what type of war caused a stalemate on the western front
Western Front (World War I) From 19 October until 22 November, the German forces made their final breakthrough attempt of 1914 during the First Battle of Ypres, which ended in a mutually-costly stalemate.[26] After the battle, Erich von Falkenhayn judged that it was no longer possible for Germany to win the war by purely military means and on 18 November 1914 he called for a diplomatic solution. The Chancellor, Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg, Generalfeldmarschall Paul von Hindenburg, commanding Ober Ost (Eastern Front high command), and Hindenburg's deputy, Erich Ludendorff, continued to believe that victory was achievable through decisive battles. During the Lodz offensive in Poland (11–25 November), Falkenhayn hoped that the Russians would be made amenable to peace overtures. In his discussions with Bethmann-Hollweg, Falkenhayn viewed Germany and Russia as having no insoluble conflict and that the real enemies of Germany were France and Britain. A peace with only a few annexations of territory also seemed possible with France and that with Russia and France out of the war by negotiated settlements, Germany could concentrate on Britain and fight a long war with the resources of Europe at its disposal. Hindenburg and Ludendorff continued to believe that Russia could be defeated by a series of battles which cumulatively would have a decisive effect, after which Germany could finish off France and Britain.[27]
Two-front war The most famous example of a two-front war was the European theatre during World War II, when Hitler's Nazi Germany had to confront the Western Allies on the west and the Soviet Union to the east. The Germans were unable to repel either of the advances on the two fronts and eventually lost the war. While there were other contributing factors, such as the insufficiency of the Wehrmacht for a long war and the abandonment of blitzkrieg tactics because of fuel shortages and a rising need to defend territory, the two-front war was an important factor in deciding when the German military would be forced to surrender.