Chapter 10 Chapter 9 1918: The War Is Over

On November 11, 1917, Ludendorff convened a meeting of the chiefs of staff of the two armies, Kuhl and Schallenberg, and the Chief of Operations of the General Staff Wezel at the headquarters of the 5th Army in Mons. The strategic direction of the German army in 1918.The strategic goal of the German army was to launch a decisive blow before the US troops drove to the western front in large numbers, so as to completely destroy the Allied forces on the western front.However, the strategic policy of the Allies is still Petain's established policy, which is to implement a comprehensive defense and wait for the arrival of the main force of the US military.The German army quickly mobilized troops from the Eastern Front and concentrated more than 190 divisions, while the Allies also assembled more than 180 divisions.The plan of the German army was to make a breakthrough at the joint between the British and French troops, between Arras and Rafael, and then use a part of the troops to make a diversionary attack to the south, so as to cover the main force of the attack and turn to the northwest, forcing the British army to retreat. Go to the coast, or annihilate it, or force it to withdraw to the British Isles, and then concentrate the main force to attack the French army.

In the early morning of March 21, 1918, 6,000 artillery pieces of the German army fired short and intensive fire for 5 hours, thus kicking off the first phase of "Operation Michel", which was called "Battle of the Emperor" by the Germans. Offensive on the Mu River". On March 23, the situation on the battlefield disrupted the original plan of the German army. The 17th Army of Bello and the 2nd Army of Uviz made little progress in the main attack direction, while the 18th Army of Guttel in the auxiliary attack direction was unexpected. achieved significant results.Based on this situation and the exaggerated intelligence that "50 British divisions were routed", Ludendorff redefines the offensive plan: turn around the flanks of the coalition forces, break the British and French troops at the same time, and push the British troops back to the coast In the area, the French army was driven back to Paris. On March 25, the British 5th Army retreated northwest to the sea, and the French 6th Army retreated southwest to Paris.The Germans tore a gap 15 kilometers wide on the road to Amiens.The French High Command urgently dispatched the Reserve 1st Army and 3rd Army to join the battle, and closed the gap leading to Amiens on March 28.The German army had to pass through an "artificial desert" caused by the 4-year war because its supply line could not keep up with the logistics supply, making it difficult to expand the results of the war.Then the two sides entered a stalemate. Ludendorff was afraid of falling into a war of attrition similar to the past. On the evening of April 5, he ordered the cessation of fighting across the board, and the first phase of "Operation Michel" came to an end.

The German army wedged 60 kilometers on the front of 70 kilometers. In terms of how much territory it occupied in a short period of time, it achieved great results, but the main goal of pushing the British army to the coast was not achieved.Judging from the battlefield situation, the German army formed an arc-shaped protrusion 60 kilometers deep and 150 kilometers wide, which heralded the crisis.In this battle, the German army suffered 240,000 casualties, and the coalition forces captured 212,000 casualties. As early as January, the French General Staff Headquarters had plans to establish the Supreme Command of the Allied Forces and the General Reserve of the Allied Forces, but Petain and Haig expressed their opposition in order to maintain their independence.It was not until the German army began to attack that the situation became critical. After the heads of government of Britain and France held a meeting in Dawrens, General Foch was appointed as the "coordinator" of the Western Front on March 26. His command very limited.It was not until April 14 that Foch further became the supreme commander of the Allied Forces on the Western Front and began to implement the plan to establish the General Reserve of the Allied Powers.

On April 9, Ludendorff launched another powerful offensive in Flanders, starting the second phase of the "Battle of the Emperor" code-named "George", also known as the "Lees River Offensive".The 4th and 6th German armies attacked the 2nd and 1st British armies in front of them. The 6th German army first destroyed the two Portuguese divisions and quickly opened the gap. banks of the River Lees.The next day, the German 4th Army wedged into the position of the British 2nd Army and occupied a high ground near Mason. On April 10, seeing that they were about to be surrounded, the British army abandoned Armantierre and retreated to the coast.Haig, the commander-in-chief of the British Expeditionary Force, asked Foch for help several times, but the latter was organizing the general reserve and only sent 4 divisions and 1 cavalry corps of the French 10th Army to help.The British army was about to be forced into the sea, but they fought desperately and finally held Hazebrook, an important railway junction. From April 12th, the British army continued to counterattack with the assistance of the French army who came to reinforce it, forcing the German army to suspend its offensive on April 15th. On April 17, the German army resumed its offensive and captured the Kemer Mountains a week later, but it was insignificant to the battle. On April 29, the German attack on Flanders came to a complete halt, thus ending the second phase of Operation George.The German army lost 80,000 people, and the Allied forces lost 110,000 people. The initiative on the battlefield is still in the hands of the German army.

Ludendorff tried to maintain the initiative in his hands by continuously launching surprise attacks on the vital parts of the Allied forces. Immediately after the battle of "George", a new plan for a third offensive, aimed at destroying the British army, was started, commonly known as the "Marne Offensive".Since the reserve forces of the Allied forces had been assembled in the area where the British army was hit twice before, this time between Reims and the Oise River, a feint attack was first launched against the French army. The reserve team of the army was attracted.Then attack the British army.In order to achieve the effect of the surprise attack, the German army adopted various methods of deceiving the enemy.

