|
Golden Summer | European Powder
Keg | Sarajavo |
Canada Goes to War |
Building an Army |
Union Government |
Women get the Vote |
Canada Divided |
Conscription Act |
Nationalism |
The Home Front |
Victory
| Aftermath
On September 20th, 1918
Generalquartiermeister Erich Ludendorff, informed the
leaders of Germany and the Kaiser that the German Army
was dissolving and that a peace must be arranged
immediately in order to avoid a complete collapse of
Western front. The Swiss government, acting as a go
between, informed President Wilson and the US that
Germany was prepared to accept a cessation of
hostilities based upon Wilson's 14 points.
Wilson began to negotiate with the
German's in the name of the allies and over the course
of the next 5 weeks the terms were clarified and an
armistice became a real possibility but on October 24th
Ludendorff and many other German leaders realized that
the abdication of the Kaiser was a non-negotiable demand
of the Entente and they quickly reversed their support
for the armistice and pushed for a continuation of the
war. The process had gone too far in Germany at this
point with most believing that it had to happen and
refusing to continue the fight.
On October 29th the German sailors of the
Grand Fleet, based at Wilhelmshaven, revolted and their
actions quickly spread across the country. With the
Russian Revolution fresh in the minds of the German
leadership, they quickly agreed to restart negotiations
with he Entente and accept the abdication of the Kaiser
in order to end the war.
On November 9th a German delegation
crossed the lines to negotiate the armistice treaty with
the Entente authorities and with revolution threatening
to break out again all over German, finally signed at 5
AM on November 11th. The harsh treatment of the Germans
and the internal politics of the process was to do much
to add to the myth spun by the Nazis when they later
claimed that the war could have continued and proper
peace completed if the army had not been betrayed.
November 11, 1918 at 11:00 AM, brought
the end of the Great War. After more then 4 years of
slaughter, destruction, struggle and sacrifice, the
German Empire had finally reached the end of it's
endurance. The allies were close to end of their
willpower to continue, with the exception of the newly
arriving Americans, and it was only with the
perceivable, slow, and steady collapse of the German
armies that the allies were able to take hope and
continue.
Victory meant that the
French, British, Canadians, Italians and the rest of the
allies could now dictate terms to the defeated powers.
It also meant the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire,
the temporary check of German expansionary ambitions and
complete chaos in Russia and the rise of the spectre of
communism.
Canada had suffered
more then 66,655 killed, 172,000 wounded, and was
a divided nation with French and English both harbouring
feelings of resentment over the conscription issue. The
war had claimed 8,538,315 killed, 21,219,452 wounded and
7,750,919 captured or missing and this did not included
the millions of civilian causalities. |
