I don't think I've seen a "Weimar survives" timeline (assuming, of course, that democracy does indeed survive in Germany, as implied by the title) with such a late POD, so I'm quite interested to see where you take this. I'll be especially interested to see how if the conflict between the Reichsregierung, Nazi-controlled Bavaria, and the revolutionary councils in the Rhineland develops into a full-scale three-way Civil War.
March 1: Celebration and serious mourning fill the hearts and minds of the German people. Every single party paper had lists of heroes upon heroes who did good deeds, civilians put in stories of the sacrifices some made. Conservative papers celebrated the work of the military and loyal police, though an immediate outcry from there is targeted at Hugenberg and various other monarchists for "not being able to control the rabid beast" Hitler.
In the meantime, Kurt von Hammerstein-Equord initiates a large series of arrests against anybody who directly contributed to the chaos surrounding Germany. By the end of the first day, over 24 arrests were made in the Berlin area alone. Though, even these can't quench the flames. With Hitler still gone, local Nazi chapters see themselves being destroyed in even larger numbers, while Nazis are targeted and have their homes burned, looted, and destroyed.
In a government mandate, the elections are quickly pushed back for March 15, to get the nation settled. Some criticize the effort, but most are fine with it. Are you supposed to just let the election happen with a good portion of your capital burned to the ground?
March 2: DNVP officials quickly organize a meeting, without any of the Hugenberg cabinet. In their ranks includes Weltkrieg veteran/war hero and Reichstag member, Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck. Having led one of the initial attacks towards the Reichstag camp, and giving a radio speech the day before, his popularity is as high as ever. In a quick vote, Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck had been made unofficial candidate for the DNVP, with intense campaigning automatically starting.
Another round of brownshirts are arrested, several dozen this time, though Himmler and his Bavarian fiefdom have managed to avoid major arrests; Himmler throwing the very bottom of the underlings to the Reichswehr wolves, as the military fills the streets of Munich at night. Though, finally, an official government announcement is made, telling the German people that indeed, Adolf Hitler had been arrested as conclusive evidence showed he started the revolt in Berlin, by burning down the Reichstag and trying to blame it on workers. The violence towards Nazis only grow as the day goes by. A quick meeting of remaining Nazi officials take place, and without much effort, Himmler becomes the official candidate for the party.
March 3: In the city of Düsseldorf over 40 elected representatives from various communes and trade unions in the Ruhr hold a conference and form the Ruhr Workers' Compact, and start elections for a Central Committee and General Secretary. Many involved had founded local DAP chapters, and many more took place in the occupation of factories that occurred often the last week. After the meeting ended, it was made official that Hans Marchwitza, a veteran of the uprising in the Ruhr back in the 1920s, and poet had been elected General Secretary.
Lettow-Vorbeck goes on radio several times today, delivering effective speeches that quickly captivate his audience. The DNVP machine roars with industrialists' money being thrown all over the place, with posters being thrown up upon walls and DNVP members going on quick speeches as well.
In the town of Osnabruck a particularly bloody incident between what's left of the Nazi militia and factory workers ends with a good portion of the city burning, with several banks being looted in the process, and a few local government officials being taken hostage by both sides. When the military and police arrive, the urban siege wouldn't be over for ten hours, by which a majority of both militias were dead or arrested. Various leaders on the left have called for relative peace, and to not kidnap local officials and the like.
March 4: Lettow-Vorbeck has truly become the definition of a dark horse candidate. Seemingly at every point of the day, you turn on the radio and there he is speaking, talking to you about restoring Germany's former glories. And it's working. Polls in newspapers show his percentages rising high. Newspapers and radio stations are filled with propaganda, everyone wants to win. All the while, the Nazi party continues to fall apart. Several high-level Nazi officials kill themselves, while over 30 gets arrested by the military.
The next 11 days of electioneering were as intense as Weimar Germany could have without it spilling over into full scale civil war. Judges in Bavarian courts passed voter suppression laws, similar organizations to the Ruhr Workers' Compact spring up in port cities, at first to help negotiate with the workers' employers first, but then to spread further the ever obvious whispers of syndicalism, that the Freie Arbeiter-Union Deutschlands (Free Workers' Union of Germany - FAUD) helped spread along.
Urban fighting and riots filled the everyman's day. From Schwenningen to Senftenberg bloody rioting occurs, with men and women - Nazi and communist - leaving this world with a bullet through the head, with the killing of two police officers in Wolfsburg causing severe controversy, where reports came in that they went to the home of a local cigar maker/communist during dinner time, knocked on the door, entered and threatened the lives of the cigar maker, his wife, his wife's mother, and their two children who were 9 and 15. Outraged, he took a small band of co-workers and found the police officers on their route and murdered them. The trial was to take place several days afterwards, and the nation kept their eyes on the situation, where the trial was broadcasted on national radio, which was a personal drama between every member of the jury, each with a competing political ideology.
Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck
Though, as citizens listened to the radio, election day came. The German people went to their voting places; the military patrols voting places in order to not let any brownshirts bomb the place. Attacks do happen around the nation, but usually in Bavaria where Strippenzieher Himmler sends out brownshirts to attack more leftist and centrist areas, though the men are quickly apprehended simply due to the sheer force of soldiers that were around. As the night continued, the votes rolled in, and finally, in the early morning hours of March 6th, the results were announced:
SPD (Otto Wels) - 228 seats Zentrum (Ludwig Kaas) - 116 DNVP (Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck) - 101 KPD (Ernst Thälmann) - 67 BVP (Heinrich Held) - 58 DAP (Carl von Ossietzky) - 41 NSDAP (Heinrich Himmler) - 22 Otto Wels becomes Chancellor
As the election results ended, canons and guns roared in the city of Munich. City police raided leftist hotspots and local party locations, others killed political opponents, in yet another edition of Himmler's coup. This happened in every city in Bavaria. In villages and hamlets, mobs were instigated to destroy the houses of opponents. The military stationed around the state responded accordingly, by shooting any SS trooper in sight, and if any caught, they were to be questioned about what was going on. The radios blared in the early morning, Himmler speaking, declaring the independent state, the Germanischen Volksreich - Germanic People's Realm and that the elections were a sham, and that the socialists and the like are traitors. Reports go to high command, military is mobilized, and personnel quickly march into Bavaria. Paramilitary forces, most of whom had returned home by now, get their guns once again and set out for the dark night. By now Hugenberg and Wels have a private meeting which is interrupted by reports of Himmler's revolt. All troops are mobilized. Bavaria, forwards ho.
By evening of the 16, Munich finds itself being mostly controlled by the military and various paramilitary forces. Northern Bavaria have fallen easily. Though the closer you get to major cities, the more fierce the urban fighting occurs. Nuremberg being the toughest nut to crack, but the coalition forces manage to capture most of the city. In Regensburg factory workers occupy first the factory, then the entire industrial area fell, and then they started parading the streets, taking over the town hall and police station, though the Danube flowing through half of the city slows down their progress. Though once 80% of the city falls, a proclamation is declared, establishing the Regensburg Syndicate, with a workers' congress being quickly elected earlier.
The 17th follows a similar path, several cities in central Bavaria get captured, the forces in Munich spread out into the suburbs where more paramilitary forces join up, and forces starting from Western Bavaria have managed to make a united front with the Munich forces. Only a few pockets of resistance remain, though the occasional right-winger would kill patrolling soldiers in the towns taken over.
Police Report, Chief of Police, Oberkochen
"Farmer Martin Goldschmidt reported to Police Sergeant Tim Holtzmann and Deputy Bernd Walter that he heard the sounds of a man shouting in pain, and something that fell over. When he came out, he says around midnight of the 18th, he brought a lantern and picked up his shotgun and walked around for a while. When he saw the silhouette of the man, due to the full moon that night, he fired his shotgun thrice, before the man fell over…"
Military Report, Reichswehr, Berlin
"...the man, as the cornerer established was 176 cm, and weighed around 145 pounds. And as the military council agreed on, the man in question was Adolf Hitler, who managed to escape prison in Bavaria travelled a few dozen miles over an unknown period of days…"
Himmler would not face a similar fate, and not leave the world with a bullet through his chest in rural southern Germany, but instead being surrounded by a band of two dozen military personnel who were quickly appointed to hunt him and his general staff down, where they found him and a few of his staff about to board a rowboat to get across Lake Constance, before they were quickly arrested on the night of the 20th. By then, Bavaria was back under government control, and the last spirits of the NSDAP was there, in the middle of the night, a frightened man being arrested at gunpoint. Though, unknown to those policemen, overcoats dressing them, their guns pointed at Himmler, that before the first guns went off in Munich, a promise was made with some of the most powerful and conservative men in Germany. Independent, monarchist, Zentrum alike. Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss, gave his promise to protect the revolution of the barons and of Himmler - to their Catholic brethren of the north. As the last breaths of National Socialism left, Austrofascism became more and more appealing to the German elite. Dollfuss saw this an opportunity to restore the bygone Austrian influences on the other side of the Alps. Himmler's revolution was not going to be the one to support though. His friends were with the monarchists, not with the Nazis. That was after he agreed to let SS/SA forces into the country if things went badly, to use them for his personal doings - like a mix between a personal guard and a mercenary force. And also, quite a few had disappeared into the wooded lands of East Germany.
