The War Years 1914-1918 + after the war Flashcards
who lead Germany into the war?
the Kaiser and the imperial chancellor, Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg, but behind the scenes the military leaders carried the most influence and dictated the course of events.
what swung the balance of War in the Allies favour?
the deployment of a million American troops + the allies launched a counter offensive which forced the Germans into a headlong retreat.
what did the high command agree when concluding the war was lost and an armistice would have to be sought?
the War was lost and that the military should enforce a ‘revolution from above’ to prevent the monarchy being swept away by a ‘revolution from below’.
what was the stab in the back theory?
Germans already prepared to find excuses for their defeat. The military spoke of betrayal and claimed that the Amy had been ‘stabbed in the back’ by traitors at home. blamed were pacifists, socialists and communists who had agitated for an end to the War and had been responsible for organising strikes and mutinies, and those that had negotiated an armistice. They were called the November criminals - Hitler was to add the Jews and Marxists (supporter of the political and economic theories of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels)
