德国革命

这篇文章属于施工中目录下，还未被作者完成。内容并非最终成品。

**内战**
波兰和捷克 (小型战斗)
 结果 | **红色势力胜利：*** 建立社会主义德国和巴伐利亚
* 建立巴登-符腾堡和莱茵兰共和国
* 亚琛条约
 **红色德国**
* 德国人民军
* 无产阶级百人团

 红色巴伐利亚
* 红色奥地利

 德国工会自由联盟 其它苏维埃共和国

 **苏维埃俄国** (自1920年8月起)
* 白俄罗斯苏维埃社会主义共和国
* 乌克兰苏维埃社会主义共和国
* 波兰-加利西亚苏维埃社会主义共和国

**支持：**
 匈牙利 斯洛伐克 (自1919年6月起) 捷克共产党人 波兰共产党人 外国志愿者
 德意志帝国 (至1918年11月9日，未有战斗)
 **魏玛共和国** (1918年11月9日 - 1920年10月)
* 魏玛防卫军
* 自由军团
* 钢盔团
* 巴伐利亚防卫军
* 黑红金国旗团

 巴登-符腾堡 (自1920年10月起)

**外国干涉**
 法国
* 莱茵兰独立派

 联合王国 捷克 (1919年5月 - 6月) 奥地利 (自1919年12月起) 丹麦 (自1920年1月起) 波兰 (波德战争)

**支持：**
罗莎·卢森堡
卡尔·李卜克内西
恩斯特·台尔曼
路德维希·雷恩
维利·列奥夫

库尔特·艾斯纳 †
尤金·莱文
鲁道夫・埃格尔霍费尔
埃里希·沃伦伯格

弗拉基米尔·列宁
列夫·托洛茨基
米哈伊尔·图哈切夫斯基
威廉二世

弗里德里希·艾伯特
古斯塔夫·诺斯克
保罗·冯·兴登堡
埃里希·鲁登道夫
汉斯·冯·塞克特
奥古斯特·冯·马肯森

威廉二世

乔治·克列孟梭
夏尔·曼金
奥古斯丁·杰拉德

大卫·劳合·乔治
普卢默子爵
威廉·罗伯逊

托马斯·马萨里克
约瑟夫·什奈达雷克

卡尔·塞茨
瓦尔特·弗瑞迈尔

克里斯蒂安十世
埃德加·卡斯托尼尔

1,920,000人

100,000人

70,000人

24,000人
**总计 2,114,000人**

630,000人

50,000人 |  **白色势力**

850,000人

40,000人

540,000人

13,000人

480,000人
**总计 1,923,000人**

240,000人

120,000人(部署)
230,000人(总计)

120,000人

5,000人

20,000人

16,000人

40,000人

643,000人死亡
1,537,000人受伤

13,000人死亡
21,000人受伤

2,000人死亡
7,000人受伤

168,000人死亡
151,000人受伤

13,000人死亡
514,000人死亡
1,148,000人受伤

11,000人死亡
23,000人受伤

6,000人死亡
14,000人受伤

1,300人死亡
3,400人受伤

170人死亡
430人受伤

5,000人死亡
8,000人受伤

300人死亡
1,100人受伤

2,000人死亡
5,000人受伤

400人死亡

**德国革命**（德语：*Deutsche Revolution 1918*），或称**十一月革命**（德语：*Novemberrevolution*），是在世界大战末期发生在德意志帝国和魏玛共和国内的一场冲突，它终结了德国的联邦君宪制，并以苏维埃工人共和国取而代之。革命时期从1918年10月持续到1919年5月，直到冲突升级为众人所知的**德国内战**（德语：*Deutscher Bürgerkrieg*），或称**五月革命**（德语：*Mai-Revolution*）。内战阶段则持续到了1920年11月，以亚琛条约签订，反革命胜利战败而告终。

革命的起因包括四年战争期间人民遭受的深重负担、德意志帝国战败的巨大影响，以及广大人民与掌握权力但输掉了战争的贵族精英和小资产阶级之间的社会紧张局面。

革命的根源在于德意志帝国在第一次世界大战的失败，以及此后不久出现的社会紧张局面。革命的第一枪是由德国陆军最高指挥部的政策引发的，当然也包括其与海军指挥部缺乏协调的原因。在战败之时，海军指挥部于1918年10月24日下达命令，要求舰队同英国皇家海军展开最后决战，然而这场决战从未真正发生过。水兵们不仅没有遵循命令准备同英国人作战，反而在1918年10月29日于威廉港海军基地领导发动了一场起义，并随后在11月1日引发了基尔兵变。这些动乱在全德国范围内点燃了国内动乱的精神，并最终导致在1918年11月9日宣告成立一个共和国。在此之后不久，威廉二世临时放弃王位，流亡到了荷兰。

革命者们尽管得到了社会主义精神的启发，但一开始却并没有像布尔什维克们在俄罗斯做的那样，把权力交给苏维埃类型的委员会，因为**德国社民党**（SPD）的领导人们反对这种产物。很快，对于许多工人而言，社民党不愿意参与社会主义革命的事实就败露了。从德国**独立社会民主党**（USPD）中分裂出来成立的**德国共产党**（KPD）利用了人们对德国社民党的不满，并得到了巨大的影响力。

在1919年的选举中，德国共产党得到了18.4%的选票，仅次于德国社民党的20.2%的得票率。这让德国共产党与独立社民党结成了同盟，并成为了主要的反对党。

在随后的几个月里，德国社民党占多数的政府没能和工人们形成妥协，也没能同保守派和士兵达成一致。弗里德里希·艾伯特在三月的一场未遂谋杀中侥幸逃得性命，而德国共产党和德国独立社民党支持的罢工让魏玛共和国变成了跛脚鸭。在这个过渡期，德国共产党和德国独立社民党的支持率得到了激增。

军队在这一阶段对可能发生的社会主义革命越来越警惕，并做了许多努力尝试根除不可信任的因素。然而，正在这一点上，绝大多数的**国家防卫军**的成员对于他们对政府的支持都开始抱有疑虑。魏玛政府挣扎着想要控制国家防卫军，因为后者正在逐步变成国中之国。冥顽不灵的右翼分子旨在魏玛共和国的武装部队中占了5%左右，而**自由军团**变成了唯一的没有忠诚度问题的军事组织。

