It wasn’t only external affairs that effected the decisions of the German high command but internally Germany was at breaking point. After 3 years of trench warfare Germany was almost totally drained of money, food and good morale. The people of Germany were tired hungry and unemployed while the Kaiser was ignorantly oblivious to Germany’s chaos. An event at the ports in Kiel sparked off a chain of revolts and communist rebellions that in effect ended the Kaisers rule in Germany. On October 29th the Kaiser and German military ordered the battleships at Kiel to fight Britain in a naval war on the coast. However this outraged the soldiers and they took up arms against the Kaiser and refused to use their weakened forces against the powerful British naval strength. In connection with this mutiny a number of other rebellions took off with strength. In Hamburg, Bremen, Lubeck and then in Munich communist groups gathered and rebelled against the monarchy in Germany. Then the last blow came to the Kaiser when Bavaria declared itself a democratic and socialist republic.
Not only was Germany in political chaos but Germany was in a complete state of social exhaustion. Germany was poverty-stricken and disease, unemployment and hunger were Germany’s plague. In 1918 alone 1,700 people were struck down with influenza. Families were not just mourning over their dying soldiers but their innocent civilians who were starving to death because of the ongoing war. The utter anarchy in Germany in 1918 was slowly breaking down the power of the Kaiser. Germany wanted him out and by 8th November Germanys wish was granted. The Kaiser fled from Germany opening a position that the socialist leader Ebert gladly filled. The internal collapse of Germany ultimately forced the Kaiser to abdicate which in turn gave Ebert the chance to end the war on 11th November 1918. So in many ways the anarchy in Germany was a main reason as to why the war ended.
The last three points about the arrival of the USA, the treaty of Brest Litovsk and the internal affairs of Germany were all crucial points for General Ludendorff’s strategic plans and decisions. These are Ludendorff’s three main motivations for pushing forward with great force. General Ludendorff knew that if he were to lead Germany to a victory then it would be now or never. The Brest-Litovsk treaty is significant here because it freed thousands of troops that would strengthen the western offensive. The arrival of the USA is an extremely important point because Ludendorff knew that his army was useless against the power and strength that backed the USA so he needed to attack before they arrived on the battlefield. The internal collapse is probably equally important if not more important because Ludendorff knew that he either had to end the war or win it before a revolution swallowed Germany. Thus the Ludendorff offensive emerged.
The Ludendorff offensive was a series of operations that aimed to divide and conquer the allies through the use of a new, motivated and highly trained army nicknamed the ‘shock troops’. These shock troops were the key that would make it or break it for Germany and Ludendorff new that this was his last chance to break the stalemate before America actually arrived on the Western front and a revolution broke out in Germany. The Ludendorff offensive, or spring push, consisted of 5 main attacks through which Germany needed to break the stalemate to gain significant land. On March 21st 1918 Germany launched the first of five main attacks codenamed ‘operation Michael’. Through the use of 6000 large guns, explosions of mustard gas and this expertly trained army on the 21st March Germany not only broke the stalemate but gained substantial land. The Germans managed to cross the Somme and advance to the Marne until they were just 20 miles outside Paris. Everything was going according to plan until Ludendorff realised that as his troops advanced more and more they were becoming more stretched for food and supplies, more exhausted and the need for food was becoming fatal. Germany had advanced so fast in such a short time that they had not only opened themselves to attack from the allies in the form of a salient but had become overstretched so that important supplies couldn’t reach them. The army was tired, hungry, the morale was extremely low and they were slow as the army were stopping every few miles to raid allied supplies. By July things weren’t looking good for the ‘spring push’, which had almost completely failed. The failure of the German offensive was a crucial reason as to why the war ended in 1918 because by August the weak, overstretched German army was blatantly open to Allied counter attacks. Because the Germans failed Germany knew that the only option was an end to the fighting.
The success and strength of the British offensive is an equally important reason as to why the war ended. The first breakthrough was on 18th July when a French army lead by General Foch weakened the already fragile German lines. From this moment on in time the Allies had broken Germanys strength and now pressed their advantage. By August Commander Haig lead the Allies into their first fully successful breakthrough where they pushed the German troops all the way back to the Hindenburg line. The 8th August, where Germany was totally defeated, was nicknamed ‘the black day for Germany’ because it was at this point that the speedy advance made by Germany in the early months of 1918 had been in vain. Germany was pressured to sign an armistice agreeing to end the war not only for fear of a revolution but also because all Germanys support from allies was falling apart at their feet. Turkey finalised armistice plans by early September and it was clear that Bulgaria were due to walk out because negotiations were being held from the beginning of October. Any support that Germany might have had was now absent. Germany finally signed an armistice on the 11th November 1918 and after four years of fighting the war was finally over.
All the reasons I have mentioned above are all important as to why the war ended in 1918. However I will agree that some reasons are more important than others and many of them are linked. For example the failure of the German Offensive may not have been so inevitable if it wasn’t for the pressure on the German army to act swiftly. The arrival of the USA into the war, the signing of the treaty of Brest-Litovsk and the fear of revolution in Germany all amounted together to form this pressure that effected military decisions. In these ways the first four reasons are all linked but I might agree that the arrival of he USA on the battle field is possibly more important in not only motivating Ludendorff to act quickly but the force that powered the American army was the driving force behind the late successes on the battlefield. The armistice itself might not have been signed in 1918 if the internal affairs of Germany weren’t so dramatic. Because of chaos the Kaiser was forced to abdicate and therefore Ebert ended the war. I think that out of all the reasons I have explored in this essay I may conclude that the chaos and social exhaustion in Germany in 1918 is equally important as the failure of the German offensive and the successes of the Allied counter attack. However I will also add that the anarchy in Germany may be slightly more important because if it wasn’t for the hungry, frustrated and commonly violent people of Germany not only would the fear of a revolution be absent and therefore Ludendorff wouldn’t be so pressurised but also the Kaiser may never have felt that abdication was his last resort and if the Kaiser hadn’t abdicated then maybe the war would have dragged but because he did the armistice was signed by and eager Ebert who had the total support of his country.
Some Historians would argue that the failure of the German offensive was more important because if the offensive had been a success then not only would there be a change of heart in the people of Germany but there would be no need for an armistice if Germany had the upper hand.
In conclusion I think that all of these reasons are necessary to the closure of war and in I am no means discounting other reasons by saying that the internal collapse of Germany is more important.
