By the end of September 1918, the Germans were beaten. Earlier that year Chief-of-Staff Erich Ludendorff commanded the “Kaiserschlacht”  offensive that briefly seemed to turn the tide, but the Germans lacked the resources to support the effort. Ludendorff himself told the Kaiser and Germany’s Chancellor to ask for a ceasefire on September 29th. But the myth that Germany’s civilian leaders betrayed their military started to spread before the Treaty of Versailles was completed.