Reichswehr

Severe restrictions…

Reichswehr

The Traité of Versailles of the June 28th 1919 intends to strongly limit the military power of Germany which could show Revanchard E. The most famous limitation is that concerning the number of soldiers of the “Army of the Diktat”: 100 000 soldiers to the maximum must compose it (provisional Reichswehr at the following day of the war counts 300 000 men, of which 40 000 officers, twice as much as Wehrmacht of 1939), soldiers engaged obviously (the Conscription is prohibited). The duration of engagement is 25 years for the officers, 12 years for the warrant officers and troops. With 80 with 90 000 candidatures per annum, the army does not have any evil to recruit the 9 500 authorized annual volunteers. The physical and moral selection is only more rigorous. Are generally isolated enrôlement inhabitants of the industrial big cities (supposed to be hearths of activism gauchist) and the Jews. Each volunteer receives, in addition to a thorough and continual drive, an instruction to provide the functions of two levels of rank higher than his: thus for example, a private must be able to take up the duties of sergeant. Moreover, the volunteer receives a professional training with an aim of ensuring his return to the civil life.

The soldiers of the Army preserve a uniform close to the cut of 14-18, with the heavy helmet model 1916 or model 1918 with notch. Rifle K98 is the principal armament of the infantryman, reinforced by the light machine-gun MG 13.

The conditions are defined according to two principles: limitation, and interdiction.
Thus, for the Army ( Reichsheer ), the heavy and offensive material is in general prohibited. It is the case for the heavy machine guns, heavy artillery, and the armoured tanks, offensive weapons which contributed to the allied victory. These prohibitions relate to the possession of such armaments, but also the study, construction and the importation.

Aviation

The treaty of Versailles imposes on Germany the delivery of all the aeronautical machines: approximately 15 000 apparatuses, 28 000 engines and 16 airships are delivered or destroyed. The construction and the equipment of air apparatuses, just as the training of, are quite simply prohibited. Limits in the characteristics of the civil apparatuses were even marked, of 1922 to 1926. Large German aeronautical firms closed their doors or exiled themselves abroad (Fokker, Gotha…).

Reichsmarine

The fleet of Reichsmarine should not exceed 100 000 tons, and the number of sailors is limited to 15 000. The battleships cannot exceed a tonnage of 10 000t, 6 000t for the cruisers, 600t for the destroyers. The sinkable machines (underwater) are prohibited, just like the aircraft carriers.

… circumvented multiple ways

The Army

The talent of the German military leaders was to apply thousand tricks to circumvent the clauses of the treaty secretly, mainly to prepare a revival of the military power.

Equipped with a reduced army, the military chiefs and theorists had all the leisure to meditate lengthily on the causes of the defeat and combined success, to define the errors, to try to correct them by a more modern drive, resting on the last military theories (Guderian for example on the English payment of 1927) and the examples of the Great War (e.g. the attack of the tanks lasting the Cambric battle). Thus, the memories of the Hoffmann general have an evocative title: the War of the lost occasions . It studies there the operations missed on the face Is. To entreat the memory of the static face in 1915-18, the priority is granted to the movement, and a reduced army allows the theorization, the drive and the equipment of materials and mobile units. Also are developed the mobile troops: cavalry (a third of Reichswehr), assembled on bicycles or motor cycles, and still, motorized more. The trucks increase their number; simple cars are armed with a machine-gun. The operations, frequent, consolidate the idea of mobility and forge a new theory of the war. As for the tanks, they are quite simply simulated by the tankattrappen , cars covered of wood and fabrics. The foreign observers are gaussent of these “armor-plated detachments”, without foreseeing the terrible threat which they constitute for the future. Paradoxically, the German army can learn the lessons from its defeat, whereas the old allies remain on an out of date design of the war moderne.
It is well the prototype of the Blitzkrieg which is forged during these years.

Another skirting of the restrictions, the machine-guns, MG 13 then MG 34 (standard machine-gun of Wehrmacht), are indeed light machine-guns, been useful by only one man and equipped with a bipod. But the engineers secretly envisaged the possibility (used later) of posing the machine-gun on a heavy tripod, giving a base allowing a heavy fire. The MG 34 is thus easily convertible out of heavy machine gun.

Reichswehr still benefits from its weak manpower to become, if not an army of elite, at least a seedbed of frameworks ready to frame, if necessary, a more army. Thus, the “Army of the Diktat” is made up of 4 000 officers. But more half of manpower is made up warrant officers and corporals! (knowing moreover than each one receives an instruction higher than its rank). If Kriegsakademie is removed, the general staff ( Truppenamt ) of von Seekt (chief of Reichwehr until 1927) will get busy to provide to the 4 000 officers a very thorough reserve training.

Prohibited on the German ground, research develops clandestinely abroad, in particular on the armor-plated material. Secret agreements made with the the USSR, and of the German engineers work thus in collaboration with Soviet, under high security, in particular with the camp of Kama, close to Kazan. Between 1926 and 1932, several German firms (Krupp Ag, Rheinmetall-Borsig, Daimler…) thus create prototypes of tanks, tested on the Russian ground. Camouflaged under names pain-killers, Grosstraktor I, II, III and leichte traktor will pave the way with the futures Panzer S: Pz I is thus quickly creates in 1934.

