1-WWI+Mutiny

__Poilú Mutiny of 1917 (Maria Abrego)__ 1. **What were the grievances of the French soldiers who mutinied at Verdun and beyond in 1917?** When Robert Nivelle took power from Joseph Joffre as the french commander in 1916,after the costly fighting in Verdun and Somme, he planned a massive barrage on German lines that would bring victory to France in 48 hours. The plan was called The Nivelle offensive, it was hugely costly and it involved with over around 1 million troops. The plan was developed since Dec 1916 but with delays and leakages of information,it went into action until April 1917. The plan was well known to Germany so they took appropriate defense causing tremendous disasters by using intense machine gun fire towards the French. This destroyed Neville's career and sparked the widespread mutiny over the leadership of the French Army. **How did the French Army & government respond, and what were the results?** Military authorities made mass arrests which included over 3,427 court-martials,554 sentenced to death, and the rest sentenced to penal servitude. As a result, Nivelle was replaced by General Petain in May 1917 and made a policy to mend rather than aggravate the French army’s morale.

2.**To what extent was the Poilú Mutiny an extension of the social tensions in Western Europe in the late 19th Century?** Social tensions in western europe were rising. Industrialization was creating new social classes and forces of democracy demanded an end to aristocratic rule. Charles Darwin challenged the the Christian biblical creation of humans with the scientific Human Revolution. These domestic tensions and a growth of nationalism helped start WWI and the French rebellions against the army’s authorities caused many rebelling soldiers their life which helped build more tension. The French mutinies happened because of French commander Nivelle who was replaced from Joseph Joffre who lead some of the first WWI wars between France and Germany,like the Battle of Verdun. The Poilu Mutiny is related to WWI because it was caused by the decisions that earlier French commander made in the start of the Great War.
 * To what extent was it an event unique to the context of the Great War? **

3. **How might we use the Poilú Mutiny to illustrate the concepts of total war?** Nivelle believed that the exhausted Germans who had just fought in the battles of Somme and Verdun would be incapable to sustain an effective defense strategy if the french attacked. The objective was to secure the east west ridge of the Chemin des Dames and then capture Laon. Chemin des Dames however was often surrounded by underground quarries that were used as shelters for the German troops against the French artillery preparation. The Germans machine guns fired and stalled any french attempts to further advance, but by the second day the French kept on moving forwards which resulted in massive casualties. This illustrates concepts of total war because the French used all the resources they could,specially humans to fight and ruin Germany. Germany lost around 163,000 while the French suffered from over 187,000 troops. The French citizens and politicians were stunned by the ongoing tragedies that were caused by the errors of Nivelle. Nivelle was therefore kicked out and replaced by Petain who made no attempts to bring his forces to large offenses, but instead defend, to avoid high casualties and rebuild confidence in the soldiers.
 * To what extent did it bring the war closer to an end? **

__Bibliography:__ __American, the, and French Revolutions. "19th Century." Union County College Faculty Web Site. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Oct. 2013. <__ [|__http://faculty.ucc.edu/egh-damerow/19th_century.htm__] __>.__ __Pétain, the end of June the mutinies had all but ceased. General Philippe. "Mutiny in the French Army." History Learning Site. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Oct. 2013. <__ [|__http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/mutiny_french_army.htm__] __>.__

Kiel Mutiny of 1918

[|Picture of Sailor's Revolt]

[|Red flag being hoisted over a battlecruiser of the High Seas Fleet] >>> 1. The release of all inmates and political prisoners. >>> >>> 2. Complete freedom of speech and the press. >>> >>> 3. The abolition of mail censorship. >>> >>> 4. Appropriate treatment of crews by superiors. >>> >>> 5. Exemption from punishment for comrades returning from ships and to the barracks. >>> >>> 6. The launching of the fleet is to be prevented under all circumstances. >>> >>> 7. Any defensive measures involving bloodshed are to be prevented. >>> >>> 8. The withdrawal of all troops not belonging to the garrison. >>> >>> 9. All measures for the protection of private property will be determined by the Soldiers’ Council immediately. >>> >>> 10. Superiors will no longer be recognized outside of duty. >>> >>> 11. Unlimited personal freedom of every man from the end of his tour of duty until the beginning of his next tour of duty. >>> >>> 12. Officers who declare themselves in agreement with the measures of the newly established Soldiers’ Council are welcome in our midst. All others have to quit their duty without entitlement to provision. >>> >>> 13. Every member of the Soldiers’ Council is to be released from any duty. >>> >>> 14. All measures to be introduced in the future can only be introduced with the consent of the Soldiers’ Council. >>> These demands are orders of the Soldiers’ Council and are binding for every military person. >>> >>> The Soldiers’ Council.
 * What were the grievances of the German sailors of the High Seas Fleet who mutinied in 1918? How did the German government respond, and what were the results?
 * The main grievance of the German Sailors who mutinied was that they felt that the fleet officers were going to throw them into what was essentially a suicide mission against Great Britain, so that the German fleet, which saw (relatively) little action during the war (and performed poorly in those battles in which it was involved), could regain some of its lost honor. Hence, many sailors disobeyed the order, and the plan was scraped. For them, there was no point in throwing their lives away when the war was going to end in a month's time anyway. Further, the sailors were dissatisfied with rations.
 * Additionally, the sailors' grievances can be summed up in the "Kiel 14 Points":
 * The fourteen points raised by the Soldiers’ Council and accepted by the Governor [of Kiel, Admiral Souchon] are as follows:

(http://germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/sub_document.cfm?document_id=3939)


 * The German government was relatively incapable of responding to the revolt in an adequate manner; the events were already in motion, and they could not be stopped. King Ludwig III of Bavaria was the first royal to be deposed, and the sentiment of revolution peaked when "a group of parliamentary socialists led by Philipp Scheidemann proclaimed the onset of revolution on 9 November, an action which finally sealed the fate of both the Kaiser and the war's closure."(http://www.firstworldwar.com/atoz/kielmutiny.htm)


 * To what extent was the Kiel Mutiny an extension of the sentiment of frontline German soldiers by 1918?
 * Given the reasons behind the mutiny, the sentiment of the infantry was similar in nature to that of the sailors of Kiel; the war was winding down, the Central Powers saw that defeat was all but inevitable, and the soldiers (like the sailors) saw no reason to throw their lives away for a lost cause. They were tired of fighting a war that blew up into something vastly more devastating than could've ever been imagined. As such, there was no real reason to continue fighting in the face of an inevitable loss (although the German Officer Corp would beg to differ, as seen with the Admiral Reinhard Scheer's secret plan to have Franz von Hipper's fleet strike the British Fleet).
 * Of the German home front?
 * The mutiny was both an extension and a reflection of the sentiment on the home front - both for the fact that Germany was all but certain to end up on the losing side of the war, but also because Communist groups (primarily the Spartacus League) became popular among both the sailors and the people. In the case of the latter, such groups openly plotted revolt against the German government, and gave rise to the German Revolution.
 * To what extent does the Kiel Mutiny characterize the challenges that faced Germany after the war?
 * It represents all of the discontent with how the war is going, and how so many were discontent that they were starving and dying to see Germany destroyed by an invasion. It is this disgust with their condition, disgust with being trampled in a conflict that wasn’t even theirs in the first place – to then be held financially responsible for all debts incurred by the allies, that highlights the post war challenges for the Weimar Republic
 * To what extent does it factor into the German acceptance of the Versailles Treaty?
 * The mutiny, in a sense, leads to the ultimate rejection of the Versailles treaty, as the revolution permitted the creation of an environment that would allow fascism to thrive, and as such permitted the militarism exhibited by Nazi Germany that directly violated the Treaty of Versailles, as well as the growing spirit of nationalism created by the Nazi party (developed by way of Hindenburg/Ludendorff's "Stab-in-the-back" theory). As such, the spirit of the mutiny would have implied a slight acceptance for the treaty (as an alternative to continued fighting), but the ensuing revolution against the Weimar Republic prevents this, and the rabid anti-Versailles sentiment permeated the German conscious.
 * Of the Weimar Republic? Into the growing popularity of fascism after 1922?
 * The Kiel Mutiny factored into (as was mentioned in the question of the German home front) the communist uprisings that tried to destabilize the new Weimar Republic. While the Republic was able to crush the uprisings, it did allow for Hindenburg and Ludendorff to begin perpetuating the scapegoat myth to explain the reasons for the German defeat in WWI, and as such created an environment conducive to fascism. It was a plan that allowed the officer corps (which had been, for all intents and purposes, running the government) to avoid responsibility for the damages of the war. Further, this avoidance allowed for such scapegoating, and it allowed blame to be shifted onto those who were against the war - it used the democratic process as a scapegoat, something that Hermann Göring and the Nazis used to full effect (as evidenced in the proceeding quote, from Army psychologist Gustave Gilbert (known for his profiling of the Nazi Leaders)'s book about his experience from the Nuremberg Trials, //Nuremberg Diaries//.
 * "**Göring:** Why, of course, the //people// don't want war. Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece? Naturally, the common people don't want war; neither in Russia, nor in England, nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the //leaders// of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship.
 * **Gilbert:** There is one difference. In a democracy the people have some say in the matter through their elected representatives, and in the United States only Congress can declare wars.
 * **Göring:** Oh, that is all well and good, but, voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country."
 * (Excerpt from Gilbert's //Nuremberg Diary//, quoted from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustave_Gilbert)

Sources Used: "Kapp-Putsch in Kiel." //Homepage Klaus und Renate Kuhl//. N.p., 1 Jan. 2013. Web. 8 Oct. 2013. <[]>. (Great source; has interviews translated into English that some of the important figures of the uprising). “Schleswig-Holsteinische Volkszeitung,” November 5, 1918; reprinted in Kurt Ahnert, //Die Entwicklung der deutschen Revolution und das Kriegsende in der Zeit vom 1. Oktober bis 30. November 1918 in Leitartikeln, Extrablättern, Telegrammen, Aufrufen und Verordnungen nach den führenden deutschen Zeitungen// [//The Development of the German Revolution and the End of the War in the Period from October 1 to November 30, 1918, in Lead Articles, Special Supplements, Telegrams, Appeals, and Decrees Published in the Leading German Newspapers//]. Der Burgverlag: Nürnberg, 1918, pp. 156-57.English translation: Klaus Kuhl and GHDI staff (Cited from: http://germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/sub_document.cfm?document_id=3939)Duffy, Michael. "First World War.com - Encyclopedia - The Kiel Mutiny." //First World War.com - A Multimedia History of World War One//. N.p., 22 Aug. 2009. Web. 8 Oct. 2013. .Keylor, William R.. " World War I." //Encarta - World War I//. Wayne State University, n.d. Web. 4 Oct. 2013. .