In the early hours of May 27, German artillery fired rapidly at the positions of the French 6th Army. Two hours later, the German 7th Army encountered almost no resistance. the Aisne.By sunset, the Germans had reached the Weyler River and successfully crossed several places.On the first day, the German army achieved major results that were beyond their expectations. The breakthrough in the center was successful, and the goal of diverting the tiger away from the mountain had been achieved. The reserve force of the Allied Powers and 13 divisions of the French 5th Army had rushed to the breakthrough from Flanders. Location, the German 7th Army occupied part of the highlands south of the Weller River and reached the position stipulated in the plan.Ludendorff ordered an attack in the direction of Reims and Soissons. On May 28, after a full day of fierce fighting, the Germans captured Soissons at night. On May 29, Peidan ordered the French army to counterattack the German army from both flanks the next day. On May 30, the planned counterattack by the French army was aborted due to the rapid development of the German army in the center. The German army attacked with all its strength and reached the Marne River.But it was also the apex of the German offensive.In the next few days, French reinforcements came in a steady stream, and the resistance increased sharply. On June 5, the French army contained the ferocious momentum of the German army on the south bank of the Marne River and Reims. On June 9, the German 18th Army attacked in the direction of Compiègne in order to improve the front line between Amiens and Château-Thierry, but failed to achieve its goal.Ludendorff's third offensive ended.Nearly 120,000 German soldiers were killed, wounded and captured, and the Allied Forces lost about 170,000 people.

The unexpected success of the German army's breakthrough in the center was largely caused by mistakes in the deployment of the French Sixth Army.It turned out that the French General Staff planned to adopt "elastic defense" on the front line, deploying a small number of troops on the first front line of the defense zone, and deploying the main defensive troops on the second deep front line.Although this "light front and heavy rear" configuration will cause the first line to fall, when the opponent attacks the second line, he will be frustrated because he cannot get the help of artillery and encounters a strong defense in depth.However, this reasonable "elastic defense" concept was rejected by French Prime Minister and Minister of War Clemenceau, who insisted on deploying most of the troops on the first front.Ducheny, commander of the 6th Army, also insisted on this kind of force configuration, so that the French army would be densely squeezed at the forefront of the defense line, becoming cannon fodder under the intensive German artillery fire.By the time the German infantry attacked, the French line of defense had no resistance.

After this offensive, in addition to the original two salients of Amiens and Flanders on the German front, another salient of the Marne was added.On the surface, it seems that the German army is advancing on Paris again, and the French are in panic, but the strength of both sides has quietly changed, and American weapons and military base equipment are constantly pouring into the Western Front.At the beginning of the year, there were only 290,000 U.S. troops on the Western Front, which increased to nearly 900,000 at the end of June, and exceeded 1 million in July.On the other hand, the follow-up of German soldiers is in a hurry, and human resources are close to exhaustion.Ludendorff's surprise attack with a hammer in the east and a stick in the west greatly consumed the strength of the German army, almost the same as the effect of a positional war of attrition.

In order to crush the British and French troops before the U.S. military could play a role, Ludendorff decided to launch a fifth offensive on July 15, with the same goal as in the past, to crush the British troops in Flanders.But start by attacking the French in Reims, in order to draw as many troops as possible from Flanders.The German 1st, 3rd, and 7th armies attacked Reims. Two weeks after the attack started, the German 4th and 6th armies began to attack the British army in Flanders.The French army obtained accurate information in advance this time and made full preparations.In terms of troop deployment, we have learned the lesson and adopted a "elastic defense" configuration with a light front and a heavy rear.

On July 15, the French army first launched a sudden bombardment of the estimated concentration of German attacking troops in an attempt to make a profit before fighting, but the effect was not great.The German army launched its operation on time. After more than three hours of shelling, the artillery fire was changed to Xujin barrage fire. The German infantry dispatched and easily occupied the forward positions of the French army.Under the cover of dense smoke, the German Seventh Army crossed the Marne River quite smoothly.But in the next few days, the in-depth development of the French defense line was firmly blocked.The tactical configuration of the French army with light front and heavy rear had a great effect, and the German army could not destroy the powerful defensive firepower in the depth of the French army. On July 16, the German 1st and 3rd Armies stopped their attacks.The next day, the 7th Army received an order: to withdraw to the north bank of the Marne before the early hours of July 21.Although the German offensive in Reims was a feint, it was far from achieving the desired effect.Ludendorff was about to start the show and decided to transfer the artillery to Flanders to start an attack on the British army, but the Allied forces had already taken the lead.

