The Freikorps

More history, and yes, yet again it comes from one of my favorite sources, the Osprey books I invariably put on my Amazon.com wishlist for Christmas and thus receive as gifts.   But they’re all fascinating.  At least to me: in this case, The German Freikorps 1918-23, by Carlos Caballero Jurado, and well-illustrated yet again by Mr. Ramiro Bujeiro.

Anyhow.  After World War I (formerly known as The Great War before World War II came around) Germany wound up Kaiser-less and in danger of Bolshevik minions establishing a Red dictatorship.   With a surplus of demobilized soldiers with a surplus of free time and deficit of useful outlets therefor, naturally this pool of excess military capacity rapidly congealed into volunteer units called the Freikorps.  Interestingly, the German republic was socialist, but moderate socialists (the SPD) who weren’t keen on following Russia into a totalitarian dictatorship – mind you, this was in 1918-20, before the Russian Civil War was even resolved in Lenin’s favor.   I’m not a big fan of socialism, but the absence of gulags in Sweden and Denmark – and all other European countries which have had socialist governments over the past 60 years – indicates that some discernment should be made between North Korea and these countries.  ANYHOW.

The first unit was the Eiserne Brigade (Iron Brigade) in Kiel, a response to the Volksmarine, the Red militia composed of sailors and soldiers.  General Maercker formed the Freiwilliege Landesjägerkorps, which established the standard format for Freikorps units.  Most were named after the particular officer or general who raised them: the troops were loyal to particular leaders they had served under during the war.  Even Von Lettow-Vorbeck, of East Africa fame, had a Freikorps unit.   Because of the ad hoc nature of these units, they were very often mixed-arms (infantry-cavalry-artillery) so as to be self-sufficient and flexible.  They were volunteer units, so not all members were actually military – some civilians filled the ranks.  And although called up from certain areas, they may actually fight in another part of the country (e.g. Bavaria or Upper Silesia). 

Uniform.   The basic uniform of Freikorps units was the field grey German WWI uniform with puttees.  A few Freikorps units dressed in civilian clothes, and Freikorps Bayreuth wore French Adrian helmets painted field grey.   The units then indulged in specific insignia for each of them, but essentially look like late WWI German soldiers.   Some units painted swastikas on the front of the helmets, although they weren’t actually NSDAP units.  Skull and crossbones (not SS) and arrow were also painted on helmets.

January 1919.  Spartakist Rebellion in Berlin.   Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg (Flora Hamburger/Blackford) killed in the process.   Freikorps win.

Early 1919.  Red rebellions in Kiel, Bremerhaven, Hamburg, Wilhelmshaven. As these were port cities, the most of the Reds were sailors: the Volksmarine.   Freikorps units put out these fires and restored control.  (“And there was much rejoicing.”)

Red Army of the Ruhr.   Initial red rebellions erupted in the highly industrialized Ruhr area in 1919, and were put down by the Freikorps at that time.  In 1920 they erupted again, with a so-called Red Army of the Ruhr, large and well-organized, at the front.   This was also put down by the Freikorps in 1920, until the French marched in to restore order.  Incidentally, the Allies occupied the Ruhr not just in 1923 – the most well-known operation – but also earlier in May 1920 (as noted here), and March 1921.

Kapp Putsch.  Actually led by General von Luttwitz of the Ehrhardt Brigade, and centered on Berlin.  This failed: the SPD called a general strike, and von Luttwitz failed to coordinate with any other units.  While many of the leaders and rank and file of the Freikorps could be described as reactionary, and somewhat contemptuous of the Weimar Republic which they defended, this sentiment failed to reach a critical mass prompting these units to actually overthrow the socialist government.  This right-wing revolt, and the Nazi Putsch in 1923, had nowhere close to mass support, even within the Freikorps movement.

Bavarian Uprising.  In April 1919 the Communists took over Munich and proclaimed a red republic.  The Freikorps responded, surrounded the city, and put down the revolt by early May. 

