Robin Oomkes on the day the German monarchy died…

In early November 1918, Germany was in chaos. Even though the country no longer needed to fight on two fronts (the Russian revolution of 1917 had led to Moscow’s unconditional surrender), the arrival of the United States on the Western Front, with its seemingly unlimited reinforcements, was the beginning of the end for the German Imperial Army.

From August 1918 onwards, the Allies had been on the offensive, and German Supreme Army Command realised that total military collapse was near. The population was grieving for the men lost in the war, food was severely rationed and, since the example of the Russian surrender of 1917, both the Social Democratic and Communist parties were clamouring for peace.

The ultimate trigger for the events that occurred on 9th November 1918 was a last attempt by the Imperial Navy to turn the military tables in Germany’s favour. On 24th October of that same year, battle cruisers stationed at Kiel were ordered to make their way to the North Sea for a final showdown with the British Royal Navy. But the sailors refused to sail—and their mutiny quickly spread from the ships to the town of Kiel itself. The first Workers’ and Soldiers’ Council was proclaimed there on 4th November, and representatives of the Council spread throughout Germany to urge workers and soldiers to form revolutionary councils of their own.

At the same time, on the home political front, Friedrich Ebert, leader of the moderate Social Democratic Party (SPD), had already secured concessions from the Kaiser and Supreme Army Command that effectively turned Germany into a parliamentary democracy. Ebert and his number two, Philipp Scheidemann, considered these concessions sufficient and certainly wanted to avoid a full-blown revolution.

Meanwhile, Kaiser Wilhelm II, who had left—some say fled—Berlin on October 28th for German Military Headquarters in Spa, Belgium, was slowly coming to terms with the fact that support for the monarchy was slipping away. When he su…