What are the Reasons why world war 1 was not over by end of 1914?

Answer 1

World War 1 wasn't over by Christmas 1918 even though an armistice had been signed on 11 November because sporadic fighting continued till the Treaty of Versailles was signed in June 1919. After the treaty, soldiers fighting for both sides went home.

Answer 2

Most Europeans leaders believed that the war would be over by Christmas, and as the German Army swept through Belgium and into France and toward Paris, it seemed that they would be correct. The French repulsed the German attack, however, and Paris was saved, but the French lacked the ability to press on to Berlin. At that point, the war developed into a long stalemate. Each side dug elaborate networks of trenches and faced each other across no man's land. The war continued until the Armistice was declared on November 11, 1918. it was never anticipated that Germany would be defeated easily. Instead, Germany thought it could repeat (and improve upon) its successful performance in the Franco-Prussian War, which had occurred about 40 years earlier. All that time, of course, the French were nursing a grudge (and, being French, possibly a hangover) over the loss of Alsace-Lorraine, and looked forward to the day of recovering it, but they were not that effective. Fortunately for them, they rebuffed the attack on Paris, but were unable to proceed further, and the war settled down into a long, dangerous trench war stalemate.

Answer 3

"It will all be over by Christmas" was what many people said about the war. There were a number of reasons why it lasted longer and one of them was the development of trench warfare. In previous wars soldiers had met on the battlefield, pretty much fact to face at ground level. The cleverest leader or the largest army would win. The battles in the First World war had people living just below ground level and they found out that attacking troops in trenches, who had machine guns a comparatively new invention, was generally suicidal. This didn't stop the Generals from sending soldiers "over the top" of the trenches but it did make decisive victories very difficult.

One of the methods of trying to win was to undermine the enemies trenches. Men would tunnel even lower and dig towards the enemy lines. This was done with great secrecy as if the enemy heard the noise of the miners below they would dig down and kill them. the miners would then try and store huge amounts of explosives under the enemy trench and blow it up from a safe distance. Occasionally miners digging in opposite directions would cross each others tunnels and have to fight underground.

Answer 4

Because both sides dug trenches and stared at each other not only past Christmas but for the next four years.

Answer 5

The two sides were too evenly matched for that.

Answer 6

Many people believed that the