Plebiscites in Poland.   With Poland becoming a new, independent country after the war, its borders were not quite established; in particular, Upper Silesia.  Although the May 1920 plebiscite resulted in a victory for the Germans, the Poles rebelled, took over the entire area, and hoped that doing so would effectively nullify the plebiscite results.   The German government refused to do more than whine to the Allies about obeying the results.  Without official backing, on their own, the Freikorps units banded together, arrived from all parts of Germany, and fought back - and succeeded at defeating the Polish irregulars.  Eventually the Allies intervened and allowed the territory to remain German.

Baltics & Russian Civil War.   Many Freikorps units went up to the Baltics.   On one hand, the Reds were streaming west from Petrograd and attempting to spread the revolution, or least military control, as far west as they could.  The Germans sympathized with the White Russians, and even allied with one Russian leader, Prince Avalov-Bermondt.  On the other hand, the Germans also hoped to make the Baltic countries eastern sectors of Germany, while the Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians preferred their freedom.  After some initial cooperation at fighting the Reds, the Freikorps fell out with the Baltic armies, and the latter eventually expelled the Germans.  Note: the Latvians were actually hardcore Reds and formed the elite backbone of the nascent Red Army.

November 1923 Munich Putsch.   Not necessarily a Freikorps action per se, although there was some overlapping between the Nazi party forces and local Freikorps elements.  Of course the Putsch failed and Hitler went to prison, writing Mein Kampf there with Rudolf Hess’ cooperation.   The failure of the Putsch convinced Hitler that power would have to be taken by convential means, i.e. appointed Chancellor on January 30, 1933.

End of the Freikorps.   By 1923 the socialist government was sufficiently stable and established that it no longer felt the need for the Freikorps.  The Army was solidly behind the government – which it would remain.  Many Freikorps members joined the Nazis.   Most notable was Ernst Roehm, head of the S.A., who never abandoned his quest for a mass popular army – until Hitler put an end to his ambitions on June 30, 1934.  But the units had served their purpose and the Army and Police were sufficient to keep order from then on.

Kick Asses

As promised, here is part two of the Red-Ass-Burgundy Trilogy.  These movies are based on graphic novels which I have NOT read, so my reviews solely concern the films themselves. 

Kick Ass.   I’d balked at this film for some time because I thought it was just about some clown dressed up in costume and a little girl dressed up in costume.   Which it is.  But it is so much more than that.  In fact, it kicks ass.

            Dave Lizewski (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) is a nerdy, bullied teen at a high school in New York.  Fed up with being pushed around, he orders a superhero costume off the Internet and ventures off as Kick-Ass – though without any super powers or even the slightest fighting ability.  Sure enough, he’s the one whose ass is kicked.  After being beaten up by street thugs, he’s hit by a car, and the resulting surgery leaves him with so much metal inside he’s a de facto Wolverine, without the adamantium claws or regeneration – or offensive capabilities:  more like an improved ability to absorb the inevitable punishment he endures because he still can’t fight to save his life.

            Meanwhile, big time crime lord Frank D’Amico (Mark Strong) finds his operations and minions being hammered by a mysterious caped crusader his hapless minions describe as “Bat Man”, but who turns out to be Big Daddy, aka Damon MacCready (Nicolas Cage).  Damon went to prison for a few years, framed by D’Amico and now intent on revenge.  Like Batman, he lacks super powers, per se, and is simply well-versed in martial arts, gadgets, and firearms skills.  His home is like a private arsenal, though falls well short of Bruce Wayne’s elaborate Bat Cave.

Instead of “Robin”, Big Daddy has a daughter, Mindy (Chloe Grace Moretz), who is as martially inclined and skilled as he is: Hit Girl, despite being all of …11?  Hit Girl rescues Kick-Ass and a bond is formed. Oh, Dave also has a bunch of nerdy friends, he tries to keep his identity a secret – even from them – and has a GF, Katie (Lyndsy Fonseca) who likes him because she thinks he’s gay.  Wait for the other shoe to drop….

            Meanwhile, D’Amico’s son Chris (Christopher Mintz-Plasse, aka “McLovin” from “Superbad”) wants to impress his father, so he takes the persona of Red Mist, to betray Kick Ass by gaining his trust and forming a team – with the goal to lure Kick-Ass into an ambush.   That’s the plan, at least.  But nothing goes according to anyone’s plan.