Lastly, if the army is limited to 100 000 men, the number of civilians receiving a paramilitary formation more or less is quite higher. They form the “Reichswehr what is called black”. They are first of all the war veterans of the Great War. Joined together in many associations of war veterans, they constitute an obvious reserve already trained potential combatants, often driven ideas of revenge. Most important is the association of the “steel Helmets” (Stahlhelm, Bund der Frontsoldaten, 1918 - 1935), which count 500.000 members in 1930. It cultivates the worship of the German army, and has strong paramilitary aspects, of which the uniform. Its branch of the Young steel helmets initiates even young adults or teenagers with the warlike operations.

Other veterans, impassioned military life and of combat, those of the Freikorps, body-francs which fight in particular in the Baltic States in 1919-1923, and which, consequently, increased the military potential of these years, not having a clean administrative existence. Many soldiers of the Freikorps will join Reichswehr.

The politicized paramilitary formations are very numerous in the Republic. It is of course the case of Sturm Abteilungen, S.A of the Party national-Socialist, and to a lesser extent, of the personal guard of Hitler, S.S. These Sections of attack, directed by the captain of Reichswehr Ernst Röhm, reach the day before the Nuit of the Long Knives (1934) the manpower of almost 4,5 million men, by the incorporation of the war veterans (effective of a division in 1924). As for Youths hitlériennes, they follow they-also a paramilitary drive, and NSKK involves with the handling of the motorized material.

Aviation

So certain firms expatrient themselves of Germany in the Twenties, others create for themselves and will provide future Luftwaffe: Junkers in 1920, Heinkel and Dornier (created by an exiled French) in 1922, Focke-Wulf in 1924.
Deutsche Lufthansa (1926) civil obtains a fleet important, modern, and trains many pilots who will fly later in the air force. The materials, engines in particular, are the subject of thorough studies. Certain apparatuses, while having a civil use, are developed to be easily convertible in the military aircrafts, of recognition or bombardment. It is the case of Ju 52, which forms the three quarters of Lufthansa to the beginning of the year thirty and which will remain in service in Luftwaffe until 1945.

Other military apparatuses are designed abroad (in the USSR primarily, with Lipetsk, where many pilots involve themselves), or remain with the state of plans in the paperboards of the firms allemandes.
Von Seeckt will develop a secret staff for aviation in the offices of Reichswehr ( Truppenamt ), with former pilot officers, and will support the training of pilots, in Lufthansa, abroad, or in the civil schools of piloting. Indeed, the schools of gliding, authorized air sport, are very many and largest, Deutscher Luftsportverband, account in 1930 (ten years after its creation) 50 000 members! The air sport was one of the sports more in vogue of Germany of Weimar…

Reichsmarine

There still, the navy uses the two stratagems to pass in addition to the Traité of Versailles: to play a faked game, and to create in secrecy.

Since 1922, Reichsmarine makes an effort of restoration. New strategic plannings are elaborate, recent constructions stress the quality of the new buildings. Light cruisers with oceanic capacity are built. Especially, three battleships ( panzerschiffe ) are built according to the restrictive standards, but their warlike capacities are considerably increased: unequalled speed, and especially strong armament of 6 parts of 280 mm which outclasses the heavy cruisers and their 203 Misters These “battleships of pocket”, the Deutschland , the Admiral Scheer and especially the Admiral Graf Spee will make speak about them during the Second world war.

Beside the surface vessels, 8 submarines coming from German study plans will be built in Spain, Finland and Netherlands. They will be used of course as testing ground for the U-Boote futures.

Conclusion

When the Wehrmacht is born in 1935, it has behind it fifteen years of experiments, experiments, drives. The essence of its frameworks and all its future generals are in place. Its soldiers control already the designs more innovating - and offensives - modern war. Very many civilians know a rudiment of military life, even of handling of the weapons. Others control air piloting. As for the material, it is already built or ready to be built. One year before already, the army reveals its play and brings into service the first submarines and a light armoured tank of combat, with men trained on this machine. Until 1941 and later, Wehrmacht will use many materials developed before even its création.
As for the rockets, the first were studied with the support of Reichswehr, escaping prohibitions from Versailles: in 1929 east creates the Office of the special ballistic missiles. In 1930, the direction is entrusted by it to the captain Walter Dornberger, the future director of Peenemünde. It receives the mission of studying a rocket with military destination, whose tests will take place in front of inspectors of artillery. In 1932, the young researcher Wernher von Braun becomes employed civil of Reichswehr…

“Armed with shame”, “army of the Diktat” in frontage, incompetent by his manpower to carry out a European war, Reichswehr will hide a strong potential and will be, at least with equal share with the policy main road-Socialist, creative of the powerful one Wehrmacht.

Forces of Reichswehr

2 Gruppenkommandos (equivalent with army corps)

10 divisions of Reichsheer, divided into 7 military regions ( Wehrkreis ):

7 infantry-divisionen with 2 brigades.

inf.div: 3 regiments with 3 battalions; 1 artillery régt; 1 pioneer battalion; 1 nachrichten battalion; 1 kraftfahr abteilung; 1 sanitäts abteilung

3 kavallerie-divisionen

Kav. div: 6 regiments of cavalry

See too

Internal bonds

German Armed forces:

Reichswehr → Wehrmacht → Bundeswehr

Industry of the armament: Complex German militaro-industrialist

External bonds

'' The Files off technical Manuals 1900-1945 '' (includes the Reichswehr-regulations)

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