On July 18, the 10th Army of the French Army under the command of Mangen jumped out of the secret assembly point - the Forest of Villers-Cotteré, and launched a powerful counterattack against the German army on the Marne salient.The French army invested a total of 20 divisions, including two divisions of the U.S. Army and 350 tanks. The 400 aircraft formed three levels of fleets in the air: the fleet above 2000 meters to deal with German fighters, and the fleet of 1000-2000 meters. Attack the German reconnaissance aircraft, the aircraft group below 1000 meters strafed the German ground targets, bombed the German rear and dealt with the German attack aircraft.The French attack surprised the German High Command and was forced to abandon its original attack plan against the Flemish British Army and dispatched troops to reinforce it.When the French army stopped attacking on August 4th, the German army had retreated across the Marne and Ukel rivers, and withdrew to the line of the Aisne and Velle rivers.The French had taken Soissons, and had entered the Ville.Once again Paris was out of danger.The morale of the Allied Powers was greatly boosted, and this battle was also called the "Second Battle of the Marne".Ludendorff's strategic attempt to destroy the British and French armies before the main force of the American army entered the war failed completely, and the German army turned to the defensive. The "Battle of the Kaiser" that lasted for half a year ended in the defeat of the Germans, and the initiative in the war had shifted. to the side of the Allies. As early as July 24, Foch convened Petain, Haig, and Pershing to discuss and decide that the goal of the first phase of operations in the future was to eliminate the three salient parts of the Marne, Amiens, and Saint-Mihield armies, and make the railway traffic line Parallel to the battle lines in order to improve and secure logistical supplies.In the second stage, the coalition forces will launch a full-scale offensive.The French army is in charge of the salient part of the Marne River, and it is already in the process of elimination. The British army is responsible for the eradication of Amiens, and the St. Mihiel area is arranged by the US military. In the early morning of August 8, Marshal Haig of the British Expeditionary Force commanded the 4th British Army and the 1st and 3rd French Armies to launch the Battle of Amiens.The Allied Forces used the successful experience in the Battle of Cambrai. Under the cover of Xu Jin's barrage and nearly a thousand aircraft, more than 500 tanks rolled forward, and the infantry battle group followed closely behind. The morale of the German army collapsed, which was rare in the war. The phenomenon, they were completely defeated psychologically.At first the German soldiers resisted tenaciously, but as soon as the tanks crossed the trench positions they were defending, they surrendered in large numbers, thinking that they had done their duty and put down their weapons.The tank group of the Allied forces destroyed 6-7 elite divisions in the German Second Army, swept through the rear of the German army and took down several division headquarters.Despite the sudden attack, the German army quickly mobilized the reserve force for reinforcements, and the tanks of the Allied Forces also suffered great losses. In the next few days, the initial mobile warfare turned into a positional attrition war.Although the German army was forced to retreat nearly 20 kilometers, it still held the line of defense.The Battle of Amiens ended on August 12. After all, Haig achieved his goal. This battle eliminated the threat of the German army to the Paris-Amiens railway.Then, the Allied Forces launched continuous strikes on the 150-kilometer front from Soissons to Arras. By the beginning of September, the German 2nd, 9th, 17th, and 18th Armies all withdrew to the Siegfried Line of Defense (also known as the Hinden Fort Line), which was the starting position for the German spring offensive. Ludendorff regarded August 8 as the darkest day for the German army in this war.It was during the Amiens Offensive that the fighting will of him and his high command completely collapsed, and he decided to stop the war and carry out peace talks.Ludendorff wrote in his post-war memoirs: "August 8 has undoubtedly proved the decline of the German combat effectiveness. I have no hope of finding a strategic means to restore the decline. All plans no longer have a safe basis. The direction of the war would become an irresponsible gamble, which I have always believed to be a losing one. For me, the fate of the German nation is too high a stake, so this war must end." On September 12, the U.S. 1st Army under the command of Pershing launched an attack on the Saint-Mihield Army salient.Since the U.S. military came to Europe, it has never had the opportunity to form an independent army and conduct independent operations. It has always been distributed to the British and French troops to take command. The commander of the coalition forces, Foch, felt that it would be more convenient to use the U.S. military in this way, so he often prevented General Pershing from establishing an independent command system for the U.S. military. The U.S. troops are scattered, drawn and constantly arriving and gathering.For this reason, Pershing had fierce quarrels with Foch several times, and even had the urge to slap Foch.When the Germans