到了五月，局势到达了崩溃边缘。随着慕尼黑爆发大量冲突、西里西亚不断发生波兰裔工人罢工，且民众对协约国占领莱茵兰的愤怒不断膨胀，德国共产党认为现在就是他们最好的机会。尽管德国共产党已经在5月1日计划了一场精心策划的大罢工，但他们首先在四月末突然发难，呼吁举行委员会选举。艾伯特政府正陷于和协约国的和平谈判之中，无法对德国共产党的行动做出反制，尽管此前他们对于可能发生的革命稍微做了些预防工作。委员会选举事实上进行得非常顺利，德国社民党在选举中损失惨重，而德国共产党成为了议会中的多数派。可以说，这意味着大部分无产阶级都对斯巴达克派与他们的同盟表达了认可。

到了五月一日，如同计划的那样，经过协调的总罢工在全德国一并爆发。最大规模的罢工发生在柏林，成千上万的武装工人走上街头，并导致上千名德国防卫军军人就地起义。德国共产党无视政府的命令，其领导层走向柏林城市宫，公开宣布成立社会主义共和国。在全德国范围内，德国共产党和独立社会民主党的代表们都发表了类似的宣言。在斯巴达克派与政府军在全德范围内发生了几场战斗和小规模冲突之后，数十座关键城镇落入了斯巴达克派的手中。内战由此爆发，并将持续一年半左右，最终以斯巴达克派得到了布尔什维克的支持，并取得胜利告终。

## 德国社民党与世界大战

在1900年之后的十年里，德国社民党一直是德国工人运动的领头羊。在1912年的选举中，德国社民党得到了全国35%的选票，在帝国国会中得到了110个席位。德国社民党由此成为德国最大的政党。其党员人数大约有一百万人，其党报前进报吸引了一百五十万人订阅。另外，还有无数与之合作的社团（举例来说，包括公寓合作社，供销合作社等），另外还有一些组织直接受到德国社民党和其工会的领导，或者拥护社会民主主义的意识形态。1912年帝国国会中其他值得注意的党派包括天主教中央党（91个席位），德国保守党（43个席位），国家自由党（45个席位），进步人民党（42个席位），波兰人党（18个席位），德意志帝国党（14个席位），经济联盟（10个席位），以及阿尔萨斯-洛林党（9个席位）。

在第二国际的欧洲代表大会上，德国社民党一致同意欧洲所有工人政党应团结一心阻止战争的提案。在弗朗茨·斐迪南大公在萨拉热窝被暗杀之后，德国社民党和其他欧洲的社会主义这档一样，在七月危机中组织起了一场反战示威。在罗莎·卢森堡作为党内左翼代表以全党名义发表了关于不服从并拒绝战争的呼吁之后，帝国政府计划一旦战争爆发，就逮捕社会民主党的所有领导层。弗里德里希·艾伯特，1913年起担任党的领袖的两位领导人之一，同奥托·布劳恩一道前往苏黎世，防止党的资金被冻结。

在德国于1914年8月1日对俄罗斯帝国宣战之后，德国社民党的大部分报纸都表现出了对大战的热情。这尤其是因为他们将俄罗斯帝国看作全欧洲最反动和最反对社会主义的强权。在8月1日，报纸的编辑们相信自己和已故的奥古斯特·倍倍尔站在了一起，后者在去年刚刚逝世。在1904年，倍倍尔向帝国国会宣布德国社民党将支持武装保卫德国，防止外敌进犯。1907年，在埃森的一次党代会上，倍倍尔更是保证如果和俄国发生战争，他就会“扛着枪”和“一切文化和一切被压迫人民的敌人”作战。在全国人民沉浸在战争的热情之中时，一些德国社民党的代表们预见到了协约国的攻势，担心他们持续的反战主义观点会让他们丢掉许多选票。另外，宰相特奥巴登·冯·贝特曼-霍尔维格的政府也威胁成一旦战争爆发就要取缔所有政党。另一方面，宰相也利用德国社民党的反俄情绪促使后者转而支持战争。

党的领导层和党的代表们在是否支持战争的问题上出现了分裂。96名代表，包括弗里德里希·艾伯特在内，都同意帝国政府发放的帝国债券。另外14名代表在党的二把手胡戈·哈泽带领下，公开宣布抵制战争债券，但他在这之后还是遵循了政党的投票指示，举手表示了支持。

因此，整个帝国国会中的德国社会民主党派系都在1914年8月4日投票支持了战争债券，由于党和工会做出了这些决定，德国军队的完全动员成为了可能。哈泽解释这些决定是违背他的意志的，他说：“我们不会在祖国危急之时弃之于不顾的！”皇帝很欢迎这一所谓的“休战”[4]，并宣布称：“我的眼前不再是什么政党，都是德国百姓！”

即使是卡尔·李卜克内西这个后来的对战争最直言不讳的反对者，最初也和他的父亲，威廉·李卜克内西创立的党派保持着一致。他在投票中选择了弃权，而且没有对抗他政治上的同僚。不过，几天之后他加入了罗莎·卢森堡在1914年8月5日同弗兰茨·梅林、威廉·皮克以及德国社民党左翼的其他四名成员创立的**国际歌壮士小组**，他们坚持社民党在战前作出的决议。这个小组在1916年1月1日发展成为**斯巴达克同盟。**

在1914年12月2日，李卜克内西投票反对进一步增加战争债券的行为，而这是帝国国会中所有党派唯一的任务。尽管他不被允许在帝国国会中解释自己的投票行为，但他原本的计划就是通过散发小册子将其公开，而这被声称是非法行为：

>
> “目前的战争是任何一个参战国的人民都不想要的，它不是为了德国或其他任何国家的人民的利益而发动起来的。这是一场帝国主义战争，一场为了实现资本主义对世界市场的统治、为了从政治上控制运用工业资本和银行资本的主要地区而引起的战争。 ”
>
>
>
>

由于需求巨大，这份小册子很快就被印刷出来，并变成了所谓的“政治通信”，这些政治通信的集合后来被收集起来并出版，为了规避审查法律，这些信件被称为“**斯巴达克信札Spartakusbriefe**”（译注：亦称斯巴达克书信）。到1916年12月，它被**斯巴达克斯杂志**所代替，直到1918年11月为止，后者的出版都没有固定日期。

对德国社民党党纲的公然对抗让卡尔·李卜克内西和哈泽周围的一些独自反对战争债券的党员之间发生了冲突。1915年2月，由于德国社民党领导此前的怂恿，李卜克内西被征召服兵役，借此将他清理了出去。他是唯一一个被如此对待的德国社民党代表。由于他尝试把反战者组织起来，他被德国社民党开除出党，并在1916年6月，他被判处犯下最高的叛国罪，处以四年徒刑。李卜克内西在军队的时候，罗莎·卢森堡创作了大部分的斯巴达克信札。随后，罗莎·卢森堡也被判处入狱，直到战争结束之前都处于“预防性拘留”的状态。

