1918

- Revolution - Nov. 3, 1918: The German Sailor’s Revolt, which led to the German revolution, which led to the fall of
the German Empire and the beginning of the German Republic.

Germany: Operation Michael - March 1918

- (code named ‘Operation Michael’)

- Here, Germany changed their strategy, foregoing heavy assaults with a lot of manpower for strategic surprise
attacks with small, highly trained ‘storm troopers.’

- These groups would attack vulnerable positions and logistics areas while avoiding areas of large-scale resistance.

- DYK: It was so successful that the German Kaiser declared March 24th a National Holiday. Germany thought
victory was near.

November 11th, 1918

- In November 1918, the Allies had ample supplies of men and material to invade Germany. Yet at the time of the
armistice, no Allied force had crossed the German frontier, the Western Front was still over 700 km from the
German capital.

- These factors allowed German leaders to spread the story that their armies had not really been defeated. Despite
its near inability to continue fighting, many German officials preached that they lost because of sabotage by groups
like the Jews and Communists.

WW1: Casualties (Killed, wounded, missing)

- TOTAL CASUALTIES: 37.5 million (16 million dead)

The Treaty of Versailles

- It was signed on June 28th, 1919 in the Palace of Versailles, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke
Franz Ferdinand.

- Although the November 11the armistice ended the actual fighting, it took six months of negotiations at the Paris
Peace Conference to conclude the peace treaty.

- Some historians argue that the harsh terms of the treaty laid the groundwork for the rise of the Nazi party, which
capitalized on the German resentment of the economic burdens placed on them after the war.

The Geographical Impact of WW1

- Including Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia.

- As a result, 3.3 million Hungarians came under foreign rule.

- The newly independent nations of Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland were carved from it.

- The Ottoman Empire (which ruled for 600 years!) disintegrated, with parts of its territory award to various Allied
powers.

Economic Impact of WW1

- When the war started, Canada borrowed money from Britain to finance the war effort. As the war progressed,
British loans dried up and the American government began loaning money to Canada.

- When the war ended, Canada’s $2 billion dollar war debt was owed primarily to its own people, and not to
foreign nations (like in Great Britain).