launched the spring offensive, the leaders of the British and French armies united to put pressure on Pershing, demanding that the U.S. troops be divided into several parts under the leadership of the British and French armies, but Pershing refused.One of the reasons given by Britain and France was that the U.S. military was inexperienced and might not be a match for the Germans.But in June, the fledgling US troops fought bravely and tenaciously, which surprised the German army.The American and German armies met for the first time in the village named Cantigny. The 1st US Division defeated the German army in half an hour and captured this valuable highland village, which dealt a heavy psychological blow to the German army.When the 6th French Army fled in embarrassment, the 3rd Division of the U.S. Army with no combat experience rushed to fight fiercely for three days, smashing the German attempt to forcefully cross the Marne River.The U.S. 2nd Division fought yard by yard in Belleo Forest for three full weeks, driving the Germans out of the forest, entrenched in strong and well-established fortifications.The German High Command felt that they now had a real enemy.The excellent fighting of the U.S. military has won the unanimous respect of the enemy and friendly forces, and Foch finally had to agree to the establishment of an independent combat command system by the U.S. military.Thus, the U.S. military opened the curtain of the Battle of Saint-Mihiel. The German army began to retreat immediately after receiving the news that the U.S. army was about to attack. When the U.S. army launched an attack in the early morning of September 12, the German army’s retreat was far from over, but the heavy artillery had already withdrawn, so by the next day, St. The Yare salient has been eliminated, the US military lost 7,000 people, and the German army captured 15,000 people.The first phase of the Allies' combat objectives has been completed, and the next step is to launch the second phase of the counterattack as planned. The counterattack plan of the Allied Powers is: the 1st Army of the U.S. Army and the 4th Army of the French Army will attack Meziers on the right flank of the German army to shake the entire defense line of the opponent; With the support of the 1st Army Corps, a central breakthrough was made between Saint-Quentin and Cambrai, and the attack was directed towards Maubeuge; the Flemish Army Group under the command of King Albert of Belgium was on the left flank of the front, between the River Lys and the coast. time to attack.The attack time in the three general directions is extended by one day from right to left.Anticipating the imminent start of a full-scale offensive by the Allied forces, the Germans hurriedly built three new lines of defense behind the Siegfried Line from the coast to the Moose River.The first line of defence, via Germans, Gendan, Brenguerida, Crimguerida, Ghent, Condé, Valenciennes, Le Cateau, Guise, Rédal, Vouziers, reaches Consamvou Ah.The second line of defense passed through Antwerp, Brussels, Namur, Give, and then went up the Moose River to Verdun, also known as the "Antwerp-Moose Line of Defense".Work on a third line along the German border did not begin until October. On September 26, the American and French forces on the right began to attack first. It only advanced a few kilometers in 3 days. On October 3 and 8, the 5th and 10th armies of the French army also turned to attack, which also did not open up the situation.The Allied offensive on the right flank was halted on 13 October.The reason for the defeat was that the German military first strengthened its defenses, while the U.S. military’s offensive organization was in serious chaos. The rear roads were blocked, and food and ammunition could not be delivered to the front line. Later, troops with combat experience were called in, which increased the degree of confusion and suffered In the 18 days of fighting, only 5 to 12 kilometers have been advanced.The defeat of the US military aroused severe criticism from the French Prime Minister Clemenceau, and even asked Foch, the commander of the coalition forces, to dismiss Pershing. On September 27, the Allied Forces launched operations in the middle of the front line. The British 1st and 3rd Army Groups launched an attack in Cambrai. They forcibly crossed the Scheldt River the next day. On the outskirts of Cambrai, drive the enemy out of the Siegfried line.The British 4th Army and the French 1st Army also turned to attack in Saint-Quentin and Raphael on September 29, and broke through the Siegfried Line on the 30-kilometer front the next day. On September 28, the Flemish Army Group launched an offensive northward from the Lis River. The troops overcame the difficulties in logistical supplies caused by the swamp, and pushed forward tenaciously, putting the German Sixth Army in the predicament of being encircled. Withdrawal of the Siegfried Line began on the 1st. The October offensive of the Allied forces was a complete victory, and the morale of the German army was low, and it retreated steadily.The German army destroyed all the way as they retreated, and the land they passed was in ruins. On November 5, after continuous attacks, the Allied forces broke through the front of the German army's center. The US 1st Army, which had a poor record, finally broke through the frontal German positions after fighting several times. On November 6, the German High Command ordered to withdraw to the "Antwerp-Moose Line of Defense". By the time the Kangbian Armistice Agreement was signed on November 11, the Allied forces had arrived at the "Antwerp-Moose Line of Defense" and broke through the southern end of the line of defense.At this moment the military operations of the First World War have come to an end. The road to Compiègne forest is long and winding.As early as the end of 1916, after a series of huge battles on the Eastern and Western Fronts, there was still no victory or defeat.Since war cannot solve the problem, the forces of peace have risen to varying degrees in various countries. On November 13, 1916, the former British Foreign Secretary Lansdowne proposed a memorandum of peace negotiations to the cabinet, but was opposed by the war faction headed by the then Secretary of State for War, Lloyd George.But the memo reflected the sentiments of some members of the British government.On December 12 of the same year, when the German government heard that the U.S. government was about to make a peace proposal, it rushed to throw out its own peace negotiation proposal to show its diplomatic high profile. This proposal states that Germany and its allies are fighting to defend their own existence and development, have so far demonstrated indestructible strength, and are prepared to carry the war imposed on them to the end if necessary, at the same time between human beings and Disclaimer of any responsibility in front of history.However, the proposal also expresses no attempt to destroy and eliminate the enemy, and out of the desire to stop the bloodshed and end the horrors of war, it is recommended to start peace negotiations immediately.Germany passed this note through the U.S. government to the enemy countries such as Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Portugal, Japan, Romania, and Serbia. After receiving the proposal for peace talks, the Allied countries made a collective reply on December 29.The reply pointed out that Germany's proposal was an attempt to place the responsibility for the war on the Allied Powers, a proposal that was neither content nor specific, and did not have any conditions for the initiation of negotiations.The reply counted all kinds of cases of treachery and destruction of world peace in Germany and Austria, condemned all kinds of crimes committed by them in the war, claimed that the Allied countries were fighting for peace and justice, and would reject such an insincere and meaningless proposal.But in the end, it emphasized that Belgium's independence, compensation and future security guarantees are prerequisites for peace. When Germany proposed peace talks and the Allies had not yet responded, the United States, as a neutral country, sent a peace proposal to the warring parties on December 18.What the United States means is to require the warring parties to put forward the conditions for ending the war and a proper way to ensure that similar conflicts will not recur in the future. Create a League of Nations designed to ensure peace and justice throughout the world.The rest of the US proposal is high-sounding. Germany responded to the American proposal on December 26, arguing that a direct exchange of views between the belligerents was the most appropriate way to achieve the desired result.It is proposed that a conference of representatives of the belligerent powers be called promptly on neutral territory.In the end, it was perfunctory: Germany is willing to cooperate with the United States in the noble task of establishing the League of Nations. The Allies responded to the U.S. proposal on January 10, 1917.First of all, to pay tribute to the lofty sentiments of the United States, and at the same time to believe that the peace desired by the Entente Powers is not possible at present, because this peace will guarantee the restoration of all occupied territories of the Entente Powers, as well as compensation to Belgium, Serbia, Montenegro.Protest against the United States' practice of mixing the two warring groups, because the responsibility and moral evaluation of this war are completely opposite to both warring parties, and remind the United States again: the Allied Powers did not provoke the war and do not want the war, not for their own interests To fight is first and foremost to fight to protect the independence, justice and humanity of the peoples of all countries.As for the conditions for ending the war, the Allied Powers stated that they would not announce the details before formal negotiations, but they still listed a series of conditions: restore the status of independent countries such as Belgium and Serbia and should be compensated, return all occupied territories, and liberate the territory of the Austro-Hungarian Empire minorities, allowing them to form independent states, reorganize Europe and drive Turkey out of Europe. The Allies refused to negotiate directly because they knew that the distance between their peace conditions and the status quo of the battlefield was too great, and they had not exhausted all their energy, so they were unwilling to accept peace conditions that were beneficial to the Allies.On August 1, 1917, Pope Benedict XV issued a peace proposal "to the rulers of the peoples at war".However, the pope's suggestion was mainly beneficial to Germany and Austria, so it was rejected by the Allied Powers.After Russia withdrew from the war at the end of the year, the U.S. military had no time to fill the vacuum. Seeing that Germany had escaped the situation of fighting on two fronts, the Allied Powers felt the heavy pressure on the Western Front. There was a renewed call for peace in the British cabinet, and British Prime Minister Lloyd George was forced by the situation. He stated that Britain has no intention to cancel Germany's