#### 社民党分裂

随着战争持续进行，死亡人数不断攀升，越来越多的德国社民党成员开始质疑在1914年拥护“**城内和平Oberste Heeresleitung**”（在国内政治上的休战）的行为。德国社民党同时也反对埃里希·冯·法金汉在1916年辞去总参谋长的职务之后国内的悲惨状况。法金汉的继任者，保罗·冯·兴登堡引入了所谓的“兴登堡计划”，这些德国政策的限制***事实上***是由德国陆军最高指挥部，而非德皇或宰相所制定的。兴登堡的副手，埃利希·鲁登道夫结果了在战时执掌政策的重任，他所承担的责任其实非常之大。尽管德皇和兴登堡是他名义上的上司，但实际上真正做出重大决定的是鲁登道夫。兴登堡和鲁登道夫坚持采用无情的战略，谋求军事上的胜利，追求扩张主义和侵略性的战争目标，并要求市民生活服从于战争和战时经济的需要。对于劳动者而言，这往往意味着一天工作12小时，只付给最低工资，并且还得不到足够的食物。德国的**助军服务法Hilfsdienstgesetz**要求一切成年男子只要没有加入武装部队，就要去劳动。

在1917年俄罗斯爆发二月革命之后，第一次有组织的罢工在三月和四月爆发在德国的军工厂，大约三十万工人进行了罢工。这场罢工是由一个被称作**革命工人代表Revolutionäre Obleute**的组织发动的，后者由他们的发言人理查德·穆勒带领。这个组织是从左翼工会主义者的网络中诞生的，他们反对工会领导层对战争的支持。美国在1917年4月6日介入一战的行为给已经恶化的德国军事形势的烂摊子雪上加霜。兴登堡和鲁登道夫曾经呼吁终止在大西洋攻击中立货船的行为，这是因为1915年时，一艘名为卢西塔尼亚号的客轮满载着美国市民在爱尔兰沿岸被击沉的影响。他们的决策标志着一种新的，在美国作为正式参战国之前阻止美国对法国的物资援助，并让德国有可能取得胜利（或者至少是对德作战方面的停战协定）的方式的出路。德皇尝试在4月7日的复活节讲话中平息民众的愤怒，他承诺在战后的普鲁士进行民主选举，但是没能让战争走向满意的方向一事让讲话的效果大打折扣。军需工人中的反战者们还在增加，而曾经结成的支持战争的统一战线现在已经分裂成两个相当对立的组织。

在弗里德里希·艾伯特的指挥下，德国社民党的领导人把反对派开除出党之后，斯巴达克派们在1917年4月9日，和爱德华·伯恩斯坦的修正主义者们以及卡尔·考茨基的中派主义（译注：即“考茨基主义”）者们一道建立了完全反战的德国独立社会民主党，以胡戈·哈泽为领导。德国社民党随后被称为**德国多数社会民主党**，并继续处在弗里德里希·艾伯特的领导之下。独立社民党要求立即停战，并在德国进行更深的民主化改革，但是在社会政策上没有形成统一的政纲。斯巴达克同盟直到此时还反对党的分裂，在左翼的独立社会民主党中占有一席之地。无论是独立社会民主党还是斯巴达克派都继续在工厂，尤其是军备工厂中进行他们的反战宣传。

## Seeking Peace

### Leftist and rightist approaches

In spite of the optimism created by the surrender of Russia early in 1918, there could be no question that the military situation on the Western Front had become more precarious for the Germans after the United States entered the war in April 1917. In the wake of the United States declaration of war, the SPD in the Reichstag joined the "Interfactional Committee" with the Centre Party and the Progressive People's Party. In summer 1917, these three parties passed a peace resolution providing for a peace through rapprochement without annexations and payments, as opposed to a peace through victory and annexations, as the political right was demanding. Along with almost everyone else in the country, the committee still believed in victory. The Imperial German Supreme Army Command did not like this resolution, and in the negotiations from December 1917 to March 1918 with Russia, it imposed a harsh peace by victory.

The Supreme Command also rejected outright the "Fourteen Points" set out by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson on 8 January 1918. Wilson wanted peace on the basis of "self-determination of peoples" without victors or conquered. Hindenburg and Ludendorff rejected the offer because they believed themselves to be in a stronger position than they were before their victory over Russia. They continued to bet on a "peace through victory", with far-reaching annexations at the expense of Germany's enemies.

### Request for ceasefire and change of constitution

After the victory in the east, the Supreme Army Command on 21 March 1918 launched its so-called Spring Offensive in the west to turn the war decisively in Germany's favour, but by July 1918, their last reserves were used up, and Germany's military defeat became certain. The Allied forces scored numerous successive victories in the Hundred Days Offensive between August and November 1918 that yielded huge territorial gains at the expense of Germany. The arrival of large numbers of fresh troops from the United States was a decisive factor.

In mid-September, the Balkan collapsed. The Kingdom of Bulgaria, an ally of the German Empire and Austria-Hungary, capitulated on 27 September. The political collapse of Austria-Hungary itself was now only a matter of days away.

On 29 September, the Supreme Army Command, at army headquarters in Spa, Belgium, informed Emperor Wilhelm II and the Imperial Chancellor Count Georg von Hertling, that the military situation was hopeless. Ludendorff said that he could not guarantee to hold the front for another 24 hours and demanded a request to the Entente powers for an immediate ceasefire. In addition, he recommended the acceptance of the main demand of Wilson to put the Imperial Government on a democratic footing in hopes of more favourable peace terms. This enabled him to protect the reputation of the Imperial Army and put the responsibility for the capitulation and its consequences squarely at the feet of the democratic parties and the Reichstag.

As he said to his staff officers on 1 October: "They now must lie on the bed that they have made us."

Thus, the so-called "stab-in-the-back legend" (German: *Dolchstoßlegende*) was born, according to which the revolutionaries had attacked the undefeated army from the rear and turned an almost-certain victory into a defeat.

In fact, the Imperial Government and the German Army shirked their responsibility for defeat from the very beginning and tried to place the blame for it on the new democratic government. The motivation behind it is verified by the following citation in the autobiography of Wilhelm Groener, Ludendorff's successor:

>
> It was just fine with me when Army and Army Command remained as guiltless as possible in these wretched truce negotiations, from which nothing good could be expected.
>
>
>
>

In nationalist circles, the myth fell on fertile ground. The nationalists soon defamed the revolutionaries (and even politicians like Ebert who never wanted a revolution and did everything to prevent it) as "November Criminals" (*Novemberverbrecher*).

