The Rise Of Australasia

October 11, 1917, this day was significant for both the Allies and the entire war.

Under the full-scale attack of the Allied forces, the Second Marne River Battle made good progress.

In just ten days, the German military was pushed back more than 50 kilometers, not only completely resolving the predicament of Paris but even showing great momentum to counterattack into Germany.

Although the German army's defense did not cease, it could no longer stop the advance of the Allied forces.

At this stage, the German army's morale was already low, worn out, and exhausted. It seemed that most of the soldiers were already weary and did not see a favorable outcome in this doomed war.

The success of the Second Marne River Battle also gave an opportunity to the Allied Command.

While maintaining an offensive on the northern front line, the French Army assembled a large number of troops stockpiled in Verdun and advanced directly towards Alsace and Lorraine in cooperation with the southern front line.

For the French, being able to recapture the Alsace and Lorraine Regions as quickly as possible was undoubtedly one of the best rewards in this war.

October 27, 1917, after a half-month of fighting, the Allied forces broke through South Zinc, pushing the German military back to the pre-war France-Germany border.

However, restoring the pre-war order was clearly not the objective of the French army. Without any respite, the spirited French troops shouted slogans of reclaiming Alsace and Lorraine and directly charged towards those regions.

The German army's fighting spirit was revived since its homeland was right behind it. However, it was now apparent that the German forces could no longer resist the advancing Allies. Even if the Germans fought fearlessly, the French were even more enthusiastic about fighting.

At the end of October, as the first French soldier stepped into the Alsace area, the region, which had been without French flags for decades, was once again adorned with them.

Recaptured along with Alsace was the Lorraine Region, which Prussia had annexed in 1871 and had since been a thorn in the side of all French people.

It should be remembered that it was in this same year that the German Empire was established with France under Prussian rule. This humiliation was lodged deep in the hearts of all French people and was at the core of the Franco-German conflict.

Now able to reclaim this territory, the prospect was even more exciting for most French people than the victory in the war itself.

General Thomas was very tactful, not only giving the French army the opportunity to be the first to enter Alsace and Lorraine but also proposing that the French should directly govern these regions.

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With the consent of all the Allied countries, the management of this territory was given to the French people, and no one could dispute France's sovereignty over the land.

The occupation of Alsace and Lorraine not only thrilled the French people and French media but also excited the media and citizens of all the Allied countries.

This was the first time since the outbreak of the war that the Allied Westline Battlefield forces had penetrated into German territory and truly occupied the first plot of German land, a significant event in the entire conflict.

On the same day that the French army officially entered Alsace and Lorraine, the media of all the Allied countries unanimously used one headline: "Victory is coming!"

The fall of Alsace and Lorraine overwhelmed the Germans, but they now had no troops to mobilize.

Both the Belgian region and the Eastern Front were facing fierce attacks from the Allied forces.

Even gathering one division could put these two frontlines in danger. However, if reinforcements were not sent to South Germany, Bavaria might be the next to fall.

The political structure of the German Empire was rather special, as it was formed from the former Kingdom of Prussia, in conjunction with the various states in the German region.

Emperor William II was not only Emperor of the German region but also the King of the central Kingdom of Prussia.

Aside from Prussia, the German Empire also had important states such as Bavaria, Hesse, Baden, and Hanover.

These states not only had autonomy but also their own armies. However, during times of war, they had to submit to the centralization of the imperial government, which was a restriction on these states.

Bavaria had its own king, and it was uncertain whether Bavaria would demand independence in the face of a crisis as Hungary had done in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

However, the more turmoil there was in Germany, the better it was for the Allies. The greater the chaos in Germany, the less manpower and resources the Allies would spend in defeating the country.

After fully occupying Alsace and Lorraine, the Allied forces split into two directions. Part of the forces went north to Frankfurt and the Rhine River bank, occupying important German locations such as Frankfurt and the Ruhr District and joining the British forces in the Belgian region to encircle the German frontlines.

The other part continued eastward to occupy the entire southern region of Germany.

The German states of Bavaria, Fortenberg, Hesse, Baden, and North Germany did not have such close ties.

It should be noted that the German Empire was established because the Kingdom of Prussia defeated the Austro-Hungarian Empire and excluded Austria, which was also located in the German area.

Prior to the establishment of the German Empire, the southern German states of Bavaria and others had closer relations with the Austro-Hungarian Empire and were opposed to the Kingdom of Prussia's North Germany Alliance.

On November 11, 1917, after the Allied forces captured Owenfort, they advanced to Stuttgart.

The army responsible for the northward advance headed north to Mannheim, surrounding the surrounding areas of Mannheim, Mainz, and Frankfurt.

