1 Why was the war not over by December 1914?
At the onset of war the Germans attempted to execute the Schlieffen Plan but this failed at the battle of the Marne. There followed a 'race to the sea' as both sides attempted to outflank each other and dug in to defensive positions - trenches. the Western Front trenches eventually stretched 320 kilometres from the English Channel to the Swiss Alps. This was a new form of warfare which meant that there would be no...