready for a war requiring huge quantities of men and material in order to make any impact on the German lines. British Industry needed time to gear up.

Weapons such as the tank began to make a difference, and Allied tactics developed as new innovations came into being.

Britain knew that the only way to beat the Germans was to get the Americans involved. When a U boat sank the cruise liner Lusitainia off the coast of Ireland, this became inevitable.

Until this point, neither side had the ability to deliver a knock out blow. The Germans exhausted themselves in early 1918 trying to deliver it however.

Answer 3

The main reason is technology. Military tactics of the time were basically unchanged from the Napoleonic wars. They used huge masses of infantry and faced off with the other side and slugged it out. Machine guns made this extremely costly to do, as did much improved artillery. Once the armies faced off, they all tried to flank each other. When you are being flanked, you shift forces to cover your flanks. Do this enough times and you have a line that goes from the North Sea to Italy. Once there was nowhere else to try to flank, they dug in. Besides, one is much more likely to survive an artillery barrage when one is below ground. Over the years, the dug in lines became elaborate trench systems with a devastated no-man's land in between.

Answer 4

That only hapenned in the western front;there, were concentrated great numbers in a limited front,whatever breach was made by the enemy was patched up quickly and efficiently(even at great cost) and the speed of the armies was the same like those of the armies at the time of Darius
or Napoleon.No breach could be followed up with sufficient
speed in a saturated front..The same situation existed in great part,during the second world war(surprise?);most divisions had to rely on their feet to advanse and the armored,
mechanised or mobile units even in the German army were a
small minority especially in the eastern front.The first army with full mobility to enter the war was the US army in the WW2.

Answer 5

As early as 1914, the French realized their doctrine of ELAN, was not going to work against machine guns, barbed wire and well prepared defenses.
Gradually some of the British generals, ( with the exception of French and Hague} were finding this out as well by the battle of the Somme in 1915.
The tens of thousands killed in frontal assaults by armies using out dated tactics against modern weaponry prooved unable to defeat the Germans.
By then it became a war of attrition

Answer 6

Try punching your fists together, starts off fast but when they are equally matched it ends up in a stalemate. The war would have ended that way if we hadn't come in on the side of the Allies.

Answer 7

Probably because in c1916/17 the Russians pulled out of WW-One and had their Red Revolution. This freed up some 700,000 Krauts who were otherwise engaged fighting the Ruskies. They were then free to fight the Brits and the French. The Americans turned the tide back once they joined I think in c1917 or possibly early 18.

Edit: You may find this hard to believe but the Grande Armee of France in 1914, were still dressed as though going off to fight the Battle of Waterloo 1815. I have coloured photograph of French mounted cavalry wearing exactly the same kit [uniforms] as their ancestors at Waterloo. Many French soldiers wore brightly coloured uniforms in c1914/15. They got shot to pieces by the well comoflaged Krauts.

To help bring WW-One back to life - try these sites [wonderful photographs in colour] : -

World War One Color Photos - Color Photos from World War IWorld War I.... who would have thought there were original color photos of WWI? This site contains hundreds of photos taken by the French in the last two ...
http://www.worldwaronecolorphotos.com

StumbleUpon » World War One Color Photos - Color Photo...Website review of World War One Color Photos - Color Photo.... Discovered in History. Related to history, photography, photos. StumbleUpon is the best way ...
http://www.stumbleupon.com/url/www.worldwaronecolorphotos.com

Old Magazine Articlesa collection of magazine articles about World War One Color Photographs. ... 1914,WW 1 Colour Picture 1914 - 1915,World War Onefrench colour photography. ...
http://www.oldmagazinearticles.com/articles.php?cid=59

Damn Interesting » Color Photos From the World War I EraColor Photo from World War I France Around that same time, in 1907, the first practical color ... Glad you enjoyed my World War One Color Photos web site. ...
http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=245

Answer 8

Weapons balance issue, favoring trench warfare.

Corrected in world war, version 2.

Answer 9

By todays standards it was no where near mobile. Initial deployments may have appeared to be movements when in fact they were just old tactics running into new weapons.

Answer 10

War has no permanent stage because the participants have different strategies in order to win.