Three Discussions To The End Of World War I

 1.  Did Germany just run out of troops at the end?  

Well....from the beginning to the end....Germany had mobilized about 13.2 million men over the war, with around 2 million dead and millions wounded or captured by 1918. 

Conscription had caused problems  in the the population (especially younger and less fit men), but Germany still had reserves. 

The real issue was the inability to supply, equip, and sustain these forces, coupled with collapsing morale and political will (particularly the SPD Party).

2.  Was the end a surrender or a armistice?

Germany sought an armistice based on U.S. President Wilson’s Fourteen Points, hoping for lenient terms. 

The armistice gained.....simply halted fighting, but Germany’s army was never fully defeated on the battlefield, leading to the “stab-in-the-back” myth later exploited by nationalists. 

3.  Was the spring 1918 German offensive a big deal?

On paper....this March-July period was aimed to break Allied lines before American troops fully arrived. 

What you can say....there were some brief initial gains, then the offensive stalled due to overextended supply lines, heavy casualties (Germany lost about 700,000 men in 1918 alone), and effective Allied counterattacks, notably the Hundred Days Offensive (August-November 1918). 

Germany’s army were somewhat depleted....mostly due to poorly trained replacements (the conscripts of the fall of 1917). 

I need to add this final note.....war weariness (summer of 1918) had sparked unrest. The Kiel Mutiny (October 1918) by German sailors spread into the November Revolution, with workers’ and soldiers’ councils demanding peace and political reform. 

All of this added up to the Kaiser’s abdication on 9 November 1918, which signaled the collapse of the German monarchy, pushing the new government (led by the SPD) to seek peace.

Had the spring offensive been effective....had the Kiel mutiny not occurred with the revolutionary business...had the monarchy not have collapsed, then the war would have likely gone into 1919 (for another year).

Were There Fringe Groups Like Antifa or Brown-Shirts Existing in the 1918 to 1921 Era of Germany

 Yes. Examples:

Deutschvölkischer Schutz- und Trutzbund (1919-1921).  Antisemitic völkisch (folkish) group.  Probably near 200k toward the end....geared against "Jewish influence."  They were dissolved by 1922...by the Weimar Republic.

Black Reichswehr (1919-1920).  Probably near 10k by the peak.  I would call them more of a militia group....a private army of sorts.  Known for carrying out sabotage and assassinations.  They were also dissolved by 1922....by the Weimar Republic.

Spartacus League (1918-1920).  This was a leftist group....anti-war in nature.  Probably peaked at 5,000 members. As they were dissolved....they morphed into KPD, and later into Antifa. (Nifty name, you must admit)

Proletarian Hundreds (1918-1919).  Mostly active in the NW of Germany.  Worked in cells of 100.  They later were dissolved, and blended into KPD, and later into Antifa.

Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold (1918-probably throughout most of the 1920s).  SPD paramilitary....some say they numbered near 2-million total.  If you were to be asked if a 'good-guy' militia existed in this era.....this might be the only one....however, they clashed in physical violence with various groups.

If you could count all these groups, and suggested memberships....there's probably 3-to-4 million men....mostly all vets from the war.   Instead of fighting the French, British or Americans....they were mostly fighting amongst themselves.

The idea that the Brown-Shirts or Antifa were the 'start-ups'?  NO.....dozens of groups were starting up in late 1918, and carried through to the Brown-Shirt/Antifa era.

24 August 2026: Germany: 4 Stories

 1.  Over the weekend, Chancellor Merz gave a talk....wants the coalition on top-priority....reforming the economy....saving jobs. 

It's a topic they should have taken on....a year ago.

2. YouGov survey....majority of Germans have a belief that Merz will not be around at the end of the 4-year period of the gov't.

3.  State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern....20 Sep is the state election day.

Polling?  AfD is pulling around 36-percent currently.  SPD at 28-percent.  Greens, 5-percent.  CDU at 10-percent. Linke at 11-percent.  Everyone else....below 5-percent.

AfD will fail to form a coalition.....SPD ends up in  4-partner-deal....very marginal gov't.

4.  CSD-terrorist in Berlin (dead)....still lingering in the local news.

So...questions came up over his behavior, in the years prior to the attack.  Back in 2022....the authorities were having to handle the guy (then 16).   A German juvenile court looked over evidence....then certified him as "criminally responsible," but then said he was also considered to have "delayed maturity."

It would appear....a lot of the Berlin locals are shaking their head....disbelieving the court-system were protecting public interest. 

Q-and-A: Realities

 1.  On the Harry and Meghan saga 'plan'....what version are we up to presently?

I believe....if Meghan had started with 'plan-1'.....we've gone past 'plan-6' and this 'retreat' to the UK....is probably 'plan-7'.   And yes, there's likely to be a plan-8, plan-9, and plan-10.

2.  Merz gone in 2027 as Chancellor?

If there were a rock-solid replacement guy in the CDU....yes.  But presently.....I would argue that Merz is the best that they have to offer. (Note that I only suggested the CDU.....the CSU might have a better choice).

