COLLAPSE OF THE CENTRAL POWERS

Events:
September 29, 1918 Wilhelm II pressured in accepting parliamentary government Bulgaria surrenders, signs armistice, October 3 Wilhelm II hands Parliament authority on military decisions Prince Max von Baden named chancellor of Germany, October 7 Poland declares itself an independent state

More Events:
October 12 Germany agrees to withdraw forces from France, and Belgium, October 14 Provisional government formed in Czechoslovakia Ottoman sultan requests peace terms for Turkey, October 25 Hungarian National Council established in Budapest Allied leaders meet at Senlis to establish formal armistice terms, October 29 Yugoslavia proclaims itself an independent state,

More Events:
October 30 Germany announces end to submarine warfare Turkey signs armistice, November 3 Austria signs armistice, begins to withdraw forces, November 9 German delegation begins formal armistice negotiations at Compiègne Max von Baden announces abdication of Wilhelm II, November 11 Germany signs armistice, formally ending the war, June 28, 1919 Treaty of Versailles signed

GERMANY AND AUSTRIA SURROUNDED

• France and Belgium were still in Germanys control
• Allied forces were going north, coming to help France, and Belgium
• Germany government were undergoing a revolution, so they surrendered
• Austria army was collapsing, so they surrendered

Stage 1 of German Revolution:
September 29, 1918, Germany’s top two generals, Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff, pressured Kaiser Wilhelm II into establishing a constitutional monarchy, because the Allied forces refused to negotiate with the kaiser and insisted upon dealing with representatives of the German people instead.

Stage 2 of German Revolution:
On October 2, the kaiser relinquished all of his authority regarding military decisions to the new Parliament—an act that, for all practical purposes, reduced the kaiser to a figurehead. His cousin, Prince Max von Baden, was named chancellor and effectively assumed leadership of the country. Although Prince Max immediately began to make inquiries to the Allies about an armistice, he was not ready to surrender unconditionally, as he believed that he could negotiate favorable terms for Germany, despite continuing losses on the battlefield. A lengthy exchange of diplomatic notes went on for the next month.

INDEPENDENCE IN EASTERN EUROPE

• Bulgaria was the first to surrender
• Poland became an independent state
• Czechoslovakian government came into existence