1917 - During World War I, Russia pulls out of the war as it experiences a revolution throughout the Motherland. 1918 - The First World War officially ends with the surrender of the Central Powers and the defeat of the German army. 1919 - The German Empire is reformed into the Weimar Republic, forced to limit its armed forces and has to give its Empire colonies to the French and British Empire. They also have to pay unbelievable amounts of reparations to the Allies (6,500 million).