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as we exit nineteen seventeen and enter into nineteen eighteen reading into the
final stages of world war one
and let's just give ourselves a little bit of a review a little bit of
background a little bit of context the war start off as a two-front war for the
central powers you have the western front
you have the western front
right over here and you had the huge
you had the huge eastern front
right over here
by nineteen seventeen
the major conflict on the eastern front especially with russia which was a major
power there had come to an end
your february revolution in russia
bizarre had to abdicate the throne
you had a provisional government then in november of nineteen seventeen the
bolsheviks have approved a takeover
they have no interest in prosecuting world war one because they have their
own civil war to worry about
so they said they they sign an armistice with central powers
by the end of nineteen seventeen and then when we get into nineteen eighteen
oldest so by the time we get into nineteen
eighteen they're ready to sign a treaty
in march
in march the russian signed
the treaty of breeze through twelve isc
let told fiske
with scenes over all of this territory to the germans and takes the russians
out of world war one
so i might have gone into detail on other videos but huge amount of
territory in a matured very informally video i gave a rough sense of
of what where that territory was
and the treaty itself its main significance to the tree in last
as you might already know the simple powers lost world war one so that treaty
was leader of nullified
became importance of that really is what it took me russia out of the war it
allowed to the central powers especially germany to focus on the western front
but the other element of it is by giving so much territory to the germans the
germans couldn't just
you know leave that territory as is
if they wanted any claims do they have to devote some of their troops
to too
occupied lease or at least attempt occupy some of it
so even though it was a huge opportunity in the germans did were able to after
that read or even before the treaty they start were after the armistice direct
start they were able to start bringing
many more of the eastern front troops over to the western front
they didn't bring over as many as they could have because they left some to
attempt to occupy
some of the territory that had been gained
on the eastern front
but have you things from a german perspective at this point march nineteen
eighteen you're going to be feeling pretty good
you know you're you're holding your own it to a front war
now will end and you thought at at one point that russia was a major threat
there
that threat is gone you can now focus on a one front war maybe should be you
should be able to to kind of moon put the decisive blow against the allies now
and that is how the germans felt
but they were worried about a couple things
they were worried about to debate the british industrial capacity of the
allied industrial capacity that was
that that was stronger than the central powers and so that the british could
produce more
tanks and more guns and more weapons owes a race against that
and there is also a race against significant american and to remember and
april nineteen seventeen woodrow wilson
uh... gives a speech to congress they declare war on the central powers
and so
the germans one of my get this thing over with before the americans have a
chance to send insignificant number a fresh troops
so in march nineteen eighteen not you know i would give the treaty of bristol
toh disc you also have the beginning
of german germany's attempted to deal that decisive blow to the allies
and it's known as the spring offensive
so you have the spring
whispering
offensive
and that the goal of the spring ascends offensive was too
was a sense you try to end the war for the germans
and the and the goal was to separate the british from the french forces the
british for the most part were control of the line right over here north of the
summer her all the french word control south of it
so spring offensive as was the first phases of the spring offensive in march
nineteen eighteen
focused on this area
overhear at first it was actually very successful they were able to make huge
territorial gains
drive through the lines drive the allied powers back
now the problem was is that it wasn't too a real big strategic gain the
germans were just hoping it would be such a demoralize or that it would throw
at least maybe the french
out of the war that maybe they could take care of the british her or whatever
else
but that didn't happen all the suddenly found themselves with ease
huge territorial gains
in very short amount of time to have to supply themselves aideed and and they
didn't really quite and it spread their their troops then
and so it frankly just let let the opportunity arise for the allies in
august
to lead a counter-offensive
counteroffensive by the allies is referred to as a hundred days offensive
that began in august when roughly into november so a hundred days
hundred
days offensive
during which the allies between august of empyrean bottle push
the germans not only baka beyond what they had captured during the spring
offensive but all the way well back of
on the front that wasn't
kind of the stalemate line for most of world war one
and it was during this hundred days offensive that the most objective
observers it was clear
the allies would win this war
and it was clear to several of the central powers are those allied with the
central powers as we go into september
as we go into september of nineteen eighteen
bulgaria
drops itself out of the war
just remind ourselves where what we're talking about so you have a bulgaria
right over here
bulgaria right over here
it's signs an armistice with the allies
you have armistice lazo peace symbol for armistice
that uh... armistice is just the fighting has stopped you are you you
still in theory could be a state of war so maybe i shouldn't do
the peace involves fret armistice
armistice
armistice
bulgaria
and this is really starting to tighten the noose around the remaining central
powers because this
this allowed at the allies to gain control of serbia and of greece
which is senseless tied pack removes the last four suppose for
austria hungary and the german empire there's already a blockade
the kind of the harsh bridge blockade that we've already talked about up in
the north sea and so the last source of food was from the south but now with the
bulgaria
uh... signing an armistice unseating over territory
now the the stranglehold was was was really was really really coming into
effect
now back home or remember at this point it's its tourist
reasonably cleared even by this point
even clear to the german people
that the war is pretty much done for and they're just waiting for their leaders
to to make it official
the that
so several of the leaders of the german maybe you want to do this last-ditch
what could easily be considered suicidal offensive against the british navy and
as they're planning it and and the the sailors catch wind of it they mean the
the the revolving say hey look the war is over we're not gonna die
uh... before feudal in a futile attempt to this kind of
for pride or whatever else
and so you have a naval mutiny begins
naval
uni
and eventually the spreads to the mainland and leads to revolt soon
revolutions
so revolution
in germany
and
germany
and this culminates in november
in november november ninth th famous date in history november ninth nineteen
eighteen
you essentially the kaiser wilhelm the sex second right over here
me pictures he took his picture
misses him right over here kaiser wilhelm wilhelm
the second is forced to abdicate give up his throne he flees to the netherlands
and remember nineteen nineteen eighteen
germany is declared a republic
so germany
no longer no longer uh... no longer has a as a king or an empire emperor
incharge germany
become the republic and a little bit before this november third
the writing was already on the right the writing was already clear to the
austrians about david in nineteen seventeen
and uh... tended to make some peace overtures thinking that they were pretty
much done for
but by november third nineteen eighteen
the austrians also cited armistice
armistice
armistice
the on streams
with the austrians and with the dayton kaiser wilhelm the second fleeing to the
netherlands germany becoming republic
this sets up the armistice finally
with germany on november eleventh and this is one of the most famous
famous dates in history known for a long time the us is armistice day
it's was november eleventh nineteen eighteen as actually eleven am
eleven a m so you might remember the famous the eleventh hour of the eleventh
day
of the eleventh month
war or world war one of the fighting in world war one
was over with the allies victorious in the central powers losing it
and the terms of what would happen for those that lost in those that one would
be dictated
by the treaty over time
if treaty of versailles
in nineteen nineteen the terms of which were finally finalized about six months
later
so this is june
you have the treaty
treaty of
treaty of
treaty of riverside which incidentally this is like one of those little
footnotes in history the americans did not actually ratified
mainly because it had the league of nations in it which was this you know
which was nice
project of woodrow wilson
but the american people and the american congress was not a fan of this whole
view no trans national government a league of nations things
so that the united states
did not ratified the treaty of versailles i've been a fact
on armistice day november eleventh eleven am the war was over treaties
universe i dictated the terms
many would argue overly harsh terms
of the treaty versailles
and we're done with world war one