1918: Germany wins and collapses

The Institute of World Politics

About the lecture: Germany's final thrust to the east, coupled with revolutionary turmoil in Russia, which Berlin exacerbated greatly by its support of the Bolsheviks, brought victory to the Second Reich. The treaty of Brest Litovsk of March 1918 was an unmitigated triumph for the Germans. It not only allowed them to dominate most of the European part of the collapsing empire of the Tsars but also to establish a springboard to the future domination of the Caucasus and the Middle East. All that collapsed, however, because the United States entered the war and came to the rescue of the beleaguered and wavering Entente Powers. By August 1918 it became obvious that Germany had lost the war. Alas, instead of taking Berlin, the Powers agreed unwisely to an armistice in November 1918. Accordingly, hostilities terminated in the west, but they continued unabated in the east. About the speaker: Dr. Marek Chodakiewicz currently serves as a Professor of History at The Institute of World Politics, where he holds the Kosciuszko Chair of Polish Studies. He also leads IWP’s Center for Intermarium Studies. At IWP, Dr. Chodakiewicz teaches courses on Contemporary Politics and Diplomacy, Geography and Strategy, Mass Murder Prevention in Failed and Failing States, and Russian Politics and Foreign Policy. He was formerly an assistant professor of history of the Kosciuszko Chair in Polish Studies at the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. He also served as a visiting professor of history at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.