After Bulgaria quit the war, it was clear the Central Powers were finished. By early October 1918, both Germany and Austria were exchanging diplomatic notes with the United States, discussing peace terms.

When the news that Berlin and Vienna were in peace talks with the Allies got out, it led to a rapid collapse of both governments’ domestic political support.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

Das Liebesmahl der Apostel
Composed in 1845 by Richard Wagner. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Marine Band. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing War Theme 

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Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

German forces in East Africa, consisting mostly of African askari soldiers, fought a tenacious guerilla war against the British and their allies.

But they could not fight forever, and the war in East Africa ended once the Germans learned of the Armistice in Europe. But the war had changed things in Africa.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

“Infados”
Composed and performed by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY 3.0 license. Source.

Closing War Theme 

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Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Photograph by Carol Fleming, used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-SA 4.0 license. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

The German spring offensives of 1918 failed to force an end to the war before Allied numerical superiority became decisive.

By August 1918, Allied numbers were beginning to tip the balance. German morale was deteriorating, and mobile warfare had returned to the Western Front.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

Overture to Tannhauser
Composed in 1845 by Richard Wagner. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Marine Band. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing War Theme 

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Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

Bulgaria, after three years as part of the Central Powers coalition, was losing enthusiasm for the war. The cost to the small nation was high, and the rewards meager.

So when an Allied offensive broke the Bulgarian line in the Balkans, Bulgaria sued for peace. The loss of the line of communication to Germany and Austria forced the Ottoman Empire to follow suit.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

Goldberg Variations No. 25
Composed in 1741 by Johann Sebastian Bach. Public domain.
Performed by Shelley Katz. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing War Theme 

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Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

After Russia quit the war, both the Allies and the Central Powers hoped for a cooperative relationship with the new government in Moscow. The Allies would have liked to see Russia re-join the war effort.

But the Bolsheviks had a civil war to fight. They were not interested in making nice with the capitalist powers, as demonstrated by the execution of the Imperial family.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

Pavane pour une infante défunte (Pavane for a Dead Princess)
Composed in 1899 by Maurice Ravel. Public domain.
Performed by Markus Staab. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing War Theme 

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Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk ended the war in the East. The Battle of Caporetto neutralized the threat from Italy, for the time being. Together, these developments gave Austria-Hungary a military respite.

But this respite obscured the Empire’s domestic political troubles. Food was still scarce and public discontent was reaching critical mass.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

“Liebesleid”
Composed in 1910 by Fritz Kreisler. Public domain.
Performed by Emanuel Salvador and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY 3.0 license. Source.

“Igre iz Bele krajine” (“White Carniola Dance”)
Traditional. Public domain.
Public domain recording. Source.

Closing War Theme 

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Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

The Great War offered Czech and Slovak nationalists like Edvard Beneš, Milan Rastislav Štefánik, and especially Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk the opportunity to pursue not only autonomy, but full independence from Austria-Hungary.

In order to achieve this, they would have to win the support of Allied governments. This was a challenge. In the Western Allied nations, few people could even name the minority ethnic groups in Austria-Hungary, let alone understand their national aspirations.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

“Hey, Slavs”
Traditional. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Navy Band. Public domain recording. Source.

“Lightning over the Tatras” (the national anthem of Slovakia)
Traditional. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Navy Band. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing War Theme 

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Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

The Bolsheviks were able to delay convening the Constituent Assembly, and eventually force its dissolution, consolidating their control over the Russian government.

Meanwhile, Czech and Slovak soldiers who had been fighting in the Russian Army and did not wish to be repatriated to Austria-Hungary, where they could be executed as deserters, attempt to relocate to the Western Front. They will not make it.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

“The Internationale”
Composed in 1888 by Pierre de Geyter. Public domain.
Performed by the Choir and Orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre. Public domain recording. Source.

Vltava (The Moldau)
Composed in 1882 by Bedřich Smetana. Public domain.
Performed by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing War Theme 

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Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

The German offensives of 1918 were possible because Germany had achieved numerical superiority on the Western Front for the first time since 1914. The Allies scrambled to increase their own numbers and better coordinate their forces, but over all this activity hung the big question: “Where are the Americans?”

The US hustled to get as many soldiers as possible into the trenches quickly, but there were also difficulties at home in producing enough weapons and equipment. With a mid-term election looming, the Wilson Administration had to fend off accusations that it had bungled the war effort.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

“U.S. Field Artillery March”
Composed in 1917 by Edmund Gruber and John Philip Sousa. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Marine Band. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing War Theme 

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Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and the end of the war on the Eastern front freed up large numbers of German soldiers for use elsewhere.

Hindenburg and Ludendorff chose to redeploy those soldiers to the Western Front in a final effort to end the war with a German victory.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

Fantasie from Siegfried
Composed in 1876 by Richard Wagner. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Marine Band. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing War Theme 

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Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.