The war on the western front was not over by Christmas 1914 for a number of factors. These include; the failure of the Schlieffen Plan, meaning Germany had to fight a war on two fronts. Secondly, the development of trench warfare resulted in both sides fighting a defensive war. The introduction of new weaponry such as, machine guns, tanks and gas bombs caused a static war with few advances made. Another factor was the alliance systems in Europe. Seven years before the First World War, countries in Europe had formed alliances. Two of these consisted of the Triple Entente...
using trench warfare, which then contributes to stalemate. The main reason the plan failed was because the plan relied upon rapid movement. The resistance of the Belgians and the British army prevented this. One of the reasons, the failure of the Schlieffen plan led to stalemate was because it is easier to defend than attack and with two great powers with equal men and weaponry, made a conclusion that was difficult to resolve. It was only the Americans involvement in the war, in 1918, that broke the stalemate and enabled the Triple Entente to win the war.