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Bread Peace with Ukraine

1 Mar 1918 — German troops enter Kyiv and support a client government that has promised them a million tons of grain. The conquest must be held as well as stripped of its resources. A million men remain in the east, although Ludendorff will shortly need them in France.

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Map: Bread Peace with Ukraine, 1 March 1918
1 MARCH 1918 · THE GREAT WAR, 1871–1923

The moment in context

The Bolsheviks had taken power promising to end Russia’s war. Peace, however, came with German demands for territory that Trotsky was unwilling to concede. At Brest-Litovsk he offered “no war, no peace”: Russia would stop fighting, but would sign no treaty. This left the outcome in German hands. When Germany launched Operation Faustschlag, its troops advanced against almost no organized resistance. Lenin pressed a fiercely divided Bolshevik leadership to accept the terms, and the treaty was signed on 3 March 1918.

From Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and WWI, chapter 11 of The Great War, 1871–1923 (APR 1918).

The place: Bread Peace with Ukraine — map and full story →

Teach this in 5 minutes

Then ask the room: Why did the gains at Brest-Litovsk fail to save Germany? The argued answer is on the chapter page →

The atlas that shows it

The Great War, 1871–1923
15 CHAPTERS · AN INTERACTIVE SITUATION MAP

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