ABSTRACT
Germany was taken into the First World War in August 1914 by a civilian government under Bethmann Hollweg, the fifth Chancellor of the Second Reich. By July 1917 his regime had been converted into a military dictatorship under Field Marshals Ludendorff and Hindenburg. This, however, made little difference to Germany's prospects in the War. Despite defeating Russia in the East, the Reich faced imminent collapse in the West by October 1918. The decisive factors were the entry of the United States into the war and a crippling blockade imposed by the Royal Navy. Ludendorff therefore advised Kaiser Wilhelm II to appoint a civilian government to negotiate an armistice with the Allies. Prince Max of Baden was entrusted with this unenviable task on 26 October. He was supported by the Social Democrats (SPD), who since 1912 had been the largest party in the Reichstag, but opposed by the more radical Independent Socialists (USPD) and Spartacists, who had broken away from the SPD during the course of the war.
