WW1 Flashcards
How would ordinary Germans have felt at the beginning of 1918?
Immensely hopeful, as after many years of hardship and the ‘turnip winter’ of 1917, there was finally hope of Germany winning the war.
Why was there hope of Germany winning the war at the beginning of 1918?
Because Russia had experienced a revolution and dropped out of the war.
How would Germany’s leaders have felt at the beginning of 1918?
Discouraged and concerned, as they knew that they had lost nearly 300,000 men on the Western Front and their remaining men were exhausted and would be easy to fight.
When did Germany open peace talks with the allies?
October 1918
How would ordinary Germans and soldiers have felt in Autumn 1918, upon Germany’s collapse?
Shocked, as they were not aware of how poorly the war was going. Germany had not been invaded by the allies, and soldiers did not know that no more supplies were going to arrive for them.
How did starvation affect Germany in WW1?
The British used their navy to prevent supplies from entering Germany by sea, and since it was surrounded by enemy countries Germany suffered a severe food shortage that cumulated in the Germany people surviving on turnips and bread.the turnip winter of 1917
How did disease affect Germany in WW1?
Due to weakened immune systems from malnutrition, the German people were much more susceptible to illness, and thousands did in a flu epidemic in 1918.
How did navy and army mutinies affect Germany in WW1?
In late October 1918, a group of sailors in the German Navy refused to attack British ships. This idea spread to other sailors, and soldiers sent to deal with the protests ended by joining them.
How did workers and strikes affect Germany in WW1?
Many workers in towns joined the navy in striking and, together with the soldiers, took over towns ans set up councils to govern them, slowly taking control of Germany
How did war-weariness affect Germany in WW1?
As a result of starvation and disease, as well as the length of time those who signed up to fight had been absent, the people of Germany began to demonstrate for peace and stopped caring about the Kaiser’s speeches
How did economic problems affect Germany in WW1?
Germany had borrowed money during the war which would need paying back; as well as this, Germany had lent money to its allies which it could not guarantee it would get back. Also, the government knew that in the future it would have to pay war pensions to families that had lost husbands and fathers.
How did political problems affect Germany in WW1?
Many German people who had not been aware of how poorly the war was turning out believed that they could still have won the war and felt they had been betrayed by Ebert and the SPD, who had replaced the Kaiser and ended the war.
What was Dolchstoss?
The idea that the German army was not really defeated in WW1, and that they were stabbed in the back by an alliance of socialists, communists, and Jewish businessmen.
What happened when the Ludendorff offensive failed?
8 August British and French forces advanced 11 miles eastward in the front
Ludendorff and the Kaiser secretly concluded that Germany could no longer win the war
How were German soldiers treated on return form losing the war?
They were paraded through Berlin on the 10th of December 1918 and Ebert greeted them with “no enemy defeated you” “they have returned undefeated from the battlefield”
