Account for either the defeat of the Central Powers in the First World War or the Axis Powers in the Second World War

1
Account for either the defeat of the Central
Powers in the First World War or the Axis Powers
in the Second World War
2
Central Powers-Germany, Austria Hungary and the
Ottoman Empire

• Failure of Italy to enter the war on the side of
  Germany and Austria-Hungary. This was a
  psychological blow and a bad omen for victory.
• Failure of the Schlieffen Plan-Germany was now in
  a two-front war with all the negative
  implications that implied.
• The war on the western front became a war of
  attrition that Germany could not win. Trench
  warfare (defensive) replaced a war of mobility
  that favored Germany (offensive).
• British naval blockade of German ports prevented
  new supplies of food and fuel to the civilian
  population.
• Germany had to resort to unrestricted sub warfare
  that brought in the United States on the side of
  the allies.
• Austria-Hungarian Empire had to divert troops to
  fight Italy and made a poor showing in the war
  against Russia. Slavic groups in the empire
  preferred to join the allies.

3
Loss of the Axis Powers in WWII?

• Hitler tried to repair mistakes of the Kaiser in
  WWI. Murder of Austrian Chancellor Dollfuss,
  Anschluss and the Pact of Steel guaranteed
  Mussolini would not back out of this alliance.
  Hungary would join forces with Hitler as Hungary
  had experienced the reality of a short-lived
  Communist regime after WWI. Italy would secure
  the Mediterranean countries and oil assets in the
  Middle East. Italy did not have the military or
  the will to accomplish these tasks. Count Ciano,
  the Italian foreign minister, never bought into
  this plan.
• Germany was defeated in the Battle of Britain
  (1940). Germany suffered a huge loss of aircraft.
  (That would negatively affect the Soviet
  campaign.) Britain could now be used as a staging
  ground to later invade the continent. The Hess
  flight to Scotland revealed the psychological
  defeat of Germany.
• Germany was locked into another two front war-the
  unnerving cooperation of Vichy France on the
  western front and the unrelenting drive of the
  Soviet Army on the eastern front.
• British and U.S. naval forces harassed German
  supply lines. The aerial bombardment of German
  cities demoralized the civilian population and
  prevented re-supply of food and fuel.
• British colonies and commonwealth countries came
  in on the Allied side to help defeat the Axis
  Powers
• Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the
  tremendous resources of the U.S. into the war
  both in Europe and the Pacific.
• Japan, Germany and Italy lacked domestic oil
  supplies. Germany was unable to secure oil
  supplies in the Soviet Union and the Middle East.
  Oil was a requirement for mechanized warfare
  (blitzkrieg).
• Strong resistance movements particularly in
  France and Yugoslavia tied up German troops in
  the occupied countries. Many of these resistance
  movements were led by the Communists.
  (Governments-in-waiting for the defeat of
  Germany.)
• The opening of the North African campaign(1942)
  further diverted German troops to aid Mussolini.
• German leaders were engaged in an intensifying
  civil war at the same time they were on the
  offensive in Europe while Soviet leaders had
  ended their War against the Peasants. The
  Soviet Union was now entirely focused on the
  defense of the Fatherland.