German Uniforms, Insignia Equipment 1918-1923: Freikorps, Reichswehr, Vehicles, Weapons (Schiffer Military History) ebook

Great book,lots of photos. Could have used artist color illustrations of the uniforms. I am happy to have purchased the book.

GREAT BOOK ON A LITTLE KNOWN ERA OF GERMAN HISTORY. AUTHOR DOES A FANTASTIC JOB OF DESCRIBING THE ORIGIN, PERSONALITIES AND THE CAMPAIGNS OF THE FREIKORP, AND HOW THEY SERVED AS THE TRAINING GROUND FOR THE LATER NAZI STORMTROOPERS (S.A.)

GERMAN UNIFORMS, INSIGNIA, & EQUIPMENT, 1918-1923: FREIKORPS, REICHSWEHR, VEHICLES, & WEAPONS
CHARLES WOOLLEY
SCHIFFER MILITARY PUBLISHING, 2002
HARDCOVER, $59.95, PHOTOGRAPHS, 186 PAGES, ILLUSTRATIONS

Defeat and revolution had practically dissolved the German Army in November, 1918. Even where troops remained in their barracks the Solders' Council usurped the officers' authority. (It was common for extremists to tear the rank badges and medals from the uniforms of veterans, and officers rarely dared wear their uniform in public for fear of mob violence.) This military weakness coincided with revolutionary threats to German unity, and new menaces on the national borders. Both the Poles and the Czechs saw the German crisis as an opportunity to enlarge their new states at Germany's expense. All these factors, and particularly the perceived danger of a Communist dictatorship in Germany, provoked a spontaneous reaction among many military men-officers, NCOs, and soldiers alike-who were still strongly inspired by nationalist and patriotic sentiment. It was in this context that the "Freikorps" or "Free Corps" movement was born. Freikorps units were recent paramilitary arrivals on the scene. These fierce fighters, most of whom would have liked to see World War I continue, believed that the more territory they controlled militarily the more Germany would receive in a peace settlement. The new German government believed the same thing, but the authorities in Berlin couldn't rely on regular army units to carry out the tasks necessary to achieve such a goal. Many of the soldiers still in uniform had seen their units fall apart at the end of the war through desertions, casualties, and epidemics. For these reasons, special units were formed by drawing on volunteers. Not all the volunteer groups were formed of frontline veterans. Some members had been too young to enlist during the war, although they very much wanted to fight. Others hadn't been able to pass intelligence tests or had criminal records, keeping them out of the army. Freikorps were usually led by men who had been wartime junior officers or NCOs. These Freikorps never employed regular army restraint. They were brutal fighters with brutal instincts. One indication of just how badly the times were out of joint was in the socialist government in Berlin being forced, as in Munich, to call in regular army troops reinforced by Freikorps to suppress rebellions. This practice led to a split on the Left between moderate and more radical Socialists. This fracture wasn't healed for the duration of the Weimar Republic. Some of the Freikorps rarely engaged in combat, while others fought from Kurland to the Ruhr. It is estimated that the armed confrontations between rival factions in Germany in the period 1918-1923 cost some 25,000 lives. This figure, though considerable, is far lower than the number of deaths registered in other European civil conflicts of the interwar period (the so-called Finnish War of Independence, which actually had strong elements of a civil war). The Freikorps' victories were due, to a great extent, to their unquestionable military superiority over the various Red militias which faced them. Although the Freikorps were greatly outnumbered in Berlin, Munich, and the Ruhr, they enjoyed advantages in discipline, high motivation, competentcy, resolute leadership, and tactical experience. They won even though most of these operations involved street-fighting, for which the German Imperial Army wasn't trained. Their opponents often broke when confronted by the acid test of an energic and well-organized assault. This highly illustrated and concise account of a little known but central episode in the history of the 20th Century Germany covers the uniforms and insignia of Germany's military in transition from the trenches to the street fighting. The quasi-uniformed look of the Communist revolutionaries, as well as images of the tanks and armored cars operated by the Kokampf of the Provisional Reishswehr, are also examined in detail.

Lt. Colonel Robert A. Lynn, Florida Guard
Orlando, Florida