The Final Battle: Soldiers of the Western Front and the German Revolution of 1918 (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780521519465)

In many ways the German soldiers who marched back from the Western Front at the end of World War I held the key to the future of the newly-created republic that replaced the Kaiser's collapsed monarchy. To the radical Left, the orderly columns of front line troops appeared to be the forces of the counterrevolution while to the conservative elements of society they seemed to be the Fatherland's salvation. However in their efforts to get home as soon as possible, most soldiers were indifferent to the political struggles within the Reich, while the remnant that remained under arms proved powerless to defend the republic from its enemies. This book considers why these soldiers' response to the revolution was so different from the rest of the army and the implications this would have for the course of the German Revolution and, ultimately, for the fate of the Weimar Republic itself.

Author: Scott Stephenson
ISBN-10: 0521519462
ISBN-13: 9780521519465
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Language: English
Published: 08/27/2009
Pages: 372
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.60lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.20w x 0.90d

Review Citation(s):
Choice 09/01/2010