            From there, things start getting VERY violent.   There is blood, explosions, deaths, a painful firey death, with a definite body count – most of it caused by Hit Girl herself, after Big Daddy the most dangerous person in the film.  As you can imagine, there is a final confrontation between Frank, Kick-Ass, and Hit Girl.   Although you can sense where the film will eventually go, the route it takes is not obvious and is definitely entertaining, if extremely violent.

Kick Ass 2.  Naturally there is a sequel.   Mindy tries to retire as Hit Girl and be a normal teenager (i.e. fit in with the popular girls at school), leaving Kick Ass to find another companion: amateur crime fighting team Justice Forever, led by Captain Stars & Stripes (Jim Carrey – as unrecognizable as in “The Mask”), a reformed mob hitman turned right wing maniac.  The team also includes Night Bitch (Lindy Booth), Dr Gravity, and Battle Guy (Dave’s friend Marty), more would-be superheroes without super powers or even anything remotely resembling fighting skills, or competence with or possession of firearms.  Katie dumps Dave, believing that he’s cheating on her with Mindy – who is still only about 13.  Although Dave is pretty buff, he’s still barely learning how to defend himself and is well below Hit Girl’s standards, so in addition to the age difference, Mindy probably wouldn’t be interested in a guy she still has to constantly rescue from his own incompetence.

            Meanwhle, Chris D’Amico, determined to avenge his father, renames himself Motherf**ker, and gets his personal assistant Javier (John Leguizamo) to recruit a super villain team, of which the most notable is Mother Russia (Olga Kurkulina) – a supremely bad-ass bitch.  This team dispatches Capt Stars, but also kills several cops (Mother Russia on her own, no less!), enraging the city against all superheroes, which lands Dave’s father in jail when he comes forward claiming to be Kick-Ass to cover for Dave.  

Naturally there is yet another showdown between Kick-Ass & Hit Girl vs. Motherf**ker and his host of baddies.  Hell, there’s even a shark in here.   Did I mention Ser Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen) is here as Chris’ Uncle Ralph?  While the ultimate outcome is fairly easy to predict, HOW that outcome is reached is still far from obvious and well worth watching.   In other words, this film also kicks ass.  Still not safe for children, though.

The Boxer Rebellion

It’s history time again, folks, and this chapter comes from another of those fine Osprey Men-At-Arms publications (which I got for Christmas), The Boxer Rebellion (by Lynn E. Bodin, and illustrated by Chris Warner).  These books give a very concise description of the events at issue and some nice color illustrations of the parties involved – plus some maps and black & white photos.

Background.  In 1900, China was still run by a monarchy, in particular the “Dowager Empress” Tzu Hsi.   “Foreign devils” still prevailed and pretty much told them what they could and could not do.  This had been going on since the Opium Wars of the 1840s, and even the Japanese got in on the act – they even took Korea away from the Chinese in a brief war in 1894.  

High time someone did something about it, right?  Well, the Boxers weren’t happy, and they did: these civilian troublemakers, officially calling themselves the Righteous and Harmonious Fists.  Tzu Hsi herself wanted the foreigners gone, and allowed the Boxers to do the dirty work.   The Boxers preferred to use primitive, traditional, weapons and rejected modern technology as “foreign”.  They also believed in magic, and that their magic would make them bulletproof.   Moreover, they considered Chinese Christians as traitors and mercilessly attacked these converts.    

In June 1900 the Boxers besieged the foreign delegation at Beijing and another one at the Pei T’ang Cathedral.   The Legation itself had a mixed bag of soldiers and sailors: from Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Russia, and the U.S.   The cathedral was defended by French and Italian sailors.

A relief expedition led by British Admiral Seymour started out from Taku, went to Tientsin, then up northwest to Beijing.  However, the Admiral assumed the railroads would be in full working order.  Wrong.   A few things the Boxers grasped were the Europeans’ reliance on the telegraphs (which they cut) and the railroads, which they also cut.   This left the hapless Admiral with no choice but to return back to the arsenal at Hsiku, just outside Tientsin, and wait to be relieved.  D’oh!

