What were some of the main turning points in World War 1?

Answer

World War I had many turning points, points that a few critical decisions, a little more effort, a little change in luck or leadership, could have changed the entire outcome.

Where to start?

The war became global when Germany invaded Belgium to force an attack on France. This triggered the British to come to the aid of Belgium (actually the English were fearful of German domination of the North Sea, not of Belgian neutrality in particular). Had Germany decided to sit out the war on the west in a defensive posture, it is probable that the British would have stayed neutral (and thus the Americans too) for an indefinite time. So why did this not happen? World, not just German, opinion was that Russia contained the most military potential of any nation on earth. Germany thus made the decision to destroy the French army quickly and prepare for a long war with mighty Russia. The fact was that Russia was internally weak and was the first major power to collapse in WWI. In hindsight we can see that Germany would have been much better off with a defensive posture in the west, a massive campaign along with Austria, smashing Russia, and an end to the fighting via a negotiated peace with France.

The next major turned point might be considered Verdun in 1916. This battle has been widely criticized in the west as an ignorant move by the Germans, basically just a slaughter with no clear goal in mind. IMO however, the German battle plan was very intelligent. The Verdun area was critical to the French army positions and could not be easily abandoned. However it was vulnerable to concertrated artillery attack by the Germans. As such the German plan was to bombard the area furiously, creating massive French casualties with minimal loss to themselves. The plan would have worked but for two reasons. First, a German artillery dump with millions of shells, was miraculously struck by a stray French round, blowing up weeks of artillery shells. The German officer in charge was court-martialled for failing to properly secure the ammunition, but the damage was done. The Germans were never able to launch the kind of massive artillery barrage necessary to destroy the French army. Second, the French opposition collapsed early in the battle, encouraging the Germans to seek close combat with what they thought was a weak opponent. The French recovered quickly however but by then the Germans were involved close in, suffering huge casualties. Ultimately the Germans did inflict far more casualties than they absorbed but the discrepancy was not so that a collapse of French morale was ensured. The French were mightily weakened, even into 1940, but they did not collapse.

The next major turning point IMO was in 1917. Here, Germany

had effectively won the war. They had fought the British/French to a standstill in the west. To the south the Italians were without offensive power. The Russians had surrendered. Germany could have secured a negotiated peace with some advantages at that point. However, Germany decided to continue to extend an already long war. A million troops were left in Russia, scouring the land for wheat and potatoes, of which they found little. Meanwhile the navy launch a stupidly conceived unconditional submarine attack in the Atlantic which immediately brought the USA into the war. These two blunders alone probably cost Germany the war, but they still had one more shot at victory.

In 1918 the Germans tried again to end the war, but now they realized they were near the end of their rope. The civilian population was starving, the Russian lands having yielded little food. German allies in Turkey and Austria were near collapse. The Americans were building up quickly. A quick blow in the west, if successful, could have destroyed the French army, caused Italy to bow out, and driven the English from the continent. In WWII, invasion of France via Britain was possible due to massive air support out of that island nation. However in 1918 no air support of significance was available. If Germany overran France, chances of liberation by cross channel invasion would be nil. Germany could always mass troops faster via rail than the allies could build up by sea. With France and Russia conquered the Germans would have had the resources to hold out against Britain/USA indefinitely and would have thus won the war. As it was, German forces in Spring 1918 did achieve breakthroughs but these were not properly exploited. Discipline broke down as the troops advanced, with looting and drunkedness common. The drives which shattered the French army at this time could have ended the war, but instead Germany ended up wasting their last reserves. When the Americans/British counterattacked the Germans had to retreat. Although the lines were stabilized by late Summer 1918, the German will to fight was ending. There were riots and mutinies. Germany was forced to sign a humiliating peace treaty or face complete collapse of the national state.

The stage was thus set for WWII. Germany noted their military mistakes of WWI and vowed to learn from them. The western Allies basked in the brilliance of their victory and learned nothing. As it was, in 1940, German ran though the French as they had planned in 1914. The Soviets meanwhile, had greatly enhanced the fighting ability of the Russian empire. The German blunders on the eastern front matched and exceeded those they made in WWI in the west. This time, Germany did go down to total collapse with rape, ruin, murder, loss of territory in the extreme the result.

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