In essence, the very reason for the war changed. Originally the German stance was that a quick victory in the west would free up divisions to end the war in the east. This turned into a grindlock. It is hypothesized that since the plan to end the war quickly was never fully adapted to the times in the period leading up to the first world war, the Germans did not leave enough divisions along the Western front, thus not allowing for a quick victory. Ad the war progressed German publicized aims became more and more expansionist. The public was always led to believe that the end was just around the corner of the next offensive, such as the drives of 1918, and of the battles at Verdun. Multiple overtures of peace were thrown around by minor players at many points and the US even tried at one time. To sum it up; both sides saw surrender as an existential endpoint and the Germans in particular continuously became more expansionist in their terms for peace; and all potential peace deals were rejected as favouring the "other side" too much.