In the meantime, the Boxers besieged Tientsin, which also had a sizable foreign legation.  It also seems the Boxers were getting substantial assistance from regular Chinese troops (nudge nudge, wink wink, say no more).  Yet again, d’oh!

Now the Allies finally decided to get their act together.   With some clever planning, they attacked the Chinese forts at Taku on the coast, the first step of a line of attacks leading up to Beijing.   By June 17, Taku was in Allied hands and secured.  Just in time, because Tientsin was barely holding out – though they were defended by some well-designed forts built by none other than future president Herbert Hoover. 

The Allies sent a substantial force northwest from Taku, and by June 23 had reached Tientsin and rescued Admiral Seymour.  Then they attacked Tientsin, and after a heavy battle managed to secure it by July 14.  They regrouped and planned the next phase:  moving northwest up to Beijing.  Battles at Pei Tsang (8/5), Yang Tsun (8/6), and Tsungchow (8/12), then Beijing itself, which fell fairly easily on August 14 thanks to a clever US bugler, Calvin Titus – and no thanks to the damn Russians, who refused to go along with plans in an ill-advised competition with the Japanese to grab all the glory to themselves.  

Although this lifted the siege of Beijing, the rebellion still stewed on for several months.   The Boxers’ last stronghold, at Pao Ting Fu, fell on October 20.  A peace treaty was finally signed in 1901.   The terms were even harsher against the Chinese than the prior treaties, but the Chinese were not in a position to bargain.  Nevertheless, although the Boxers were defeated militarily, the resentment and anger against the Allies – I’d say “Europeans” except that the US and Japanese were also among the groups involved – continued for decades thereafter and stoked the “gearwheel” Nationalist movement.

Who participated in this? 

Austria-Hungary contributed 400 sailors from various warships.  Aboard the armored cruiser SMS Kaiserin und Konigin Maria Theresa was a naval officer named Georg Von Trapp.  Sound familiar?
France sent troops from...Vietnam.  While most were French troops who had been stationed in Indochina, a few were actually Annamite (Vietnamese) colonial troops.
Germany sent several brigades, including some marines.  The Germans wore slouch hats we usually associate with Australians.
Italy sent sailors, Bersaglieri (elite riflemen), some Alpini, artillery, and engineers.  Both the Italians and Germans also sent volunteer units raised at home expressly for this operation.
Most of the troops from Great Britain were actually Indian.
Japan sent two divisions of infantry, the most of any country.
The Russians sent almost as many as the Japanese, mostly from their local districts. [In 1904, war broke out between the Russians and Japanese as these troops remained there long after the Boxers had been subdued.]
The US had Army and Marine units involved....and Herbert Hoover.

"55 Days in Peking."  This is a 1963 film with David Niven as the British commander of the Beijing group and Charlton Heston as the commander of the US Marines in the legation.  Modestly entertaining but a good depiction of the events in question.  Ava Gardner is also in here, mainly to look pretty and cause a scandal.

Jesus Says...

Don’t be an asshole.

1.         MDPs.   Jesus was very laid back, very cool.  But if there was one group of people who really pissed Him off, it was Pharisees, those arrogant, holier-than-thou types who made up a vast array of arbitrary rules, followed them scrupulously, and then looked down on “sinners” and tax collectors.  If you listen to the Gospel consistently Sunday after Sunday, you pick up on this theme:  Jesus hated these clowns.

            Yet circa 2013, the yahoos most consistently barking and braying about “Jay-Sus” are the modern day equivalents of those Pharisees (hereinafter, “Modern Day Pharisee”, or MDP).  ???  When Jesus comes back, these MDP’s are likely to be #1 on His Hit List.  So why are they the loudest and most obnoxious in invoking His name?  Are they that clueless?   Apparently so.

2.         What Would Jesus Do?   That’s another idiocy of modern day Christians.  Somewhere out there, some smug bastard is patting himself (or herself) on the back for coming up with that bumper sticker or slogan: What Would Jesus Do?   Allow me to give a brief hypothetical to illustrate just how moronic that slogan is.

            You’re at a wedding, and they run out of wine.  But there’s plenty of water (probably from the tap).   What would Jesus do?

