Reichswehr
The
Reichswehr (literally
National Defense or
Imperial Defense) formed the
military organization of
Germany from
1919 until
1935, when the
government rebranded it as the
Wehrmacht (
Defence Force).
At the end of
World War I, the forces of the
German Empire had mostly disintegrated, the men making their way home individually or in small groups. Many of them joined the
Freikorps (free corps), a collection of volunteer paramilitary units that were involved in
revolution and border clashes between 1918 and
1923.
The newly-formed
Weimar Republic did need a
military though, and on
6 March 1919 a decree established the
Vorläufige Reichswehr ("Provisional National Defense Force"), consisting of a
Vorläufige Reichsheer (Provisional National Army) and a
Vorläufige Reichsmarine (Provisional National Navy). About 400,000 men served in the
Reichsheer.
On
30 September 1919, the army was reorganized as the
Übergangsheer ("Transitional Army"). This lasted until
1 January 1921, when the
Reichswehr was officially established according to the limitations imposed by the
Treaty of Versailles.
Limited by treaty to a total of 100,000 men, the
Reichswehr was composed of the following:
*The
Reichsheer, an
army consisting of two group commands,
**seven
infantry divisions, and
**three
cavalry divisions.Tanks, heavy artillery and aircraft were forbidden.
*The
Reichsmarine, a
navy limited to a handful of ships. Submarines and aircraft were forbidden.
Despite the limitations on its size, their analysis of the loss of
WW I,
research and development, secret testing abroad (in cooperation with the
Red Army) and planning for "better times" went on. As well, although forbidden to have a general staff, the army continued to conduct the typical functions of a general staff under the "disguised" name of
Truppendienst, or "Troop Office". During this time, many of the future leaders of the
Wehrmacht, for instance,
Heinz Guderian, first formulated the ideas that they were to use so effectively a few years later.
The Reichswehr was never a friend of democracy but stayed loyal to the democratic German government. This was done by emphasizing the apolitical character of the Reichswehr. This gave democracy the chance to develop without intervention from the military leadership, but reduced also the likelihood of military resistance against
Adolf Hitler. The biggest influence on the development of the Reichswehr was
Hans von Seeckt (1866-1936), who served from 1920-1926 as "Chef der Heeresleitung" (Chief of the Army Leadership).
The reduction of the peacetime strength of the German army from 780,000 (1913) to 100,000 actually enhanced the quality of the Reichswehr: only the best of the best would be permitted to join the army. This size limitation also forced the Reichswehr to look into new methods of waging war, modernize, and adopt swift, mobile doctrines of defense championed by von Seeckt and Guderian that would later lead to the
blitzkrieg.
During
1933 and
1934, after
Adolf Hitler became
Chancellor of Germany, the
Reichswehr began a secret program of expansion, which finally became public with the formal announcement of the
Wehrmacht in
1935.
*
Wheeler-Bennett, Sir John The Nemesis of Power: German Army in Politics, 1918-1945 New York: Palgrave Macmillan Publishing Company, 2005.
*
Axis History Factbook - Reichswehr*
Feldgrau's overview of the Reichswehr*
The Archives of technical Manuals 1900-1945 (includes the Reichswehr-regulations)
