World War 1, did the Germans enter the war with the attitude that they were sure to win it ? I'm reading a biography and it sounds that way?

All major powers did at the time. They thought the war would end by Christmas 1914. Technological advancement and holding territory unfortunately proved a different story and the war lasted for four, hell straight years.

What an interesting  and totally insane theory that a country  would enter into a war if they were not  totally convinced  at the time that they would win it. 

Warfare is a  alf brained way to settle an argument about anything, for it inevitable  that both combatants end up completely buggered to no-ones real advantage. It is also worth noting that the winning side  is usually the most successful because they are the biggest.  That does not mean that their cause was the most justified.

Think about it.

They invisaged a short war like the Franco - Prussian War of 1870/71 or the 2nd Schleswig War between Austria/Prussian and Denmark in 1860.

A few battles and bit of territory switching hands after. 

Sure? No. Confidant, yes. There were doubts among various Generals, but they thought their chances were good or they wouldn't have undertaken an offensive. Basically it had to be a quick victory or it was doomed to end in stalemate, and they knew that from the get-go. The first battle of the Marne settled that question for them. The main problem is that they miscalculated how quickly they could advance through the Netherlands,  Belgium, and northern France. Had all the railway lines been the same gauge in each country, they might have been successful. 

All of the major powers thought that the war would be over quickly.  They all seemed to think that their large war apparatus would allow them to defeat their enemies quickly.  And to be fair, the last major war in Europe was the Franco-Prussian War which Prussia had won in a matter of months.  So the idea that a war between major powers could be easily won wouldn't have seemed crazy

No.

The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand led Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia during the July Crisis.

Russia mobilized her armed forces in late July ostensibly to defend Serbia, but also to maintain her status as a Great Power, gain influence in the Balkans and deter Austria-Hungary and Germany.

This led Germany to declare war on Russia on 1 August, ultimately expanding the local conflict into a world war.

In other words, Germany only jumped into the war to defend Austria. Had Russia not sided with Serbia the war could have been avoided.

WW2 could have been avoided if the Versailles Treaty wasn't as destructive against Germany as it was. It forced unemployment, homelessness, starvation, and reparations that wiped out the German economy.

Hitler referred to the way Germany was being treated during the Weimar Republic era as a "Whipping Boy" to satisfy the globalists who were happy as long as Germany said nothing about their oppression but retaliated if Germany spoke up in their own defense.

It wasn't Germany that wanted war in 1914 nor 1939 but because of the stigma that was created against Hitler, both wars get blamed on "evil Germany".

They rushed into it like all the other European countries without thinking it through. If Austria couldn't manage the security situation in their Balkan provinces, it's their problem. 

Funny How the Germans forget this which the Treaty of Versailles was based on and Far worse on the Russians

the Treaty of Versailles was a slap on the wrist.

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk: March 3, 1918An armistice was reached in early December 1917 and a formal cease-fire was declared December 15, but determining the terms of peace between Russia and the Central Powers proved to be far more complicated. Negotiations began at Brest-Litovsk on December 22. Leading their respective delegations were foreign ministers Leon Trotsky (1879-1940) of Russia, Richard von Kuhlmann of Germany and Count Ottokar Czernin of Austria.In mid-February, the talks broke down when an angry Trotsky deemed the Central Powers’ terms too harsh and their demands for territory unacceptable. Fighting resumed briefly on the Eastern Front, but the German armies advanced quickly, and both Lenin and Trotsky soon realized that Russia, in its weakened state, would be forced to give in to the enemy terms. Negotiations resumed later that month and the final treaty was signed on March 3, 1918.By the terms of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, Russia recognized the independence of Ukraine, Georgia and Finland; gave up Poland and the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to Germany and Austria-Hungary; and ceded Kars, Ardahan and Batum to Turkey. The total losses constituted some 1 million square miles of Russia’s former territory; a third of its population or around 55 million people; a majority of its coal, oil and iron stores; and much of its industry. Lenin bitterly called the settlement “that abyss of defeat, dismemberment, enslavement and humiliation.”I keep hearing the Rubbish about the Treaty of Versailles which was based on this treaty that the Germans imposed on Russiaas you can see Germany got off LightTreaty of Brest-Litovsk: March 3, 1918An armistice was reached in early December 1917 and a formal cease-fire was declared December 15, but determining the terms of peace between Russia and the Central Powers proved to be far more complicated. Negotiations began at Brest-Litovsk on December 22. Leading their respective delegations were foreign ministers Leon Trotsky (1879-1940) of Russia, Richard von Kuhlmann of Germany and Count Ottokar Czernin of Austria.In mid-February, the talks broke down when an angry Trotsky deemed the Central Powers’ terms too harsh and their demands for territory unacceptable. Fighting resumed briefly on the Eastern Front, but the German armies advanced quickly, and both Lenin and Trotsky soon realized that Russia, in its weakened state, would be forced to give in to the enemy terms. Negotiations resumed later that month and the final treaty was signed on March 3, 1918.By the terms of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, Russia recognized the independence of Ukraine, Georgia and Finland; gave up Poland and the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to Germany and Austria-Hungary; and ceded Kars, Ardahan and Batum to Turkey. The total losses constituted some 1 million square miles of Russia’s former territory; a third of its population or around 55 million people; a majority of its coal, oil and iron stores; and much of its industry. Lenin bitterly called the settlement “that abyss of defeat, dismemberment, enslavement and humiliation.”Russia lost 34% of its population, 54% of its industrial land, 89% of its coalfields, and 26% of its railways. Russia was also fined 300 million gold marks. and the Germans also took 2,400 guns, 5,000 machine-guns, 8,000 railway trucks, 8,000 locomotives, 128,000 rifles and 2 million rounds of artillery ammunition.  and the Germans still complain about the slap on the wrist which was Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

Yes the Hun/German believed they had  Manifest destiny to rule Europe they believed they were superior to everyone

that is why they called it the Turd Reich

The term "Third Reich" was coined by Arthur Moeller van den Bruck in his 1923 book Das Dritte Reich. He defined the Holy Roman Empire (800–1806) as the "First Reich", and the German Empire (1871–1918) as the "Second Reich", while the "Third Reich" was an ideal state including all German peoples, including Austria.

In the modern context the term refers to Nazi Germany. It was used by the Nazis to legitimize their regime as a successor state to the retroactively-renamed First and Second Reichs.

The terms "First" and "Second Reich" are not used by historians.The term "Fourth Reich" has been used in a variety of different ways. Neo-Nazis have used it to describe their envisioned revival of an ethnically pure state, mostly in reference to, but not limited to, Nazi German

Others have used the term derogatorily, such as conspiracy theorists like Max Spiers, Peter Levenda, and Jim Marrs who have used it to refer to what they perceive as a covert continuation of Nazi ideals

the USA Manifest destiny came from the Germans in the USA

Lol absolutely. After all, they are not some rag tag country, and are known for many many technologies that were developed because of them.

Question:  Have you ever heard of ANY country saying "Yeah, let's go to war even though we know we're going to lose, but what the hell?"