5.1- 5.

3 The Defeat of Germany WWI

The Armistice 11-11-1918 Bulgaria Surrenders 29-09- 1918.
On November 11, at 5:10a.m, It was the first of the Central Powers to surrender.
the Armistice With Germany The war damaged the economy, creating supply
was signed. Hostilities officially problems and reducing the health and morale of
ended at 11:00a.m that day. Bulgarian troops. They were forced to seek peace.
(Thus 11hr, 11-11-1918). It took Bulgaria requested an armistice with the Allies on
seven more months to 24 September 1918, accepting it five days later.
formalise peace treaties. On October 25, a Hungarian National Council was
The Dissolution of Austria-Hungary 03-11- 1918 established in Budapest to create an independent
By the end of October, Germany was still actively trying to broker a Hungary, separate from Austria.
favourable way out of the war, but Austria could no longer afford to Poland declared itself an independent state On
wait, because the country was already falling apart. On October 27, October 7.
1918, Austria approached the Allies independently for an armistice Czechoslovakia came into existence. On 14 th
and ordered the Austrian army to retreat the same day. On October October.
29, Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes proclaimed the establishment of a Germany armistice 11-11-1918
southern Slavic state to be called Yugoslavia. On October 12, the German government
On October 30, an Austrian delegation arrived in Italy to surrender announced that it had accepted Wilson’s
unconditionally. That same day, Hungary formally declared its requirement and that it would Withdraw Its
independence. On November 3, all the terms of the Austrian armistice Forces from France and Belgium.
were in place, and on the following day, Austria-Hungary formally In the early days of November 1918, the situation
ceased to exist. in Germany deteriorated from unstable to
outright chaotic. Unrest within the military grew,
End of Ottoman Empire October 30, 1918 especially in the navy, where mutinies were
Aboard the British battleship Agamemnon, representatives of Great becoming widespread.
Britain and the Ottoman Empire sign an armistice treaty ending the On 9th November 1918 Prince Max, chancellor,
First World War. Most of the Ottoman territories were divided announced Wilhelm II’s Abdication of the German
between Britain, France, Greece and Russia. The Ottoman empire throne without the Kaiser’s agreement. Prince
officially ended in 1922 when the title of Ottoman Sultan was Max himself then resigned transforming the
eliminated. government into a parliamentary system, by
handing over the title of chancellor to SPD
Chairman Friedrich Ebert. The Weimar Republic
war born.
The Treaty of Versailles
The treaty defining Germany’s present and future
existence was signed at Versailles on June 28,
1919. It was to set the stage for a second war 20
years later
The Legacy of the World War I
World War I began with a cold-blooded murder, diplomatic intrigue, and overconfident guesses about what the other side
would do. There was a sense of excitement and adventure in the air, as some envisioned the war as a chance to try out the
newest technological innovations. Tens of millions dead, entire countries in ruins, and economies in shambles. Millions of
soldiers had been drawn into the war, many from faraway colonies and many with little idea of what it was they were
fighting for.
The Treaty of Versailles, rather than fix these problems, imposed bewilderingly harsh terms upon Germany, forcing it to
accept full financial and diplomatic responsibility for the entire war. In the peace treaties of past wars, each side had
accepted its losses, claimed its spoils, shaken hands, and then moved on. After WW I, however, the German people were
humiliated, impoverished, and left with nothing to hope for. Germany became a tumultuous place, on the brink of violent
revolutions from both the right and the left and vulnerable to take over from extremist elements like the Nazi Party. Two
decades would prove that the Allies had gone overboard with the punishment of Germany. It was a misjudgement that
created the conditions required to launch Europe into the centre of an even more horrifying world war.
Ending of WWI
German spring offensive/ Ludendorff offensive The 100 Day offensive/war – Allies
Kaiserschlacht "Kaiser's Battle" began on 21 March 1918. The This was a series of massive Allied attacks which ended WWI.
