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War weariness in Germany and in the military and Germany's defeat -…
War weariness in Germany and in the military and Germany's defeat
There had been a small number of protests against the war in Germany since 1915 but by the middle of 1918 many german's had had enough of the war
serious food shortages in Germany as well as other economic problems
they were exhausted with working the long hours demanded for the war effort
EG: battle of the somme was one of the bloodiest of the war- at least 150,000 germans were killed
thousands of men had been killed and many thousands more injurred
as the war went on, more soldiers became disheartened with the war although most remained confident of victory
however in 1918 disillusionment became worse and desertions from the army dramatically increased as allied forces won battle after battle
sailors in the navy were also becoming increasingly unhappy which led to the Kaiser's abdication and Germany's defeat
The stab in the back legend
throughout the war many germans believed it when they were told that Germany was winning
although many were relieved the war was over, defeat was an unexpected shock
this led to the idea that the German army had been stabbed in the back by politicians
many historians believe that army leaders were largely responsible for this idea as, despite being in charge in 1918, they forced politicians to seek peace and left negotiations to them
they also never admitted defeat. As Germany had never been invaded, some found defeat difficult to accept
the treaty of versailles
many germans found the peace terms totally unacceptable
the new government had very little choice but to sign the t of v but this made it unpopular
terms included:
accepting that Germany started the war
paying reparations
loss of land in Europe and all overseas colonies
placing severe limits on German military
preventing germany joining with Austria