Although the German army fought desperately, the Allies' forces were unstoppable. Even if the daily casualties of the German army exceeded tens of thousands, it still could not stop the Allies' advance.

On November 27, Stuttgart was breached, and the Allied forces moved east to Munich and Nuremberg.

Within a few days, Mannheim also fell, leaving only the German forces in Mainz and Frankfurt to hold out.

The news of the Allies' unstoppable advance within Germany also incited the British, who intensified their offensive in the Belgian region and recovered the Liege Fortress during this time, pushing towards Germany's Aachen.

The predicament faced by Germany at this time made the German General Staff's scalp numb and made Hindenburg feel helpless.

More importantly, the fall of the territory had already left Germany facing a supply crisis. Many areas had seen worker uprisings, protesting the government's drastic cuts in supplies to the people.

Although such small-scale worker uprisings were quickly quelled by the government, a pessimistic atmosphere had already begun to spread among the people.

The German people began to criticize the military government's rule, angrily stating that it was because of the militarized government that Germany faced such a predicament.

Worth mentioning is that the attacks from various media and people within Germany directly targeted the military government and Hindenburg. The specific targets were so apparent that it was hard not to suspect some manipulation behind the scenes.

Actually, hidden in the Berlin Palace, Emperor William II was the most likely mastermind behind these attacks. However, Hindenburg had no intention of dealing with William II at this time.

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On December 1, 1917, under the orders of Hindenburg and Rudolf, the German General Staff requested the High Seas Fleet to forcefully engage in battle, hoping to obtain more favorable terms for Germany's future negotiations.

However, the General Staff's demands undoubtedly sent the High Seas Fleet's soldiers to their deaths. With the addition of the Americans, the difference in numbers between the German Navy and Allied navies had become huge, and the High Seas Fleet could no longer be the Allies' naval match.

Under the leadership of some middle-level naval officers of the High Seas Fleet, the unwilling seamen rebelled, directly occupying the harbor and publicly telegraphing the German government, demanding that Hindenburg return power to William II.

The rebellion and disobedience of the navy caused Hindenburg to lose face, and it also made more German people dissatisfied with the rule of the military government.

As the Allied forces rampaged across Germany, plundering cities and territories, the Kingdom of Bavaria's government finally could not withstand any more. King Ludwig III of Bavaria sent several messengers to meet with the Allies, and their intent to unilaterally end the war had become quite apparent.

On December 7, Munich fell under the besiegement of the Allied forces, and Ludwig III publicly declared Bavaria's unconditional surrender.

The surrender of Bavaria marked the beginning of the German states' surrender, and Hesse, Baden, Fortenberg, and other states all declared their surrender in early December.

This resulted in the entire south Germany region falling under the control of the Allies, causing chaos among the north German states.

At this point, Hindenburg could no longer be concerned about the front line and hastily ordered the withdrawal of the troops to the north German region, concentrating all efforts on defending the most critical areas of Germany.

On December 9, with Frankfurt's collapse, the Allied forces began to advance towards the Ruhr District.

The British forces also officially broke through Aachen, joining forces with the French army, aiming directly at the entire Westphalia region.

Before the Allied forces even approached the Ruhr area, workers and the military in the area had already rebelled.

A large number of workers shouted slogans such as "bread not war," causing some German soldiers to defect and directly occupy most of the factories in the Ruhr area.

At the same time, rebellions broke out across Germany, and the people had nothing to eat, so naturally, they no longer cared about the government.

On December 11, Allied forces landed in Hanover, and Hanover immediately declared its surrender.

At this time, Hindenburg sat pale-faced in the General Staff's office and knew that Germany's situation was hopeless. With bitterness, he gave the order to his messenger, announcing a ceasefire on the front line.

On the same night, William II, under the protection of his guards, quietly fled to the neighboring Netherlands for refuge.

After Germany's defeat in the war, Hindenburg's military government will inevitably face retribution from the Allies, and William II does not believe the Allies would easily let him go.

Instead of enduring this, it would be better to go to the Netherlands as soon as possible and wait for Germany's situation to develop.

The next day, on December 12, 1917, the news of Germany's ceasefire spread throughout the Allied nations and the world, and all the Allied people gathered together to celebrate and rejoice.

It was only then that the people of Europe realized that the slogan of ending the war before Christmas, previously publicized by the Allied media, was not a deception. There was still half a month left before Christmas.

Arthur, upon hearing the news of Germany's ceasefire in Australasia, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

The war, which had lasted for three years, had finally come to an end and had finally allowed the people of Europe and even the entire world to relax.

However, the end of the war did not mean relaxation; the upcoming negotiations between the Allies and Germany were of the utmost importance and concerned the interests of all nations.