status as a powerful country in the world, force it to accept different forms of government, and has no intention to split the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Britain only asks for the restoration of Belgian sovereignty and compensation. WRONG - to reconsider the ceding of the French provinces of Albania and Los Angeles, allowing the ethnic minorities in Austria-Hungary to exercise self-government within its imperial structure, and giving the Italians and Romanians in its territory the freedom to return to their motherland.As for Russia, it can be settled by itself and Germany, but Britain favors the establishment of an independent Polish state.The question of German colonies should be settled by an international conference.As long as these conditions are agreed to, Britain welcomes peace. A few days after Prime Minister Lloyd George delivered his peace speech, US President Wilson announced the famous "Fourteen-point Peace Plan" in Congress on January 8, 1918. The main points of the content are: 1. Openly negotiate a peace treaty; Freedom of the seas; 3. Removal of economic barriers; 4. Reduction of armaments; 5. Adjustment of colonial claims to the interests of the governed people; 6. Withdrawal from Russian territories and leaving Russia free to determine its national policy; 7. Withdrawal from Belgian territories and Restore its sovereignty; 8. Withdraw from French territory, and the provinces of A and Luo should be returned to France; 9. Adjust Italy’s national borders according to national boundaries; 10. Allow the people of the Austro-Hungarian Empire to have the opportunity to develop independently; 11. Withdraw from Romania and Serbia , the three countries of Montenegro, and give Serbia access to the sea; 12. It should be guaranteed that the non-Turkish nationalities in the Ottoman Turkish Empire can develop independently, and the Dardanelles should be kept open to ships from all countries; 13. Poland should become an independent country. 14. Establish an international alliance and give it the task of maintaining world peace. Wilson's "fourteen-point peace plan" objectively has both advantages and disadvantages for the interests of the two warring parties.It captures the general war-weariness around the world, and it can be said to be deeply popular.Although the Allied Powers did not agree with some of the terms, they also found that this volunteer peacemaker seemed to be planning to dominate the world, but in order to win the aid of the United States, they had to agree on the surface.But Ludendorff, who has now become the master behind the scenes of Germany's domestic and foreign affairs, denounced the "14-point peace plan" as nonsense.He insisted on going his own way, trying to force the opponent to submit to Germany's will with a decisive offensive on the Western Front. Before Ludendorff's Western Front Offensive launched, Colonel Haverton under him, who was in charge of secret contact with the Allied Powers, had a secret meeting with the secret envoy of the British Chief of Staff Wilson. Allow autonomy instead.But Ludendorff is a typical German who does not understand the art of compromise. He not only refused, but also concealed the matter from the government cabinet.He hated those in his government who advocated peace talks, and kept concealing the true military status quo from his government and even Chief of Staff Hindenburg. In late June, the German offensive on the western front showed signs of failure. Reich Foreign Minister Kühlmann stated in Parliament that the war cannot be ended by military means alone without diplomatic efforts.For those who have not known the truth of the battlefield situation for a long time, Kühlmann is undoubtedly implying that the military situation is not good for Germany.Ludendorff immediately forced Kühlmann to resign as Foreign Minister on the grounds that the government's internal affairs and diplomacy could not cooperate well with front-line operations, and was replaced by Admiral Hinds. If Ludendorff had always been the toughest figure in the main combat faction in the past, then after the British army launched the Battle of Amiens on August 8, his attitude turned 180 degrees. Before the imperial meeting on August 11, Ludendorff said to Schinz: "Three weeks ago I was sure that I would force the enemy to seek peace. Today I am no longer sure." But when discussing acceptable peace conditions later , Ludendorff insisted on long-term occupation of Belgium, annexation of Poland and other unrealistic demands.At this time, Ludendorff was no longer in the state of clear thinking and decisive action when he attacked Liege Fortress and Tannenberg four years ago. He was exhausted, hesitant, and a little nervous. It was not until September 28 that Ludendorff told Hindenburg that the frontline situation had deteriorated. The next day, he asked Foreign Secretary Hinz to arrange a truce through US President Wilson.To facilitate negotiations, a new government headed by Prince Max Baden was established on October 3.Ludendorff has now gone to the other extreme, eagerly urging the new government to ask the Allied Powers for an armistice, but Prime Minister Baden believes that such a request is a sign of weakness in the face of an unfavorable military situation, which is not good for Germany. Germany should declare its willingness to withdraw from Belgium, return the provinces of Albania and Los Angeles, and negotiate a new peace treaty in Eastern Europe, and then wait for the reaction of the Allies.But Ludendorff said that the army would collapse within 48 hours, and he wanted to save his army (at the end