What would be worse for France, losing in 1914 or winning in 1918 (OTL)?

What would be worse for France, losing in 1914 or winning in 1918 (OTL)?

  • Losing in 1914 is worse

    Votes: 34 57.6%
  • Winning in 1918 is worse

    Votes: 25 42.4%

  • Total voters
    59
The defeat for France I have in mind has Germany getting lucky and seizing Paris while AH captures a Russian Army and overruns Serbia, with Italy and the Ottoman Empire staying neutral, Belgium completely occupied, the BEF mauled, and the war over by the early-mid Fall.

The victory for France is OTL.

Which option would have done more to weaken France as a Great Power (and all it entails economically [manufacturing, agriculture, finance, the works], militarily, culturally, willingness and ability to assert itself), contract its empire (in the short and long run), and reduce its living standards?
 
Spiritually losing is usually worse.

Materially it is entirely dependent on what kind of treaty the Germans offer them. It would have to be extremely harsh for it to be worse than a victory in 1918, France lost a valuable generation of educated young men. War is very bad for the vitality of nation both in population and economy.

Another problem I see is that a second loss to the Germans post 1871 would seriously stoke revanchist flames. It could cause them to do something very dangerous in the future, even the Germans basically just demand status quo antebellum so that they can quickly deal with the eastern front, which I find rather unlikely. Recall also that a short war would not have the same cultural impact that tends to discourage such revanchist fervor.
 

Derek Pullem

Kicked
Donor
It's a false comparison - even with the utter devastation of Germany they came back for round 2. A quick war would be followed by another war a short time later. It took WW1 and WW2 to convince Europe that major wars are a bad idea.
 
Losing in 1914, beside the risk of veering to extremes politically.

Material destruction wasn’t even that high in most of France beside the north east, population loss was large but in the grand scale manageable, what it lost during the war france recovered ten time in the post ww2 baby boom.

What really matters is relative importance in european affair, France was really outclassed by germany before ww1 in industries, science, economy... winning ww1 and the aftermath certainly did harm France but it hurt germany worse, that along with the Russian revolution and collapse of AH allowed France to become the first continental european power for 15 years again, and in the longer term ww2 allowed France to become the second most influential country in continental Europe for most of the 20th century, a prospect that would have been impossible had they lost ww1 early.

Plus ww1 was the necessary impetus for france’s Women liberation movement, without a long one it would take much longer.

Although equatorial African may prefer a german victory....

And i’m Not even talking about potential reparation, the one germany put on France after the 70 war was the largest by war reparation every (adjusted for inflation, larger than germany’s on Versailles) if the german are stupid enough to do it again material losses would be large too
 
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And an economy more globalised than the one we have now.

If weapon stockpiles caused wars we’d all be dead from being nuked several times over. Militaries are insurance, sometimes your rates go up.
Could you give your source on the globalisation thing.
 
German Empire as winner will do everything to weaken France after WW1

next to make amends on France they will take Territory and Colonies from french Republic
Also installment of wide Demilitarized Zone at long Belgium, German and Swiss border

It's realistic that German Empire would incorporate parts of north France into Belgium
like Deparment of Calais and Nord this would seriously hamper French economy
because they lose there fast Access to England, there Coal reserves and more important there Industrial area of Department of Nord
This would give Belgium a tremendous economic boost, forming one giant industrial area across Walloon to new Border of German Empire at town of Liege.

on Colonies France will bleed
The Germans would take over several french colonies to form "Mittelafrika" a super colony controlled by Germans
Same goes for other French Colonies in Pacific and America, if German could use them like as Navy Base for there Fleet.
Or as Replacement for Lost German Colonies now under Japanese or Australia control
 
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