Although shocked by Ludendorff's report and the news of the defeat, the majority parties in the Reichstag, especially the SPD, were willing to take on the responsibility of government at the eleventh hour. As a convinced royalist, Hertling objected to handing over the reins to the Reichstag, thus Emperor Wilhelm II appointed Prince Maximilian of Baden as the new Imperial Chancellor on 3 October. The prince was considered a liberal, but at the same time a representative of the royal family. In his cabinet, Social Democrats dominated. The most prominent and highest-ranking one was Philipp Scheidemann, as under-secretary without portfolio. The following day, the new government offered to the Allies the truce that Ludendorff had demanded.

It was only on 5 October that the German public was informed of the dismal situation that it faced. In the general state of shock about the defeat, which now had become obvious, the constitutional changes, formally decided by the Reichstag on 28 October, went almost unnoticed. From then on, the Imperial Chancellor and his ministers depended on the confidence of the parliamentary majority. After the Supreme Command had passed from the emperor to the Imperial Government, the German Empire changed from a constitutional to a parliamentary monarchy. As far as the Social Democrats were concerned, the so-called October Constitution met all the important constitutional objectives of the party. Ebert already regarded 5 October as the birthday of German democracy since the emperor voluntarily ceded power and so he considered a revolution unnecessary.

### Third Wilson note and Ludendorff's dismissal

In the following three weeks, American President Woodrow Wilson responded to the request for a truce with three diplomatic notes. As a precondition for negotiations, he demanded the retreat of Germany from all occupied territories, the cessation of submarine activities and (implicitly) the emperor's abdication. This last demand was intended to render the process of democratisation irreversible.

After the third note of 24 October, General Ludendorff changed his mind and declared the conditions of the Allies to be unacceptable. He now demanded the resumption of the war that he had declared lost only one month earlier. While the request for a truce was being processed, the Allies came to realise Germany's military weakness. The German troops had come to expect the war to end and were anxious to return home. They were scarcely willing to fight more battles, and desertions were increasing.

For the time being, the Imperial government stayed on course and replaced Ludendorff as First General Quartermaster with General Groener. Ludendorff fled with false papers to neutral Sweden. On 5 November, the Entente Powers agreed to take up negotiations for a truce, but after the third note, many soldiers and the general population believed that the emperor had to abdicate to achieve peace.

## Revolution

### Kiel Mutiny

While the war-weary troops and general population of Germany awaited the speedy end of the war, the Imperial Naval Command in Kiel under Admiral Franz von Hipper and Admiral Reinhard Scheer planned to dispatch the Imperial Fleet for a last battle against the Royal Navy in the southern North Sea. The two admirals sought to lead this military action on their own initiative, without authorization.

The naval order of 24 October 1918 and the preparations to sail triggered a mutiny among the affected sailors. The revolt soon precipitated a general revolution in Germany that would sweep aside the monarchy within a few days. The mutinous sailors had no intention of risking their lives so close to the end of the war. They were also convinced that the credibility of the new democratic government, engaged as it was in seeking an armistice with the victorious Entente, would have been compromised by a naval attack at such a crucial point in negotiations.

The sailors' revolt started in the Schillig Roads off Wilhelmshaven, where the German fleet had anchored in expectation of battle. During the night of 29–30 October 1918, some crews refused to obey orders. Sailors on board three ships of the Third Navy Squadron refused to weigh anchor. Part of the crew of *SMS* *Thüringen* and *SMS* *Helgoland*, two battleships of the I Battle Squadron, committed outright mutiny and sabotage. However, when some torpedo boats directed their guns onto these ships a day later, the mutineers gave up and were led away without any resistance. Nonetheless, the Naval Command had to drop its plans for a naval engagement with British naval forces since it was felt that the loyalty of the crews could not be relied upon any more. The III Battle Squadron was ordered back to Kiel.

The squadron commander Vice-Admiral Kraft carried out a maneuver with his battleships in Heligoland Bight. The maneuver was successful, and he believed that he had regained control of his crews. While moving through the Kiel Canal, he had 47 of the crew of *SMS Markgraf*, who were seen as the ringleaders, imprisoned. In Holtenau (the end of the canal in Kiel), they were taken to the *Arrestanstalt* (military prison) in Kiel and to Fort Herwarth in the north of Kiel.

The sailors and stokers were now pulling out all the stops to prevent the fleet setting sail again and to achieve the release of their comrades. Some 250 met in the evening of 1 November in the Union House in Kiel. Delegations sent to their officers requesting the mutineers' release were not heard. The sailors were now looking for closer ties to the unions, the USPD and the SPD. Then, the Union House was closed by police, leading to an even larger joint open air meeting on 2 November. Led by the sailor Karl Artelt, who worked in the torpedo workshop in Kiel-Friedrichsort, and by the mobilised shipyard worker Lothar Popp, both USPD members, the sailors called for a mass meeting the following day at the same place: the *Großer Exerzierplatz* (large drill ground).

This call was heeded by several thousand people on the afternoon of 3 November, with workers' representatives also present. The slogan "Peace and Bread" (*Frieden und Brot*) was raised, showing that the sailors and workers demanded not only the release of the prisoners but also the end of the war and the improvement of food provisions. Eventually, the people supported Artelt's call to free the prisoners, and they moved towards the military prison. Sub-Lieutenant Steinhäuser, in order to stop the demonstrators, ordered his patrol to fire warning shots and then to shoot directly into the demonstration; 7 people were killed and 29 severely injured. Some demonstrators also opened fire. Steinhäuser himself was seriously injured by rifle-butt blows and shots, but contrary to later statements, he was not killed. After this eruption, the demonstrators and the patrol dispersed. Nevertheless, the mass protest turned into a general revolt.

On the morning of 4 November, groups of mutineers moved through the town of Kiel. Sailors in a large barracks compound in a northern district mutinied: after a divisional inspection by the commander, spontaneous demonstrations took place. Karl Artelt organised the first soldiers' council and soon many more were set up. The governor of the naval station, Wilhelm Souchon, was compelled to negotiate.

The imprisoned sailors and stokers were freed, and soldiers and workers brought public and military institutions under their control. In breach of Souchon's promise, separate troops advanced to end the rebellion but were intercepted by the mutineers and sent back or decided to join the sailors and workers. By the evening of 4 November, Kiel was firmly in the hands of about 40,000 rebellious sailors, soldiers and workers, as was Wilhelmshaven two days later.

