Kiel mutiny

Kiel mutiny
Part of the German Revolution of 1918–19
Soldiers' council of the SMS Prinzregent Luitpold The sign reads, "Soldiers' council...long live the socialist republic"
Date 3–11 November 1918 Location Wilhelmshaven and Kiel, German Empire Result German Revolution of 1918-19
Belligerents
Sailors of the Imperial Navy	Imperial Navy
Commanders and leaders
Karl Artelt Lothar Popp	Wilhelm Souchon Gustav Noske

The Kiel mutiny (German: Kieler Matrosenaufstand) was a revolt by sailors of the German High Seas Fleet against the maritime military command in Kiel. The mutiny broke out on 3 November 1918 when some of the ships' crews refused to sail out from Wilhelmshaven for the final battle against the British Grand Fleet that the Admiralty had ordered without the knowledge or approval of the German government. The mutineers, who saw the planned battle as a futile "death voyage", took over Kiel with workers' and soldiers' councils and then helped spread them across Germany. The German Revolution that was triggered by the councils swept aside the Hohenzollern monarchy within a few days, brought about the end of the German Empire and led to the establishment of the Weimar Republic.