On March 21st, Otto Wels stepped to a podium overseeing a crowd of tens of thousands of Germans in Berlin. The following few hours would be him and various other Coalition speakers; it was his official inauguration speech, finally given after the end of Himmler's revolt. Even old Hindenburg took part in the speech. Yet, their promises of glory seem to be far away from the present. In towns all over Germany, riots were breaking out on the streets, Regensburg still in a place of panic as commune forces and reactionary elements continue fighting for control. To the barricades! the revolutionaries scream. Brownshirts continue their resistance, synagogues burning. In dusk of that day and various ones before it, Nazis, both political and military escaped into Austria, Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss letting them in with open arms. All were panicked, scared, and wanting revenge upon the traitorous reds. Many of the civilians were Strasserists and National Bolsheviks, who sometimes managed to pass off as communists to some crowds. Some of them were a band of government officials who served in the Regensburg Commune, before their true ideology was figured out, leaving the city and revolution behind. The brothers Strasser were some of the first to leave, followed by their compatriots, such as Ernst Niekisch, Karl Otto Paetel, and many others. Others went to Italy, some even to Liechtenstein and Switzerland, but for many Austria was where the true revolution was to start, due to the "racial impurity" of the Italian people, and the German minority groups in Tyrol that needed "freedom from the brutes." Being no more than "Africans in sheep's skin". And as mentioned earlier, others into the lesser populated part of the country. Disgraced KPD officials fled to the USSR, some to France where other followers of the Moscow line were ever ready to seize power from their oppressors. Finally, Chancellor Wels was in power - leading his party since 1919; 14 years of politicking led him up to that podium in a city that was a center of culture for the literati; - though the Bohemians have since taken over on that front, the aristocracy ever disgusted at their horrific and risque presentations of film and cabaret - now charred rubble. Smoke from both chimneys and storefronts rose into the Berlin sky. Welcome folks, to the Wels administration.
The radios blared in the early morning, Himmler speaking, declaring the independent state, the Germanischen Volksreich - Germanic People's Realm and that the elections were a sham, and that the socialists and the like are traitors.
For trying to start a civil war right when the entire national army has been deployed to stop a civil war, Heinrich Himmler gets the "What the hell were you thinking?" award.
For trying to start a civil war right when the entire national army has been deployed to stop a civil war, Heinrich Himmler gets the "What the hell were you thinking?" award.
"They're coming to arrest me. If I officially start a revolution and give the people a banner to rally behind, surely enough of them will do so that I will have a fighting chance!"
Well it sounds like relations with Austria are going to be rocky and there are hints that there could be some hard right unrest in NE Germany. Plus now, you have assorted communist/hard left groups still established in areas, most especially the Rhur and some more conservative right wing groups around people lik e Lettow-Vorbeck there are options for further conflict. Especially given the degree of violence that has occurred which might make some more prone to further use of force to achieve their aims. Hopefully things will settle down through but there are likely to be unhappy days ahead I fear. [Although far better for Germany and the rest of Europe than OTL I suspect].
The beginning of the Wels chancellorship had one goal: rebuild the broken nation of Germany. The first steps was to work with the Mayor of Berlin to rebuild the burned-down city. At the moment, the government was functioning out of various manor houses, castles, and office buildings in the Brandenburg and Berlin area, with President-Chancellor Hugenberg providing funds for housing for government housing; a last gift before his permanent parting from politics, retiring to his mansions, pulling the strings on his multifaceted industrial empire while sitting upon his giant profits. The second important issue - how to restructure government. Hugenberg in his less than two week stint as both Reichspräsident and Reichskanzler now leaves a rather large power vacuum; Hugenberg technically had total control over the government and did not abolish either post, but now with the trial by fire many in the government believe that the Presidency might not be exactly needed. In the Reichstag, the vote passes with relative ease - Lettow-Vorbeck's monarchists are the vocal minority in this situation, while Hindenburg doesn't say much. He's done with politics - the most senile he's been in his life, trying to relax on his Junker Estate in Neudeck, in East Prussia. As a former aide-de-camp during the Eastern Front said when visiting him that month, "When I came to the estate, it took a while before one of the servants came to the door. I was taken into the parlour, before Hindenburg showed up. We were brought tea and I initiated discussion, asking him on the news of Wels...every word seemed to come out slowly; you could tell his mind was churning, but not at the speed I saw at Tannenberg...which was already at a more relaxed state…"
The presses yelled at Wels for his "unprecedented and dictatorial move" but seemingly many were neutral or glad to see the post destroyed. Afterwards, a constitutional referendum was to be held, needing over 70% of the country to vote in favor of the removal of the position. The vote was held on April 12th, with the results be 72.49% to 25.31%. The Presidency has ended, and the Chancellor and the Reichstag have control over the cabinet. The Chancellor chooses the cabinet at their own will, and can dismiss or reshuffle them at any point. Though at any point, if the Reichstag thinks a Reichsminister is doing anything unconstitutional, a member can propose a vote to remove a minister, at which point if it passes, it goes to the Supreme Court, though at any point, either side can pull out - removing the cabinet member at the Chancellor's end, or decide to leave the minister be at the Reichstag's end, via a vote. The same process goes for the Chancellor.
