Chapter 13 - The Collapse of the Autocratic Empires

• Why had the war been going badly for Russia?

  Fighting on the Eastern Front had highlighted the poor training of Russian troops, its inadequate supply lines and the lack of imagination in its generals. In 1915, the Tsar assumed command of the Russian army himself, which meant that military defeats, like the Lake Naroch Offensive, were often blamed on his poor leadership
• Why was the government in Petrograd being left to Tsarina Alexandra disastrous?

  • She was already deeply unpopular with Russian people as she was under the influence of Rasputin.
  • By the winter 1916-17, conditions on home front were atrocious - bread rationing and lack of fuel -> closing factories.
  • Russia was the most autocratic Great Power, and as life became intolerable for Russians, they focused their anger on Nicholas.
• When did strikes and rioting break out in Russia?

  8th March 1917
• What were the strikes and riots about?

  At first, they were demanding bread and then the abdication of the Tsar
• How did Tsar Nicholas deal with the strikes and riots?


  He was still at the front line, so he ordered the Cossack militia to put down the strike, but soldiers were unwilling to shoot citizens protesting their hunger. The mutinies spread, weakening Nicholas’ position as he lost army support
• When did Tsar Nicholas II abdicate?

  15th March 1917
• What was Russia like under the Provisional Government?


  • limited by the compromises it made to retain power
  • people demanded an end to the war but the gov couldn't just resign because Kerensky realised that by doing so it would be seen as a betrayal to the allies and disastrous as Germany would be able to solely focus on the Western Front
  • it lost support by continuing to take part in the war
• What is meant by the term “Soviet”?


  Russian word for council, originally in 1917 meaning a political organisation for and led by the working classes of “proletariat”
• What principles did the proclamation on 15th March 1917 suggest the Provisional Government would be led by?


  • immediate and complete amnesty in cases of political and religious nature
  • freedom of speech, press and assembly and extension of political freedom to those in armed forces
  • immediate calling on Constituent Assembly to determine government and constitution
  • substitute miliary for police with elective officers
  • no use of military to delay reforms
• Who led the Bolsheviks?

  Vladmir Lenin
• How did the Bolsheviks win power?

  • Advocated immediate establishment of Bolshevik control in Russia. Won support from suffering citizens with promise of “peace, land and bread”.
  • The authority of the Provisional Gov was so weak by autumn 1917 that the Bolshevik storming of Winter Palace on 8th November 1917 met little resistance
• What happened to Tsar Nicholas and his family?

  They were executed by the Bolsheviks on 17th July 1918
• How did Russia exit the war?

  Germany was eager to begin peace negotiations with Russia in December 1917, though the terms were harsh on Russia, ending its dominion over several Eastern European countries that had been part of the Russian Empire since the 18th century
• When was the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk signed?

  3rd March 1918
• What were the terms of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk?


  • Russia lost its territorial rights to Poland, Lithuania, Riga, Estonia, Livonia and parts of White Russia (modern day Belarus).
  • Germany and AH were given the right to decide the fate of these territories
  • Russia had to evacuate Finland and recognise the independence of Ukraine
  • Germany was given permission to exploit the rich agricultural land that Russia had given up
• Why did Russia accept the Treaty, even though it contained such harsh terms?


  • Most Russian soldiers and citizens were war weary and ready for peace, even with such punishing terms.
  • Lenin was determined to focus on resolving Russia’s considerable domestic problems and consolidate his grip on power, rather than continue fighting the war in the hope of a more favourable agreement with Germany.
  • He also believed that revolution in Germany would remove the Treaty
• Where was political power concentrated in Germany at the outbreak of war?

  • Almost entirely in the hands of the Kaiser and his military advisers, with the Reichstag loyally supporting the war effort for most of its duration
• How did the war affect Germany internally?

  • The British naval blockade made rationing necessary from 1915, and the German Board of Public Health claimed that 763,000 died of starvation or disease as a result of the blockade.
  • The winter of 1916-17 marked a turning point as the weather was too cold for the potato harvest, forcing Germans to live on a diet of turnips
• How was division between the will of the Kaiser and the will of the elected representatives clear in 1917?


