Editing World War I (section)

===1918===
All of the European nations were reaching the end of their manpower reserves, with the British army actually shrinking towards the end of the war.  The Americans, however were arriving at a rate of ten thousand a day.

With Russia out of the war, Germany had a temporary window where it outnumbered its enemies.  By the end of the year, the American reinforcements would give the Allies permanent numerical superiority.

Rather than face further attrition, the Germans mounted a final, desperate [[German Spring Offensive|Spring Offensive]].  They attacked at the junction of the British and French, making good progress at first.  The use of stormtroopers helped.  At [[Battle of Chateau-Thierry|Chateau-Thierry]], fresh American troops were thrown into the breach and fought the Germans to a standstill.

In Italy, the Germans sent units to support the Austro-Hungarians.  This combined force routed the Italians at the [[Battle of Caporetto]], taking many prisoners and at one point threatening Venice.

In the summer, the German offensive in France stalled as the stormtroopers were used up, supply lines were outrun, and Ludendorff repeatedly changed the direction of the attack.  From July onwards, they fought defensively, eventually having to give up the hard-won salient and returning to the heavily-fortified [[Hindenburg Line]].  In September, the Allies launched a general attack along the length of the Hindenburg Line using tanks, and forced the Germans to abandon it.  In October, the German army recovered somewhat, fighting various holding actions and grudgingly falling back towards the border.

The Italians attacked the Austro-Hungarians again, this time achieving a stunning breakthrough at the [[Battle of Vittorio Veneto]].  With various parts of their empire seceeding, the Austrians sued for peace, but the Italians continued the war for another few days until the outcome could no longer be in doubt.

The Ottoman Empire suffered defeats to the Russians in the Caucasus, and the British under General Allenby in Palestine.  An Arab revolt encouraged by Lawrence of Arabia also undermined Turkish resistance.

Bulgaria faced starvation as the Germans were taking food from it, and its army had the highest casualty rate of any Central Power.

With the various Central Powers crumbling, severe shortages, and no hope of winning due to the influx of American troops, the political situation in Germany became critical and the Kaiser was forced to abdicate.  On November 11, 1918, 11:00 AM, an armistice went into effect.

The morning of November 11th, hours from the armistice, Allied commanders ordered attacks that resulted in tens of thousands of unnecessary casualties.  This led to an investigation in the United States Senate.