3.  2027 heat wave path.....allowing a gov't gift of AC-units for poverty folks?

It will not shock me if the SPD Party pushes the idea of poverty Germans getting 500 Euro for a small unit in 2027....then discovering that the grid price to run it....is massive.

4.  The typical average left-voter in Germany....flipping from SPD, to Greens/Linke?

If you lined up lefty-voters....say a hundred....only around 30 would go toward the SPD....with the 70 left....mostly leaning toward the Linke and Greens.  

The Germans Who Say They Will 'Leave' If AfD Wins

 It's an odd topic.

I would make a educated guess that around 5-percent of Germans walk around and occasionally say that if there is some national election and AfD wins....they will up-and-leave.

If you engage with them on this....asking where they intend to settle...you don't get a real answer.  Some might hint Austria or Greece....but you have AfD-like parties in those countries as well.

This being simply a BS-chat topic?  More or less.

In almost all EU countries now....there's some party like the AfD, and most gravitate toward issues with migration/immigration....which the majority of opposition parties have no real ability to control or resolve the issue.

This reaction....something like the US folks who said they'd leave the US if Trump won again (2024)?  Well....you can say that to some degree.  Some folks did try an exit, and based on chatter via social media....I'd say around 50-percent found the new country not as good as US-living.

22 August 2026: Germany: 7 Stories

 1.  I went to the Wiesbaden wine-fest (started last weekend) last night.  Three observations: Friday night crowd maxed-out....simply a ton of guests.  The security barriers were in place (2.5 million Euro worth...owned by the city)....with three police teams walking the parameter...making you feel safe.  Between the wife and I...on food and rink for 2.5 hours....spending near 110 Euro (hefty sum).

2.  2026 weather observation: It has been an ODD year.  From 1 Jan....two light sprinklings of snow....never really sticking.  Early end to cold weather.  Drought from mid-April on...only reversing in the past 7 days.  Lot of heat....probably 30 days of 34 C (93 F) or more. From 2nd week of August on....way cooler than normal (closer to a max of 24 C....75 F).  Heavy suspicion of early snowfall.  

3.  Mannheim-Kaiserslautern soccer game....afterwards, got rough.  Fans fighting.  Police say 35 of their cops were wounded/injured.

4.  Something on social media I noticed.  Some German clearing the house...came across a LIDL (German grocery operation) brochure from 11 years ago.

So....they noted the 11 items on the cover, with pricing of 11 years ago, and went to price them in 2026.  Almost all...had doubled or more....since 2015.  Key note....well...if you ask people about their salary levels...NO ONE has doubled their salary since 2015.  At best....people probably making around 10 to 20 percent more.  I might even say pension-wise (if you were retired)....you tend to get a 2-to-3 percent 'bump' each year.

5.  It got brought up...from Berlin....two young guys (age 18 both)....had serious charges pressed against them.  Both required a translator in the court.  So you'd assume they were migrants/guests?  No.....they were both German-born, and simply could not speak at a level to understand legal proceedings.  Both had survived the German school system, and never really 'participated'.  

6.  Schools across Germany started up.  Lot of chatter over cost of 'arming' each kid.  I noticed off social media some parent blasting the cost of a school bag....with ultra-cheap-looking bags still in the 40-odd Euro range, but for the super deluxe 'in-fashion' bag....it's closer to 300 Euro now.  If you add up the cost (without the bag business)....you would be spending near 200 Euro minimum (then you have to figure the PT-gear and new tennis shoes)

7. Rwanda is having talks with Germany....to be a 'guest-center' for deportees from Germany.  The way it looks.....x-number per year would be accepted....with Germany paying per-guest some sum of money.  

Lawsuit challenge?  100-percent chance.  

Who would likely go?  If you have a criminal record and shown no interest in integration....I suspect you'd get put on the Rwanda plane.

No idea how many a year would go....humble guess....minimum of 3,000.  From the two articles I read....some German official belief that they could make this 'deal' by the end of 2026. 

The Next Thing To Worry About

This AM.....story being run by NDR, WDR, and the Süddeutsche Zeitung....says that a 'cache' of pistols...has been found, and it leads to KGB/FSB 'agents'.

So if you piece this together....oddly, this was found in the summer of 2025, and its just now being openly discussed by the police

Found where?  Woods....near Brandenburg.

Big group?  No.....just two pistols/ammo.

Absolute proof?  Well....no.....it's assumed that it's the Russians.

Anyone arrested?  One guy....detained in Romania....so far.

The threat-story given?  Just that some type of assassination was possible.

Me skeptical?  You could go over to Leipzig and ask the four criminal clans about weapons, with them grinning and admitting they've got probably a hundred weapons hid around the region.

But here's the thing.....the Putin-threat keeps getting brought up.  1920s murders and assassinations?  There were dozens of folks killed in the interest of bringing 'change'.   

Germany Deport List

 I read through a ZEIT article today....saying for 2026....a total of 17,892 foreigners (on the deport list) had departed. 

What's left currently?  The federal government says (as of 1 July 2026)....there were 258,845 people in Germany who were ausreisepflichtig (obligated to leave the country).