While industrialisation in
For the men who made up the elite Stormtrooper units, the cause of defeat was laid squarely at all German society
Sat in a railway carriage, the terms of the armistice were given to the Germans and Foch made it crystal clear there was no room for compromise
An extremely prescient political cartoon from
A sinking ship
In 1916 the cracks in
One of the last straws for Bavarians on the home front came when the Imperial War Ministry seized and melted down one of
Leaders who called for a sweeping away of the old order now began to find a new and attentive audience. Most of these radicals came from, or were affiliated with, the USPD – the Independent Socialist Party. Frustrated with the SPD's continuing support of the war, in 1917 they had formed a splinter group that was far more vocal in its call for peace and reforms.
Even further to the left of the USPD were a group of shadowy figures that produced calls for a Marxist 'solution'. They were called the Spartakusbund - the Spartacus Union - named after 'Spartacus', the signatory of their declarations and revolutionary flyers. The Spartacist message was particularly popular in
But their leadership (a radical Jewish lawyer called Karl Liebknecht was 'Spartacus', while Rosa Luxemburg, a Polish Jew, was the organisation's foremost intellectual) was divided as to how a revolution could be achieved and then upheld. These disagreements were to prove their undoing.
An unlikely leader
At a local level,
One of the most famous, Kurt Eisner, was the least likely of agitators. A Berlin Jew who had earned a living as a drama editor for a leftist newspaper, he had arrived in
Eisner resembled, according to David Clay Large, in his excellent book Where Ghosts Walked: "A caricaturist's dream; pale, unhealthy-looking skin; and dark, runny eyes enlarged by a pair of pince-nez glasses."
Balding and bearded, he wore a shabby coat and wide-brimmed large bohemian hat when out and about. To put it colloquially, he appeared more Groucho Marx than Karl Marx. But perhaps it was because he represented the very antithesis of what a 'Bavarian' politician and revolutionary should be that made Eisner a man to listen to. He certainly had a way with words: his speeches were as fiery as they were witty.
It was inevitable that such a character and orator would eventually put a foot wrong. In late January 1918, starving armaments workers followed their
Their timing was too early, however, for the bulk of Germans believed that the war - with the Russians knocked out in 1917 and with manpower and material rushing to the Western Front - was still winnable. The strikes petered out and the authorities used the opportunity to round up and imprison the 'usual suspects' of revolutionaries. In
Breakdown
In spring 1918, the Western Front witnessed the opening of
Initially, the Kaiser's armies punched great dents into the Allied lines. But the first offensive, 'Michael', ground to a halt despite gaining impressive results. The second offensive 'Georgette' did much the same. The final pushes under 'Blucher' took the German army to within large-calibre gun range of
Although the armies had performed admirably, they had not delivered the promised breakthrough. The German High Command also knew that their halted forces were now in serious trouble. So many soldiers had been lost in the offensives that gaps in the line were becoming impossible to fill.
Although largely shielded from the grim facts and figures, German soldiers were not blind to the looming disaster. Their morale, which had been buoyant to begin with, started to break down.
Firstly, they had been taken aback when Allied supplies and rations were captured. Propaganda had told the average German infantryman that his enemy was hungry too; when large and (what they considered) lavish food and alcohol caches were captured, this lie quickly became apparent.
A more serious body blow to German morale came with the realisation that the Allies, far from war weary as the propaganda had suggested, were in fact keener than ever to strike back. Even the lowest rank in the German army realised that time was not on the central powers' side, especially with the
Increasing revolutionary agitation within the German army was noticed at this time. Staring defeat in the face, many soldiers believed that they had somehow been cheated out of the victory they had deserved. Numerous targets for this anger were identified: the current army leadership, the socialists, the 'shirkers' in the rear, the factory workers etc.
For the men who made up the elite Stormtrooper units, however, the cause of defeat was laid squarely at all German society.
The whole rotten structure, they believed, had failed them. Many vowed they would rip the 'deadwood' out of society upon their return to home. They would forge a new
Checkmate
Following the checking of the German offensives the Allies launched a vast series of counter-attacks towards the end of summer 1918. Under the relentless pressure of Allied assaults, the German line bent and buckled.
Towards the end of September, General Ludendorff - the man effectively running the army and, as an extension of this, the country - had a minor nervous breakdown.
On 28 September he had recovered sufficiently enough to realise that total defeat was on the cards. Both he and Hindenburg (the de facto head of the army) agreed to try and open negotiations with US President Woodrow Wilson in the hope that the 'Great Idealist' would grant
The 'negotiations' were undertaken covertly, but were doomed to fail.
Realising they would have to come to terms with all the Allies all at once, Germany decided to 'democratise' her government to obtain more lenient terms. Chancellor Hertling resigned his post and the position passed into the hands of Prince Max von Baden on 3 October. General Groener, a brilliant logistician who had earned his reputation on the Eastern Front, replaced Ludendorff.
He began his rule by asking the SPD to join his emergency government and to help the country in its hour of need. Patriotic, but also seeing a chance to obtain their longed-for Socialist goals, the SPD agreed. It was thought the Allies would view the willingness of the SPD to take responsibility for many key administrative and ministerial positions as evidence of
This may have been the case to some extent. Unfortunately for the ruling elite, the Allies were adamant that no deal would be struck with
End of empire
By late October 1918, Baden was desperate to secure the Emperor's abdication; unless the war was halted in a matter of weeks,
On 6 November, to break the impasse and come up with an offer the Kaiser could accept,
Meanwhile, agitation in the factories was at fever pitch and massed strikes seemed moments away. In
It was an effort by the Command to secure some last minute glory and to combat accusations from land forces that the Navy had shirked its responsibility in the war. Unfortunately for the admirals, honour was the last thing on the minds of ordinary sailors and mutiny soon broke out. After a few confused days,
The mutiny was eventually calmed by the realpolitik of Gustav Noske, a tall and thickly built SPD politician, who had been sent by the government to quell the trouble.
But as order returned to the port, many of the revolutionary sailors left
On the same day, a group of German diplomats crossed the lines over the shell-torn Western Front to meet with their French counterparts and Marshal Foch, the supreme Allied Commander-in-Chief. Sat in a railway carriage, the terms of the armistice were given to the Germans and Foch made it crystal clear there was no room for compromise.
The German armies were to immediately evacuate the occupied territories and retreat beyond the River Rhine. Bridgeheads over the river were to be handed over to the Allies.
A new nation
With the Kaiser obstinately clinging to power, and riots and strikes flaring up across the country, Max von Baden realised his position was becoming untenable. On 9 November, the SPD felt that it had to withdraw its support of the government, rightly fearing that being connected to
Ebert arrived at
Philipp Scheidemann (Ebert's deputy) announced a
But he need not have worried: constitutional complexities were the last thing on the average German's mind during this period.
An emergency cabinet was established and after deliberation an election date for a free and democratic assembly was set for January 19.
In the meantime, Kaiser Wilhelm II was finally given the push. Informed that the army could no longer maintain its oath of allegiance, he was bundled onto a train and sent to