Germany was not the first country to ask for an Armistice towards the end of World War One. On the contrary, its co-aggressors, Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire and Austro-Hungary, had already requested and been offered Armistice terms. As such, Germany would not be the first to "break" if they took this option, effectively a surrender with terms pre-agreed.

A century after the war broke out, historians still disagree as to which country bore the chief responsibility for the outbreak of war, but most agree that Germany, in co-ordination with Austro-Hungary, were largely to blame. Certainly, Germany had not anticipated that Britain would join the war; without them, the conflict would have been over far more quickly. But the terms of the various alliances governing Europe in 1914 meant that Britain and France felt compelled to step in against Germany. As such, war broke out.

So, it is not true to say that Germany did not anticipate being blamed for the war. What they did not anticipate, however, was how stringent the terms of the Armistice would be, largely due to long-standing bitterness from France. What is clear is that they felt armistice was their only option. In October 1918, the Kaiser received a telegram from his generals stating that they could no longer win: their Navy had been grounded since early in the war and the German people, as a result of multiple blockades, were starving. Their armies were decimated. The UK and France had received huge financial boosts as a result of the USA joining the war, which had also lead to massive demoralisation in Germany. They could not go on fighting.

Wilson's Fourteen Points were deemed disagreeable by General Ludendorff, and the Armistice had to be held off until he could be replaced. By the time the Armistice was signed, the Kaiser had abdicated and Germany had to accept any terms offered.