On the same evening, the SPD deputy Gustav Noske arrived in Kiel and was welcomed enthusiastically, but he had orders from the new government and the SPD leadership to bring the uprising under control. He had himself elected chairman of the soldiers' council and reinstated peace and order. Some days later he took over the governor's post, and Lothar Popp of the USPD became chairman of the overall soldiers' council.

During the following weeks, Noske succeeded in reducing the influence of the councils in Kiel, but he could not prevent the spread of the revolution throughout Germany. The events had already spread far beyond Kiel.

### Spread of revolution to the entire German Empire

Around 4 November, delegations of the sailors dispersed to all of the major cities in Germany. By 7 November, the revolution had seized all large coastal cities as well as Hanover, Brunswick, Frankfurt on Main, and Munich. In Munich, a "Workers' and Soldiers' Council" forced the last King of Bavaria, Ludwig III, to abdicate. Bavaria was the first member state of the German Empire to be declared a *Volksstaat*, the People's State of Bavaria, by Kurt Eisner of the USPD. In the following days, the dynastic rulers of all the other German states abdicated; the last was Günther Victor, Prince of Schwarzburg, on 23 November.

The Workers' and Soldiers' Councils were almost entirely made up of MSPD and USPD members. Their program was democracy, pacifism and anti-militarism. Apart from the dynastic families, they deprived only the military commands of their power and privilege. The duties of the imperial civilian administration and office bearers such as police, municipal administrations and courts were not curtailed or interfered with. There were hardly any confiscations of property or occupation of factories, because such measures were expected from the new government. In order to create an executive committed to the revolution and to the future of the new government, the councils for the moment claimed only to take over the supervision of the administration from the military commands.

Thus, the MSPD was able to establish a firm base on the local level. But while the councils believed they were acting in the interest of the new order, the party leaders of the MSPD regarded them as disturbing elements for a peaceful changeover of power that they imagined already to have taken place. Along with the middle-class parties, they demanded speedy elections for a national assembly that would make the final decision on the constitution of the new state. This soon brought the MSPD into opposition with many of the revolutionaries. It was especially the USPD that took over their demands, one of which was to delay elections as long as possible to try to achieve a *fait accompli* that met the expectations of a large part of the workforce.

Notably, revolutionary sentiment did not affect the eastern lands of the Empire to any considerable extent, apart from isolated instances of agitation in Breslau and Königsberg. But interethnic discontent among Germans and minority Poles in the eastern extremities of Silesia, long suppressed in Wilhelmine Germany, would eventually lead to the Silesian Uprisings.

By the time the revolution was over in 1918, all 21 German monarchs had been dethroned.

### Reactions in Berlin

Ebert agreed with Prince Maximilian that a social revolution must be prevented and that state order must be upheld at all costs. In the restructuring of the state, Ebert wanted to win over the middle-class parties that had already cooperated with the SPD in the Reichstag in 1917, as well as the old elites of the German Empire. He wanted to avoid the spectre of radicalisation of the revolution along Russian lines and he also worried that the precarious supply situation could collapse, leading to the takeover of the administration by inexperienced revolutionaries. He was certain that the SPD would be able to implement its reform plans in the future due to its parliamentary majorities.

Ebert did his best to act in agreement with the old powers and intended to save the monarchy. In order to demonstrate some success to his followers, he demanded the abdication of the emperor as of 6 November. But Wilhelm II, still in his headquarters in Spa, was playing for time. After the Entente had agreed to truce negotiations on that day, he hoped to return to Germany at the head of the army and to quell the revolution by force.

According to notes taken by Prince Maximilian, Ebert declared on 7 November, "If the Kaiser does not abdicate, the social revolution is unavoidable. But I do not want it, indeed I hate it like sin." (*'Wenn der Kaiser nicht abdankt, dann ist die soziale Revolution unvermeidlich. Ich aber will sie nicht, ja, ich hasse sie wie die Sünde.'*) The chancellor planned to travel to Spa and convince the emperor personally of the necessity to abdicate. But this plan was overtaken by the rapidly deteriorating situation in Berlin.

### Saturday, 9 November 1918: two proclamations of a republic

In order to remain master of the situation, Friedrich Ebert demanded the chancellorship for himself on the afternoon of 9 November, the day of the emperor's abdication.

The news of the abdication came too late to make any impression on the demonstrators. Nobody heeded the public appeals. More and more demonstrators demanded the total abolition of the monarchy. Karl Liebknecht, just released from prison, had returned to Berlin and re-founded the Spartacist League the previous day. At lunch in the Reichstag, the SPD deputy chairman Philipp Scheidemann learned that Liebknecht planned the proclamation of a socialist republic. Scheidemann did not want to leave the initiative to the Spartacists and without further ado, he stepped out onto a balcony of the Reichstag. From there, he proclaimed a republic before a mass of demonstrating people on his own authority (against Ebert's expressed will). A few hours later, the Berlin newspapers reported that in the Berlin Lustgarten – at probably around the same time — Liebknecht had proclaimed a socialist republic, which he affirmed from a balcony of the Berlin City Palace to an assembled crowd at around 4 pm.

At that time, Karl Liebknecht's intentions were little known to the public. The Spartacist League's demands of 7 October for a far-reaching restructuring of the economy, the army and the judiciary – among other things by abolishing the death penalty — had not yet been publicised. The biggest bone of contention with the SPD was to be the Spartacists' demand for the establishment of "unalterable political facts" on the ground by social and other measures before the election of a constituent assembly, while the SPD wanted to leave the decision on the future economic system to the assembly.

Ebert was faced with a dilemma. The first proclamation he had issued on 9 November was addressed "to the citizens of Germany".

Ebert wanted to take the sting out of the revolutionary mood and to meet the demands of the demonstrators for the unity of the labour parties. He offered the USPD participation in the government and was ready to accept Liebknecht as a minister. Liebknecht in turn demanded the control of the workers' councils over the army. As USPD chairman Hugo Haase was in Kiel and the deliberations went on. The USPD deputies were unable to reach a decision that day.

Neither the early announcement of the emperor's abdication, Ebert's assumption of the chancellorship, nor Scheidemann's proclamation of the republic were covered by the constitution. These were all revolutionary actions by protagonists who did not want a revolution, but nevertheless took action. However, a real revolutionary action took place the same evening that would later prove to have been in vain.