of October, Ludendorff admitted that asking for an armistice was the biggest mistake in his life).So Baden had no choice but to violate his correct judgment and issued an ultimatum to Wilson on October 3 demanding an armistice. Wilson replied to Baden on October 8 without consultation with the Allied Powers, asking for clarification on three issues: 1. Whether Germany accepted the "Fourteen-point Peace Proposal"; 2. Whether Germany promised to withdraw from all occupied areas after the armistice was reached; 3. Whether the new prime minister represents the entire German people.After Germany gave an affirmative answer to this, Wilson replied for the second time on October 14, proposing three truce conditions: 1. The existing advantages of the Allied Forces should be maintained; 2. Germany should stop submarine warfare immediately; 3. Germany should no longer be under the control of an authoritarian regime.At this time, Ludendorff felt that he had made a big mistake and wanted to take the opportunity to make amends, so he insisted that the submarine warfare could not be stopped. He told Baden that the war could be delayed until next year and ended with more satisfactory peace conditions.Solf, the foreign minister of the new cabinet, immediately sneered: "If this is the case, your analysis of the situation at the end of September and your eagerness to cease the war are too wrong!" Obviously, Ludendorff has lost his way. The German government called Wilson on October 20, agreeing to stop the submarine warfare, but emphasized that it was convinced that the US president would not make "dishonorable demands" and that Germany still wanted to retain the monarchy.Perhaps because of the pressure from Britain and France, Wilson issued a third ultimatum to Germany on October 23: If the United States had to deal with the German warlords or the imperial family now and in the future, the demand was not peace talks but surrender.Of course Kaiser Wilhelm II was unwilling to give up the monarchy, but in order to facilitate negotiations, he asked Ludendorff to resign voluntarily. The latter's attitude became tough again, and he issued a statement to the troops not to accept the Wilson ultimatum. On October 26, Greiner succeeded Ludendorff as Chief Quartermaster of the German Army. On November 1, Wilson sent his fourth ultimatum to Berlin. In addition to some conditions to prevent conflicts, he proposed that Germany could send a delegation to contact Foch, the commander-in-chief of the Allied Forces.At this time, Baden had already made up his mind. If the Allied Powers put forward unacceptable conditions, he would call on the entire country to fight to the death. At this moment, fire broke out in Germany's backyard, and revolution broke out in the country.It turned out that the upper-level officers of the German Navy knew that once the armistice was reached, Germany would be forced to surrender the entire fleet. They felt that it would be better to sink with the fleet in battle than to suffer humiliation.So on November 3, Admiral Hill, the commander of the German High Seas Fleet, secretly ordered the entire fleet to sail from Kiel Naval Port to the Thames Estuary without telling the government, and sank gloriously in the battle with the British fleet.However, the war-weary sailors refused to carry out the order, and had an armed conflict with the troops sent to suppress, and then raised the red flag on the warship, and the situation quickly developed into an uprising.The sailor uprising in Kiel spread across the country like a prairie fire. On November 7, the German High Command decided to bring back several reliable divisions from the front to suppress the sailor uprising in Kiel.The Berlin government had just breathed a sigh of relief when Greiner called. He had to use these troops to suppress the new riots in Cologne first.Soon the government got worse news that these reliable troops refused to suppress the uprising soldiers and broke up automatically.But that's not even the worst news.On that night, the Munich drama critic Eisner, who had just been released from prison, walked into the Bavarian government office in ragged clothes and unkempt, announcing that the thousand-year-old Weitersbach dynasty had been overthrown and that he was the Bavarian government. Prime Minister of the Republic. On November 8, almost all the major cities of central and northern Germany fell to Soviets of soldiers and workers.The independent wing of the German Social Democratic Party called for a general strike of Berlin workers to overthrow the government.The majority of the Social Democratic Party urged the workers not to go on strike, but felt that it was difficult to control the subordinate organizations and personnel.The Prime Minister of Baden called Wilhelm II who was hiding in the Spar Command several times, asking him to abdicate to his eldest grandson to save the Hohenzollern dynasty, but the Kaiser refused.The Kaiser issued an order to mobilize the army to suppress the rebellion, but Hindenburg and Greiner believed that the army would not obey, so they withheld it.That night, government advisers urged Prime Minister Baden to launch a coup and announce the Kaiser's abdication, but Baden was unwilling to take such a tough approach. In the early morning of November 9th, a revolution broke out in Berlin, and hundreds of thousands of workers and soldiers flocked to the city center. Hindenburg and Greiner went to the High Command to meet the Kaiser, which was actually a showdown.Hindenburg said he couldn't say what he should have said, so he had to resign.William II interrupted him and asked Greiner to report the situation. The latter told him that the insurgents were cutting off the supply line to the front line. The front line troops had only 5 days of food reserves, and then called 50 regimental leaders from the front line to the high command. , Asked them in front of the Kaiser, whether their subordinates would obey the Kaiser's order to suppress the domestic rebels.As a result, only one person said that he would obey, a few people were silent, and most people thought they would not obey.The showdown had come to this point, and William II had no choice but to consider abdicating, but he still wanted to make some money. He made a decision: to withdraw from the throne but retain the status of King of Prussia.The rationale: Otherwise, the military would disintegrate for losing allegiance.