            Then at the reception, the caterer doesn’t show up.  All you have are loaves and fishes to feed all those hungry people.   What would Jesus do?

            Uncle Ted complains he was diagnosed with cancer.   Too bad there’s no cure, right?  What would Jesus do?

            Oops, the bride’s father, conveniently named Lazarus, collapses of a heart attack and dies right there.  What would Jesus do?

            Finally, you’re wrongfully accused of a capital crime which you didn’t commit.  You’re sentenced to be executed.  Sure enough, on a Friday afternoon, they execute you.  What would Jesus do?

            Enough with this idiocy of “what would Jesus do.”   He’s the Son of God.  Not only can He raise the dead, He can come back Himself.   None of us have His powers.   Better to take the nicest, good-est person you know, a mere non-divine, non-Son of God, mortal, and live by that person’s example.  For me, it’s my Dad.   He couldn’t do all those things Jesus did, but he was the best person I knew.  His example will serve for me.  And even his example is a stretch…but I’ll try.

    Ayn Rand once remarked that the one thing worse than being capably attacked is being ineptly defended, in the context of Republicans doing a piss-poor job of “defending” capitalism.   When I see Christians behaving like idiots I feel the same way.   Dumbass Christians – and violent Muslims – are a powerful argument in favor of atheism, or at least agnosticism.  All it takes is discretion and intelligence and we can be Christians who won’t make Jesus facepalm.   Let’s give it a shot.

REDs 1 & 2

This is the first of my trilogy of blogs on movies with excellent sequels, the RED-Ass-Burgundy Trilogy.

RED.  Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) thought he had retired from “The Company” (CIA), but his life gets considerably more interesting when masked intruders break into his house in an unsuccessful attempt to kill him – instead of simply banishing him to a boring little village until he reveals why he retired.  He shanghai’s his pension case worker Sarah Ross (Mary Louise Parker, best known as Nancy Botwin from “Weeds”) and off they go across the US in a Big Adventure, the primary purpose of which is to find out who is trying to kill him and why.  Along the way they pick up old buddy Joe (Morgan Freeman), paranoid maniac Marvin (John Malkovich) (maybe not as paranoid as he appears), MI6 assassin Victoria (Helen Mirren) and KGB counterpart Ivan (Brian Cox).   Even Richard Dreyfuss has an amusing role in this whole thing.  RED stands for “Retired, Extremely Dangerous”, which all these old folks definitely prove to be.

            Naturally they get some official scrutiny from a currently serving CIA badass Cooper (badass Karl Urban) who senses that his boss isn’t being completely forthcoming in the information department. 

            Like “True Lies”, the movie is simultaneously a parody of the action shoot-em-up big explosion genre, but also an excellent example of the genre in its own right.  Like that film, its charm is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously.  Because of that, it’s a blow-‘em-up film that the female half of the couple can watch and enjoy too, not rolling her eyes like “you KNOW I hate these films!” but loving it almost as much as the male half does.

RED 2.   Apparently “RED” was successful enough to merit a sequel and a larger budget.  While the first film was 100% baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet, taking place in the USA (“America!  F**K yeah!”) this film got its passports stamped….

            Frank and Sarah’s domestic bliss and boredom are rudely interrupted when Marvin accosts them in Home Depot…and the fireworks begin again.  This time around a befuddled, absent-minded mad scientist who is not quite as dead as everyone assumed, Bailey (Anthony Hopkins) enters the equation.  Paris, London, and Moscow are the scenes this time around.  Ivan and Victoria return, but Cooper’s role [sympathetic adversarial US official authority figure] is taken by Jack Horton (Neal McDonough) and Katja (Catherine Zeta-Jones, as delicious here as she ever is) stops by to make Sarah jealous and uneasy.  There’s even Han (Byung-Hun Lee), a mysterious assassin whose role seems to be ….to satisfy the EEOC and put an Asian person in the film, and naturally he does martial arts.  At least it’s not Jet Li or Jackie Chan.  RED 3 will probably have to include an openly gay character, as they cavort from planet to planet. 

            Bottom line: minor cast changes, major scenery changes, but the same zany fun, explosions, and witty dialogue.  Watch them back-to-back.