Around 8 pm, a group of 100 Revolutionary Stewards from the larger Berlin factories occupied the Reichstag. Led by their spokesmen Richard Müller and Emil Barth, they formed a revolutionary parliament. Most of the participating stewards had already been leaders during the strikes earlier in the year. They did not trust the SPD leadership and had planned a coup for 11 November independently of the sailors' revolt, but were surprised by the revolutionary events since Kiel. In order to snatch the initiative from Ebert, they now decided to announce elections for the following day. On that Sunday, every Berlin factory and every regiment was to elect workers' and soldiers' councils that were then in turn to elect a revolutionary government from members of the two labour parties (SPD and USPD). This Council of the People's Deputies (*Rat der Volksbeauftragten*) was to execute the resolutions of the revolutionary parliament as the revolutionaries intended to replace Ebert's function as chancellor and president.

### Sunday, 10 November: revolutionary councils elected, Armistice

The same evening, the SPD leadership heard of these plans. As the elections and the councils' meeting could not be prevented, Ebert sent speakers to all Berlin regiments and into the factories in the same night and early the following morning. They were to influence the elections in his favour and announce the intended participation of the USPD in the government.

In turn, these activities did not escape the attention of Richard Müller and the revolutionary shop stewards. Seeing that Ebert would also be running the new government, they planned to propose to the assembly not only the election of a government, but also the appointment of an Action Committee. This committee was to co-ordinate the activities of the Workers' and Soldiers' Councils. For this election, the Stewards had already prepared a list of names on which the SPD was not represented. In this manner, they hoped to install a monitoring body acceptable to them watching the government.

In the assembly that convened on 10 November in the Circus Busch, the majority stood on the side of the SPD: almost all Soldiers' Councils and a large part of the workers representatives. They repeated the demand for the "Unity of the Working Class" that had been put forward by the revolutionaries the previous day and now used this motto in order to push through Ebert's line. As planned, three members of each socialist party were elected into the "Council of People's Representatives": from the USPD, their chairman Hugo Haase, the deputy Wilhelm Dittmann and Emil Barth for the Revolutionary Stewards; from the SPD Ebert, Scheidemann and the Magdeburg deputy Otto Landsberg.

The proposal by the shop stewards to elect an action committee additionally took the SPD leadership by surprise and started heated debates. Ebert finally succeeded in having this 24-member "Executive Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Councils" equally filled with SPD and USPD members. The Executive Council was chaired by Richard Müller and Brutus Molkenbuhr.

On the evening of 10 November, there was a phone call between Ebert and General Wilhelm Groener, the new First General Quartermaster in Spa, Belgium. Assuring Ebert of the support of the army, the general was given Ebert's promise to reinstate the military hierarchy and, with the help of the army, to take action against the councils.

In the turmoil of this day, the Ebert government's acceptance of the harsh terms of the Entente for a truce, after a renewed demand by the Supreme Command, went almost unnoticed. On 11 November, the Centre Party deputy Matthias Erzberger, on behalf of Berlin, signed the armistice agreement in Compiègne, France, and World War I came to an end.

### Double rule

Although Ebert had saved the decisive role of the SPD, he was not happy with the results. He did not regard the Council Parliament and the Executive Council as helpful, but only as obstacles impeding a smooth transition from empire to a new system of government. The whole SPD leadership mistrusted the councils rather than the old elites in army and administration, and they considerably overestimated the old elite's loyalty to the new republic. What troubled Ebert most was that he could not now act as chancellor in front of the councils, but only as chairman of a revolutionary government. Though he had taken the lead of the revolution only to halt it, conservatives saw him as a traitor.

In theory, the Executive Council was the highest-ranking council of the revolutionary regime and therefore Müller the head of state of the new declared "Socialist Republic of Germany". But in practice, the council's initiative was blocked by internal power struggles. The Executive Council decided to summon an "Imperial Council Convention" in December to Berlin. In the eight weeks of double rule of councils and imperial government, the latter always was dominant. Although Haase was formally a chairman in the Council with equal rights, the whole higher level administration reported only to Ebert.

The SPD worried that the revolution would end in a Council (Soviet) Republic, following the Russian example. However, the secret Ebert-Groener pact did not win over the Imperial Officer Corps for the republic. As Ebert's behaviour became increasingly puzzling to the revolutionary workers, the soldiers and their stewards, the SPD leadership lost more and more of their supporters' confidence, without gaining any sympathies from the opponents of the revolution on the right.

### Stinnes–Legien Agreement

The revolutionaries disagreed among themselves about the future economic and political system. Both SPD and USPD favoured placing at least heavy industry under democratic control. The left wings of both parties and the Revolutionary Stewards wanted to go beyond that and establish a "direct democracy" in the production sector, with elected delegates controlling the political power. It was not only in the interest of the SPD to prevent a Council Democracy; even the unions would have been rendered superfluous by the councils.

To prevent this development, the union leaders under Carl Legien and the representatives of big industry under Hugo Stinnes and Carl Friedrich von Siemens met in Berlin from 9 to 12 November. On 15 November, they signed an agreement with advantages for both sides: the union representatives promised to guarantee orderly production, to end wildcat strikes, to drive back the influence of the councils and to prevent a nationalisation of means of production. For their part, the employers guaranteed to introduce the eight-hour day, which the workers had demanded in vain for years. The employers agreed to the union claim of sole representation and to the lasting recognition of the unions instead of the councils. Both parties formed a "Central Committee for the Maintenance of the Economy" (Zentralausschuss für die Aufrechterhaltung der Wirtschaft).

An "Arbitration Committee" (Schlichtungsausschuss) was to mediate future conflicts between employers and unions. From now on, committees together with the management were to monitor the wage settlements in every factory with more than 50 employees.

With this arrangement, the unions had achieved one of their longtime demands, but undermined all efforts for nationalising means of production and largely eliminated the councils.

### Interim government and council movement

The Reichstag had not been summoned since 9 November. The Council of the People's Deputies and the Executive Council had replaced the old government, but the previous administrative machinery remained unchanged. Imperial servants had only representatives of SPD and USPD assigned to them.[*clarification needed*] These servants all kept their positions and continued to do their work in most respects unchanged.

On 12 November, the Council of People's Representatives published its democratic and social government programme. It lifted the state of siege and censorship, abolished the "Gesindeordnung" ("servant rules" that governed relations between servant and master) and introduced universal suffrage from 20 years up, for the first time for women. There was an amnesty for all political prisoners. Regulations for the freedom of association, assembly and press were enacted. The eight-hour day became statutory on the basis of the Stinnes–Legien Agreement, and benefits for unemployment, social insurance, and workers' compensation were expanded.

