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.
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