这时，前外交大臣辛兹打电话告诉柏林的巴登首相，德皇已有退位之意，要他等待宣布。巴登眼看德国即将被革命所淹没，厉声回答不能再等了，退位必须立即宣布。接着，他根本不征求德皇的意见就向国民宣布：威廉二世同时放弃德国皇位和普鲁士王位，他本人将暂时留任首相，直到成立新政府为止。 与此同时，威廉二世那里正在起草退位诏书。当威廉皇帝得知柏林那边已抢先宣布自己退位的消息后，不禁大骂：“这是背叛！一位巴登亲王已推翻普鲁士国王！”他仍不罢休，向柏林接连发出电报以示抗议，但这些电报不仅一份也没发出去，而且一小时后局势发展使他的退位已变得不重要了。兴登堡告诉威廉皇帝，现在已不再有任何效忠他的部队了，为避免哗变的军队劫持皇帝送交协约国，兴登堡建议威廉二世立即启程，前往荷兰避难。11月10日凌晨，德皇的火车在黑暗中向荷兰驶去，投奔伯恩廷克伯爵，因为他们都是圣约翰武士团的团员，根据誓言，对于落难的团员应给予庇护。一路上威廉皇帝一言不发，直到进入伯恩廷克的别墅，他才向欢迎他的主人说：“现在我必须要喝一杯好的、热的、浓的英国茶，是的，完全是英国味道！” 11月9日中午，巴登刚宣布完德皇退位，社会民主党多数派（右翼）领导人艾伯特和谢德曼谒见巴登，以温和的语气发出最后通牒：社会民主党必须接管政府。谢德曼告诉巴登所有的军队已归顺新政权，不信可以派代表到任何一处兵营看看就会知道。巴登原想以德皇退位来挽救君主政体，现在只好交出政权。谢德曼在国会的阳台上向聚集在国会门前的群众宣布，德国从此成为一个共和国。 马鞍工人出身的艾伯特接管政府的3小时内，便作出了两项重要的决定，他宣布组成一个包括社会民主党两派各3人的新政府内阁。同时他知道最关键的是取得军队的支持，其他事项都无关紧要。当晚他同军队第二号人物格赖纳将军达成秘密协定：新政府答应按传统维护陆军地位和军官团的权威，保证部队的财政开支和粮食供应。军队则保证支持新政府实现自己的执政目标，清除德国境内的布尔什维克革命。这个秘密协议很多年之后才为人所知。与此同时，格赖纳也说服了兴登堡继续留在原位，主持陆军撤回国内的工作。艾伯特请格赖纳转达新政府对兴登堡的问候。这样，德国度过了1918年11月9日这个充满惊涛骇浪的难忘日子。 就在德国处于激烈动荡时，协约国家也在10月底会商如何向德国提出停战条件。黑格认为德军实力尚存，英、法军队也早已厌战，只要德军退出占领区并归还阿、洛两省即可停战，不宜提出过分苛刻的条件。贝当主张德军应交出所有火炮，这样他们就会丧失再战的能力，不过他认为德国人会拒绝这个条件。潘兴赞成贝当的意见。克莱孟梭表示如因条件而使和谈破裂，则德国会像俄国一样发生布尔什维克革命。乔治首相也认为现在主要的敌人不是德国，而是布尔什维克主义。福煦预计如果战争继续下去，还需要3～5个月的时间才能胜利结束，但他表示如果德国接受我们的和平条件，则不应再流血。 11月5日，协约国方面通知德国派代表团前来谈判，摇摇欲坠的巴登内阁组成以艾兹伯格为团长的和谈代表团前往。11月8日，在法国贡比涅森林附近雷松德斯火车站的一列车厢里，福煦代表协约国方面同德国代表团面晤。福煦首先冷冷发问：“先生们来干什么？”艾兹伯格回答：“我们是来根据贵方的建议进行停战谈判的。”福煦立即回答：“我们没有建议也不想谈判。”接着福煦起身准备离开，艾兹伯格不知所措，团员中一员外交官奥布恩多夫及时说道：“元帅不必计较，您认为我们应使用何种措辞我们都接受，这对我们已无关紧要，情况已经太严重了。”福煦提醒道：“先生们必须明白你们要求的是什么。”奥布恩多夫说：“我们是根据美国总统的通牒来到这里，假如您允许，我将宣读。”接着他宣读了通牒的全文。随后福煦命令他的参谋长魏刚向德国代表团宣读了停战条件。 艾兹伯格认为条件太苛刻，难以接受。福煦则表示没有任何讨价还价的余地，德国必须在72小时内答复。一位德国骑兵上尉于11月9日黄昏将文件送到德军统帅部，格赖纳密电代表团就封锁和战俘问题略加修改。第二天代表团的温特费德上校与魏刚正在商谈这个问题时，福煦突然闯进来说：“如果你们在15分钟内还谈不妥，那就让我来，我保证5分钟就完事。”原来他刚看到一份登载柏林爆发革命的报纸，并将报纸打开给德国代表团看。这时格赖纳又来了份电报，不知何故是用明码发的，授权代表团即使在对方不同意任何修改的情况下仍可签字。格赖纳是以政府首相的名义发出这份电报的，但当时巴登内阁已辞职，新内阁还未成立，新首相是谁，无人知晓。 11月11日，德国代表团在贡比涅森林的一节火车车厢中，在极其苛刻的停战协议上签字。根据协议规定：德国必须在14天内撤出一切被占领土，归还阿、洛两省，交出东非殖民地；协约国军队占领莱茵河左岸，并在右岸建立非军事区；德国立即释放协约国全部俘虏；德国还应向协约国方面交出5000门火炮、25000挺机枪、3000门迫击炮、2000架飞机、5000台火车头、15万节火车车厢、5000辆卡车、6艘重型巡洋舰、10艘战列舰、8艘轻巡洋舰、50艘驱逐舰和160艘潜艇。同时规定：对德国的封锁暂不撤销。 签字手续完毕，艾兹伯格当即发表了一项慷慨激昂的声明，最后一句是“一个7000万人的民族已遭受了苦难，但它不会死亡”！福煦听完后说了声“很好”，便起身离开了房间。此刻是1918年11月11日上午11时整，西线正式停火。它标志着第一次世界大战的军事行动的终止。接下去要做的是以缔结和约的形式正式结束战争状态。 炮声沉寂，战场平静，双方士兵钻出地面来到中间地带，协约国的士兵用食品、香烟、肥皂等换取德国士兵的手枪、刺刀、铁十字勋章，几天前还是弹雨如飞的战场，现已成为以货易货的黑市生意场。 1918年7月，勇猛强悍的法国将军德斯佩雷就任萨洛尼卡前线联军司令，给协约国在巴尔干的这块战略死角带来了活力。协约国军已超过60万人，保加利亚部队和少数德军加起来不过40万人。9月14日，协约国军在切尔纳河以东发起攻势，几天以后，突贯保军战线并发起追击战，塞军重新进入自己的祖国开始了解放战争。保军第11集团军全面崩溃，很快投降。期间保军约1万士兵发生哗变，进军首都索菲亚。9月29日，哗变部队被赶来的德军1个师镇压下去。是日，惊恐万状的保加利亚政府匆匆与协约国方面签订了停战协定。根据协定：保军立即撤出希腊和塞尔维亚，不得在两地进行破坏和运走给养；除保留3个步兵师和4个骑兵团外，其余保军一律复员，全部武器在协约国监督下入库；在正式和约签订前，协约国可使用东线的保军战俘；协约国可使用保国境内一切交通设施，军队自由通过。保加利亚退出战争后，国王斐迪南退位，由其子继承王位。 在巴勒斯坦战线，英军于1918年9月19日突破德国将军赞德尔斯指挥的土耳其防线。英国骑兵军在拉法特至海边的40公里地段冲入突破口，向土军后方发展顺利。土耳其军全线崩溃。10月1日英军攻陷大马士革，很快占领整个巴勒斯坦和几乎整个叙利亚。但协约国尚未夺取美索不达米亚的重要地区，所以并不急于谈判。10月中旬，英军向战略要地摩苏尔发动进攻，在沙尔卡特堡一带使土军第6集团军遭到毁灭性打击，占领了美索不达米亚的大部分。期间，英国传奇英雄劳仑斯组织的阿拉伯人起义，也对英军的胜利起了很大作用。1918年10月30日，已经焦头烂额的土耳其不得不在摩德洛斯港的英国“阿哈梅隆号”战列舰上，签订了条件极其苛刻的摩德洛斯停战协定。其中规定：土耳其交出全部海军舰只；除小部分维持边界和国内治安的部队外，陆军全部复员，所有军事装备交给协约国；断绝与同盟国的关系；协约国军队有权占领土耳其国内任何一个战略要地，并对其铁路实行监督。 意大利战线上，奥匈帝国的形势继续恶化。奥皇卡尔曾通过希克斯特斯亲王给法国总统普恩加莱一封信函，表示他将使用一切力量来支持法国对阿、洛两省的公正要求。后者表示法国坚持恢复1814年的国界，即以萨尔河为界，同时要求德国赔偿，并在莱茵河左岸获得安全保障。法国总统还表示，一年之内将有100万美军加入参战行列，协约国必须彻底击败德国后才和它谈判，但愿意同奥匈单独媾和，奥匈可以割取德国的巴伐利亚、西里西亚，不过奥匈必须把南提罗尔和达尔马提亚割让给意大利。后来奥、法两国的代表在瑞士秘密会晤时，协约国方面又加大了补偿，包括波兰和罗马尼亚的部分土地。奥匈一方面对这种角色变换的巨大和速度缺乏信心，另一方面因两国高层官员各自向外界泄露了秘密而节外生枝，弄得互相攻讦，奥匈外交大臣柴尔林被迫辞职。奥匈的和平试探遂以戏剧化结局告终。 1918年秋，奥皇卡尔决定向国内少数民族让步，准许自治，但不包括匈牙利境内。奥皇的这一宣言等于是帝国的讣告，正如其最后一任外交大臣安德拉塞所说：“因为要防止别人杀害我们，所以我们就只好自杀。” 就在奥匈帝国朝不保夕之际，奥军参谋总长亚尔兹居然决定向意大利发动大规模进攻。1918年6月15日，奥、意两军展开皮亚韦河会战，奥军初战略有小胜，夺得了皮亚韦河对岸几处阵地，但仍然是后勤补给的滞后，加上意军的反复冲击，使得奥军在皮亚韦河上无法扩张战果。6月22日夜，奥军前沿部队接到撤回对岸的命令，在损失了15万人之后，终于无功而返。 尽管战场主动权已明显转到意大利一方，但意军参谋总长迪亚兹过于谨慎，不愿冒险，福煦一再催促他乘胜发动一个攻势，都被他拒绝。直到9月26日协约国西线部队发动大规模进攻后，迪亚兹和首相奥兰多才勉强同意。到10月3日，德国向威尔逊要求停战时，意大利统帅部出于对战后分赃的考虑，其行动突然变得迅速起来。他们的作战计划是集中全部兵力共9个军，57个师，其中英军3个师，法军2个师，捷克1个师，各种大小火炮近1万门，首先在皮亚韦河下游进行突破，切断该地奥军同特兰托方面的联系，接着向西席卷奥军山地战线。奥军共58个师，6000多门火炮。 由于多雨天气，原定10月10日发动的进攻拖到10月24日才开始。会战头4天里，奥军尚能顽强抵抗，到10月27日，意军第8集团军的迂回成功使奥军阵地开始动摇。此时此刻，奥匈帝国危机在前线和后方同时并发，国内因前线屡屡失败而四分五裂，匈牙利人、捷克人、斯洛伐克人、塞尔维亚人、斯洛文尼亚人、克罗地亚人、波兰人纷纷宣布独立，正在筹建自己的国家。消息传到前线，又导致军心涣散，兵无斗志。在会战的关键时刻，捷克人和克罗地亚人的部队不愿继续作战，匈牙利的几个师则在10月25日借口本国已受来自塞尔维亚方向的威胁，需要保卫而离开前线。到10月28日，奥军部队中已有30个师拒绝作战。10月30日起，奥军整个战线开始崩溃，意军相继占领战略要地维多里奥威尼托、特里恩特和的里雅斯特，并从瑞士边境到亚得利亚海岸绵长的战线上发起大规模追击战。 当参谋总长亚尔兹把前线崩溃的情况报告给政府时，财政部长史皮兹穆勒掏出怀表看了一看说：现在已是12点半了，我们赶快去吃饭，饭后我们就必须立即求和。10月27日，奥匈政府向协约国请求立即进行单独媾和的谈判。10月29日，奥匈向协约国方面表示愿在任何条件下接受和约。10月31日，以韦贝尔将军为首的奥匈代表团抵达帕多瓦附近的朱斯蒂城，与意军副参谋总长巴多格里奥为首的协约国方面举行谈判。1918年11月3日，双方签订了停战协议。当22小时后停战协议生效时，意军已俘虏42.7万名奥军官兵。根据停战条件：奥匈军队保留20个师，其余均复员；奥匈释放全部协约国的战俘；海军舰艇解除武装并全部交给协约国；协约国军有在奥匈境内通行的权力。 停战协议的签订加速了奥匈帝国的解体。10月28日，布拉格宣布成立独立的捷克斯洛伐克国家；同一天里，萨格勒布的国民议会宣布全体奥匈境内的南斯拉夫脱离哈布斯堡王朝成立自己国家；波兰人也于这天在克拉科夫宣布脱离奥匈；11月16日，匈牙利宣布为独立的共和国；而在4天前，11月12日，奥地利也宣布为共和国，奥皇卡尔流亡出走，长达700多年的哈布斯堡王朝寿终正寝。