At the insistence of USPD representatives, the Council of People's Representatives appointed a "Nationalisation Committee" including Karl Kautsky, Rudolf Hilferding and Otto Hue, among others. This committee was to examine which industries were "fit" for nationalisation and to prepare the nationalisation of the coal and steel industry. It sat until 7 April 1919, without any tangible result. "Self-Administration Bodies" were installed only in coal and potash mining and in the steel industry. From these bodies emerged the modern German Works or Factory Committees. Socialist expropriations were not initiated.

The SPD leadership worked with the old administration rather than with the new Workers' and Soldiers' Councils, because it considered them incapable of properly supplying the needs of the population. As of mid-November, this caused continuing strife with the Executive Council. As the Council continuously changed its position following whoever it just happened to represent, Ebert withdrew more and more responsibilities planning to end the "meddling and interfering" of the Councils in Germany for good. But Ebert and the SPD leadership by far overestimated the power not only of the Council Movement but also of the Spartacist League. The Spartacist League, for example, never had control over the Council Movement as the conservatives and parts of the SPD believed.

In Leipzig, Hamburg, Bremen, Chemnitz, and Gotha, the Workers' and Soldiers' Councils took the city administrations under their control. In addition, in Brunswick, Düsseldorf, Mülheim/Ruhr, and Zwickau, all civil servants loyal to the emperor were arrested. In Hamburg and Bremen, "Red Guards" were formed that were to protect the revolution. The councils deposed the management of the Leuna works, a giant chemical factory near Merseburg. The new councils were often appointed spontaneously and arbitrarily and had no management experience whatsoever. But a majority of councils came to arrangements with the old administrations and saw to it that law and order were quickly restored. For example, Max Weber was part of the workers' council of Heidelberg, and was pleasantly surprised that most members were moderate German liberals. The councils took over the distribution of food, the police force, and the accommodation and provisions of the front-line soldiers that were gradually returning home.

Former imperial administrators and the councils depended on each other: the former had the knowledge and experience, the latter had political clout. In most cases, SPD members had been elected into the councils who regarded their job as an interim solution. For them, as well as for the majority of the German population in 1918–19, the introduction of a Council Republic was never an issue, but they were not even given a chance to think about it. Many wanted to support the new government and expected it to abolish militarism and the authoritarian state. Being weary of the war and hoping for a peaceful solution, they partially overestimated the revolutionary achievements.

### General Council Convention

As decided by the Executive Committee, the Workers' and Soldiers' Councils in the whole empire sent deputies to Berlin, who were to convene on 16 December in the Circus Busch for the "First General Convention of Workers' and Soldiers' Councils" (Erster Allgemeiner Kongress der Arbeiter- und Soldatenräte). On 15 December, Ebert and General Groener had troops ordered to Berlin to prevent this convention and to regain control of the capital. On 16 December, one of the regiments intended for this plan advanced too early. In an attempt to arrest the Executive Council, the soldiers opened fire on a demonstration of unarmed "Red Guards", representatives of Soldiers' Councils affiliated with the Spartacists; 16 people were killed.

With this, the potential for violence and the danger of a coup from the right became visible. In response to the incident, Rosa Luxemburg demanded the peaceful disarmament of the homecoming military units by the Berlin workforce in the daily newspaper of the Spartacist League *Red Flag* (*Rote Fahne*) of 12 December. She wanted the Soldiers' Councils to be subordinated to the Revolutionary Parliament and the soldiers to become "re-educated".

On 10 December, Ebert welcomed ten divisions returning from the front hoping to use them against the councils. As it turned out, these troops also were not willing to go on fighting. The war was over, Christmas was at the door and most of the soldiers just wanted to go home to their families. Shortly after their arrival in Berlin, they dispersed. The blow against the Convention of Councils did not take place.

This blow would have been unnecessary anyway, because the convention that took up its work 16 December in the Prussian House of Representatives consisted mainly of SPD followers. Not even Karl Liebknecht had managed to get a seat. The Spartacist League was not granted any influence. On 19 December, the councils voted 344 to 98 against the creation of a council system as a basis for a new constitution. Instead, they supported the government's decision to call for elections for a constituent national assembly as soon as possible. This assembly was to decide upon the state system.

The convention disagreed with Ebert only on the issue of control of the army. The convention was demanding a say for the Central Council that it would elect, in the supreme command of the army, the free election of officers and the disciplinary powers for the Soldiers' Councils. That would have been contrary to the agreement between Ebert and General Groener. They both spared no effort to undo this decision. The Supreme Command (which in the meantime had moved from Spa to Kassel), began to raise loyal volunteer corps (the Freikorps) against the supposed Bolshevik menace. Unlike the revolutionary soldiers of November, these troops were monarchist-minded officers and men who feared the return into civil life.

### Christmas crisis of 1918

After 9 November, the government ordered the newly created People's Navy Division (*Volksmarinedivision*) from Kiel to Berlin for its protection and stationed it in the Royal Stables (*Neuer Marstell*) across from the Berlin City Palace (*Berlin Schloss* or *Berlin Stadtschloss*). The division was considered absolutely loyal and had indeed refused to participate in the coup attempt of 6 December. The sailors even deposed their commander because they saw him as involved in the affair. It was this loyalty that now gave them the reputation of being in favor of the Spartacists. Ebert demanded their disbanding and Otto Wels, as of 9 November the Commander of Berlin and in line with Ebert, refused the sailors' pay.

The dispute escalated on 23 December. After having been put off for days, the sailors occupied the Imperial Chancellery itself, cut the phone lines, put the Council of People's Representatives under house arrest and captured Otto Wels. The sailors did not exploit the situation to eliminate the Ebert government, as would have been expected from Spartacist revolutionaries. Instead, they just insisted on their pay. Nevertheless, Ebert, who was in touch with the Supreme Command in Kassel via a secret phone line, gave orders to attack the Residence with troops loyal to the government on the morning of 24 December. The sailors repelled the attack under their commander Heinrich Dorrenbach, losing about 30 men and civilians in the fight. The government troops had to withdraw from the center of Berlin. They themselves were now disbanded and integrated into the newly formed Freikorps. To make up for their humiliating withdrawal, they temporarily occupied the editor's offices of the *Red Flag*. But military power in Berlin once more was in the hands of the People's Navy Division. The sailors did not take advantage of the situation.