  • Socialist politicians acknowledged and worked hard to relieve the Germans’ war weariness, with a coalition of socialists and radicals calling for a Peace Resolution (negotiations with the allies) on 19th July 1917, being passed 212 votes to 126.
  • It had little effect on the government but did show the sharper political division
• Who was Erich Ludendorff (1865-1937)?

  • A celebrated German general who exercised considerable power over the Kaiser and the government.
  • As the strain of war increased, colleagues feared for his mental state. After the German revolution, Ludendorff supported Hitler’s Munich Putsch in 1923.
  • He retired in 1928, renouncing his right wing views for a pacifist outlook
• Why was victory for the Central Powers looking less likely from 1917?


  • USA economic assistance
  • peace with RUS was only temporary for Germany
  • ailed gamble of the resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare
  • entry of the USA on the side of the allies
  • only a matter of time before US army provided reinforcements
• Germany’s Spring Offensive 1918 won an impressive amount of ground initially, but a series of successful counter attacks bolstered by over 1 million American troops soon forced the Germans into retreat.
• When did Bulgaria ask the allies to agree to a ceasefire?

  • 24th September 1918
• Why was an allied ceasefire with Bulgaria disastrous for the Central Powers?


  It left AH exposed to enemy penetration
• What happened on 29th September 1918?

  • Ludendorff summoned his military chiefs to a meeting at Spa, at which he admitted that he had no hope in the German army regaining the initiative.
  • Instead he recommended ending the war asap
• What is meant by the term “self determination”?

  The right of people of the same race or cultural background to be ruled by themselves as a nation
• When were Wilson’s 14 points announced?

  • 8th January 1918
• What was the purpose of Wilson’s 14 points?

  The President’s vision for peace - became highly influential as the Central Powers began to consider suing for peace as the USA were expected to offer more lenient terms than France or Britain. Established democracy and self-determination as mainstream ideals
• What happened on 30th September 1918?

  A parliamentary government was established in Germany with the aim of suing for peace
• What happened on 3rd October 1918?

  The German Chancellor, Prince Max of Baden, wrote to Wilson asking for an armistice
• What were Wilson’s specific criteria that Germany must comply with if they are to have an armistice?

  • The evacuation of all territory occupied by Germany
  • The end of submarine warfare
  • The guarantee that the new German government would be fully democratic with no military influence
• What was Germany’s new government in 1918 like?

  A constitutional monarchy similar to that of Britain:

  • Kaiser still head of state
  • Gov and chancellor answerable to Reichstag
  • Reichstag took control of navy and army
• Why did Ludendorff resign?

  • Prince Max made it clear that if Wilson’s terms were rejected, Germany would have to surrender rather than negotiate an armistice
• What happened on 28th October 1918?

  Germany became a parliamentary democracy, with the chancellor now answerable to the Reichstag
• Despite the reforms in Germany, how did the country appear to the general citizens?

  Little seemed to have changed - the Kaiser was still head of state, the military still had a strong influence on government, strikes were still illegal and the war continued
• What happened on 3rd November 1918 which sparked the German revolution?

  A naval mutiny in Kiel
• What happened as a result of the German revolution?

  Monarchical authority collapsed though the revolution was mostly bloodless - those standing for the old order were either on the frontline at war or put up no resistance
• What happened on 9th November 1918?

  In the face of pressure from his ministers, who increasingly saw him as a stubborn obstacle to peace, and calls for his removal by the public, Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated the throne and went into exile in Holland where he died in 1940
• What happened on the same day as the Kaiser’s abdication?

  A German republic was proclaimed from a balcony of the Reichstag and the new government began peace negotiations with the Allies
• Who was Paul von Hindenburg (1847-1934)?

  A military hero who had been Chief of Staff during WW1 - his popularity helped him secure appointment as German President in 1925 and his death in 1934 allowed Hitler to become Fuhrer and receive a personal oath of loyalty from the army