Germans realised that their only chance of victory was to Beginning with the Battle of Amiens (8–12 August) on the
defeat the Allies before the USA could fully engage in the war. Western Front, the Allies pushed the Central Powers back,
They had gained a temporary advantage when soldiers from undoing their gains from the German spring offensive. The
the eastern front joined the western front after Russian Germans retreated to their last line of defence, the
withdrawal from the war with the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Hindenburg Lin. But the Allies broke through the line with a
There were four German offensives, codenamed Michael, series of victories, starting with the Battle of St Quentin Canal
Georgette, Gneisenau, and Blücher-Yorck. on 29 September. The offensive, together with a revolution
Michael was the main attack, which was intended to break breaking out in Germany, led to the Armistice of 11 November
through the Allied lines, outflank the British forces and defeat 1918 which ended the war with an Allied victory. The term
the British Army. Once that was achieved, it was hoped that "Hundred Days Offensive" does not refer to a battle or
the French would seek armistice terms. The other offensives strategy, but rather the rapid series of Allied victories against
were subsidiary and were designed to divert Allied forces from which the German Army had no reply.
the main offensive effort on the Somme. Once the operations Throughout the Hundred Days Offensive, poor morale in the
were underway, the targets of the attacks were constantly German Army contributed significantly to the Allied victories.
changed according to the battlefield situation. The failure of the Spring Offensive and the surprise counter-
The Germans struggled to maintain momentum due to attack at Amiens demoralised the German troops. Around
logistical issues. The fast-moving Stormtrooper units could not 30,000 German soldiers surrendered during the Battle of
carry enough food and ammunition to sustain themselves for Amiens. Ludendorff described the first day of this battle as the
long and supplies could not be sent fast enough to assist them. “black day of the German Army”. Huge numbers of German
The German Army made the deepest advances on the Western prisoners were also taken at the Battle of St. Quentin Canal.
Front since 1914. Despite this successes, they suffered heavy The 46th Division alone captured over 4,000 men. General Sir
casualties in return for land that was of little strategic value Henry Rawlinson remarked that the Hindenburg line would
and hard to defend. The offensive failed to deliver a blow that have been impregnable if it had been defended by the German
could save Germany from defeat. In July 1918, the Allies Army of two years earlier.
regained their numerical advantage with the arrival of Cost of the Victory
American troops. In August, they used this and improved Allied casualties between August and November 1918 were
tactics to launch a counteroffensive, the 100 day war. around 700,000. German casualties were slightly higher at
around 760,000.
USA Enters WWI
On April 2, 1917, President Wilson received approval of Congress to wage war against Germany. Germany's resumption of
submarine attacks on passenger and merchant ships in 1917 became the primary motivation plus the Zimmerman telegram U.S.
military power helped to bring the war to an end.
In April 1917 The U.S. had enormous industrial strength and had been supplying the Allies with weapons and goods since 1914.
It also had a powerful blue-water navy. USA soil was not harmed in WWI and could easily produce what the Allies needed. US
had the financial man power resources to fund the war. The biggest impact was the 2 million enthusiastic invigorated soldiers
that reinforced the western front. The financial burden was also lifted from the Allies
Allied strengths. Reasons Germany lost WWI
1.Greater amount of men and resources 1. Banking on a quick victory with the Schlieffen plan
2. Stronger allies working together especially USA 2. Passing through Belgium and brining Britain into the war
3.Blockades on Germany while Britain could still import 3. Underestimating the French and Britain strengths at Verdun
food 4. Underestimating the ability of Russia to enter the war on the
4. Convoy system avoiding the starvation of Britain into eastern front
surrender 5. Unrestricted U boat attacks in at Atlantic bring US into the war
5.Development of superior aircraft, artillery, tanks and 6. The Ludendorff offensive logistics failing the advancing army
infantry 7. Having weak allies
6.The US troops who started coming from June 1918 were 8. Weak economic controls, 70% in agricultural output
not ‘War weary’ 9. Harsh terms of the treaty of Brest Litosvsk.
7. US had massive economic resources to spend on the 10. Low morale among army, navy and civilians who were ready to
war revolt
8.US had the money to lend the Allies and help their effort