However, this military defeat rapidly turned into a political defeat for Ebert as well when the USPD refused to exit the revolutionary government, much to the surprise of the SPD. The SPD had been hoping to drive the USPD out of the revolutionary government so they could dismiss Emil Eichhorn, the USPD-aligned police chief of Berlin. These plans had to be scrapped as the current situation made this dangerous to the stability of the new government. The USPD was able to use their leverage to force Ebert to delay parliamentary elections until February, providing crucial time for the USPD and the soon to be established KPD.

### Founding of the Communist Party

After their experiences with the SPD and the USPD, the Spartacists concluded that their goals could be met only by forming a party of their own, thus they joined with other left-socialist groups from the whole of Germany to found the Communist Party of Germany (KPD).

Rosa Luxemburg drew up her founding programme and presented it on 31 December 1918. In this programme, she pointed out that the communists could never take power without the clear will of the proletariat in the majority. On 1 January, she demanded that the KPD participate in the planned nationwide German elections. She was initially opposed by the majority of the KPD, however the USPD's secure position in the revolutionary government and the fact Berlin was completely out of reach of anti-socialist forces, as well as support from Karl Liebknecht, was just barely enough to convince a majority of the KPD to wait. After deliberations with the Spartacists, the Revolutionary Stewards chose to join the KPD. A reformist moderate minority of the USPD remained separate but nonetheless closely aligned.

### National Assembly Election

*Main Article: German federal election, 1919*

On 26 February 1919, a Constituent National Assembly (Verfassungsgebende Nationalversammlung) was elected. Aside from SPD, KPD and USPD, the Catholic Centre Party took part, and so did several middle-class parties that had established themselves since November: the left-liberal German Democratic Party (DDP), the national-liberal German People's Party (DVP) and the conservative, nationalist German National People's Party (DNVP).

The chaos and division throughout the revolution left its mark on the results of the election. The SPD had been expecting to get at least 30% of the popular vote, but found itself falling short at only 29.3%. The KPD meanwhile received 24.7%, or nearly 1/4th of the popular vote. Although the SPD, Centre and DDP were able to form a coalition and a government, their combined voter share sat a mere 57.3%. What remained of the USPD gained 4.5% of the votes and formed an alliance with the KPD in March after its moderate leader, Hugo Haase, was replaced with radicals led by Emil Barth.

## Interim

### Forming of the Government

The parliament met for the first time on February 9th, 1919, in the city of Weimar, Thuringia, as it was considered a politically peaceful location. The immediately pressing questions were regarding the instability and ongoing revolution. While the SPD would've loved nothing more than to have all 105 representatives of the KPD arrested, the outpouring of support in the election for the KPD made this a dangerous proposition. Instead the Weimar Coalition looked to restrict the KPD and USPD from having any power within the assembly.

### Early Troubles

The SPD, Centre and DDP all faced their own conflicts. None of the parties could truly agree on what policies to pursue to restrict the socialists. The right wing found themselves increasingly isolated and at odds with both the Weimar Coalition and the socialists. They had preferred to crush the socialists before they could enter parliament, but the following months saw right wing sympathies drop within the Reichswehr. Meanwhile, the armistice that had ended the Great War had to be extended multiple times which inflamed worries that the war might resume. The KPD took advantage of this by espousing anti-war rhetoric. During this period the KPD saw their membership increase to around 200,000, an increase of about 30%. The KPD prepared throughout this period for a civil war through the Antimilitarist Apparatus.

## Civil War

### Uprising in Berlin

On May 1st, 1919, massive armed protests planned by the KPD erupted in Berlin with protesters numbering in hundreds of thousands. The Volksmarinedivision chose to march with the protesters to protect them against the military and the Freikorps, however the reaction was surprisingly weak. Many members of the military either joined with the protesters, deserted, or refused to fire. Freikorps commander Waldemar Pabst was found shot to death in an alleyway, and Ebert quickly realized he had a crisis at hand. He desperately ordered what little forces that had remained loyal to crush the uprising. The battle took place over five days, from May 1st to May 6th, though the majority of the fighting took place on May 2nd. After hours of brutal street fighting, it became apparent that the inner city was in the firm hands of the self declared Free Socialist Republic of Germany. Further skirmishes took place in the outskirts of Berlin after May 2nd, but by the morning of May 6th the entire city had come under the control of the Spartacists.

### The Civil War begins

The fall of Berlin marked the beginning of the Civil War. Various uprisings spread across the country, with the strongest uprisings outside Berlin being in Bavaria and the Rhineland. The vast majority of the socialist forces were made up of poorly trained, lightly armed militias, however the unpopularity of the Weimar government led to similar amounts of military defections as seen in Berlin. These defections were crucial to securing major cities such as Kiel, Hamburg and Cologne. However, the more conservative areas in Eastern Prussia, who were also embroiled in a counter insurgency against the Poles, only had a few isolated uprisings. A small amount of right-wing and liberal military elements returning from the east banded together, though thousands also defected to the KPD and aided in seizing Frankfurt an der Oder and Küstrin.

### Red expansion

Socialist forces quickly and relatively bloodlessly secured much of the so called "Red Belt" approximately in the areas in Central Germany which had voted for the KPD in the 1919 election. By July 1919, all of Saxony, Brandenburg and Thuringia were under Red control. Meanwhile Red forces in the Rhineland secured much of the right bank of the Rhine. The British and French military commands in the Rhineland considered intervention, but instead opted to retreat to the left bank of the Rhine after evaluating the risks of mutiny and defection. This period saw relatively light amounts of fighting as the Weimar Republic raced to organize forces to combat the Reds.

### Disunity in the White movement

At the same time that the Reds were securing important cities and towns, the anti-revolutionary movement struggled to unify. The forces of the so called "German White Army" became divided among five major groups: the Reichswehr, the Freikorps, the Stahlhelm, the Reichsbanner and the Bavarian Reichswehr. Each group had different goals and different commands. The Reichsbanner refused to cooperate with the Stahlhelm and Freikorps on multiple occasions. The Freikorps and Stahlhelm acted mostly independently from the Reichswehr in its operations, which had disastrous effects in multiple battles. The Bavarian Reichswehr was primarily composed of Bavarian nationalists and did not accept orders from the Reichswehr. In December 1919, these forces numbered at only about 400,000, while Red forces had already swelled to over 1,000,000.

### Hindenburg Offensive

The situation for the White movement changed with the silent coup by Paul von Hindenburg in January 1920. While issues with internal disunity were not resolved, Hindenburg became a figure to rally around, and by March 1920 White forces grew to around 1,400,000