Up next was refitting the military. Kurt von Hammerstein-Equord and the various government loyalists were instrumental to quickly deter any sort of revolutionary activity inside the armed forces, though out of the conspirators all but one were men from the army, and all of them were monarchists. Hammerstein was needed to remain as the Minister of the Reichswehr; a position he assumed in the Hugenberg cabinet after Werner von Blomberg - the Nazi appointed Reichswehr Minister - was dealt with and send off to prison. He could be used to appease the DNVP even if he wasn't part of the party, and the troops liked him. Thus, Wels and his subordinates in the Reichstag organized a commision to refit the command structure and help the Minister appoint proper leaders to various positions.
Also on the agenda was the cabinet and how to the appease and the ever diverse Weimar Coalition. 10 positions were on the cabinet (including the Vice-Chancellery, and excluding the already determined Reichswehr Minister) which made divvying it up amongst a 3 party coalition rather annoying. The Social Democrats, being the leading party took the most spoils, with Vice-Chancellor Arthur Crispien; Minister of Foreign Affairs Leopold von Hoesch; and Minister of the Interior Wilhelm Hoegner. Zentrum took three seats; Minister for Transport Erich Klausener; Minister of Economics Heinrich Köhler; and Minister of Justice Adam Stegerwald. The DAP took another three seats; Minister for Postal Affairs Franz Dahlem; Minister for Food and Agriculture Hermann Matern; and Minister for Labour Heinrich Rau. The remaining seat was handed off to Minister of Finance Hermann Höpker-Aschoff, member of the liberal German State Party (DDP).
As one might expect, Wels being head of the entire coalition and highest position in all of Germany with a coalition ranging from pseudo-monarchists to syndicalists is a balancing act of what ideological position to endorse and enforce. Socialist reform was on the minds of most of the cabinet, lowering the hours in the work week, extending suffrage, and the like. This would appease the ever growing syndicate/commune movement across the nation. In Regensberg, after the end of the Nazi revolt and continued fighting afterwards, the various parties managed to come to agreement, with mayoral and city councils starting. The Regensberg Syndicate managed to win both elections, and revolutionary reform was quickly established, with shop owners required to establish workers' councils within the workplace in the shops and industries that didn't establish it during the revolt, making it relatively easy to enforce the new law. A bottom-up system was quickly established, with workers going to occupational congresses (those that were deemed too small to have congresses went to congresses of various small occupations, or to congresses of similar jobs) where'd they decide and vote on issues, but also to the general Regensberg Workers' Council. The unemployed would have at-large congresses to elect their representatives to the council. The council would proceed to elect its Secretary, who'd from there do administrative duties of a mayor. There'd also be neighborhood associations who'd depending on the situation not elect any sort of leader and go based on general consensus at meetings, or vote in "Directors" or "Superintendents", or a few other in betweens. At all stages of voting and representation, women were involved. This was signed into a manifesto on April 11th, with the official resignations of the mayor and council, commencing the already prepared Regensberg Workers' Council voting session, electing Secretary Wolfgang Schäfer. Reporters flocked from world over to score interviews with local leaders and see the daily going ons. Often cited as one of the first to arrive was a certain George Orwell, having first gotten to the Ruhr a day after the collapse of Himmler's Revolt, before travelling down to Munich to write and report on the aftermath there, and then heading off for Regensberg.
Blohm+Voss, AG Weser, Krupp, Fritz Werner Werkzeugmaschinen, and various other companies still had to deal with the occupation of factories by workers, with councils successfully started up, along with regular guards, keeping out any agents the companies might send. Throughout the factories, pamphlets are handed out about the Free Territory and the worker occupation of factories in September 1920 down in Italy. "As the factory workers in Turin reminded us - being the sons and daughters of Rome, the lessons of their forefathers before them. As the patricians would force their shackles upon the plebeians, they would rise up, and demand their rights and freedoms of every man. Now it is our turn, for our own secessio plebis, to once again raise the red flag in revolt. And as it was written down by the historians and revolutionaries past, it shall be written down by us. No gods, no kings, no masters." In some major cities where these revolting factories are located, other workers join in on the striking. In Essen, clerks and bookkeepers at the headquarters start marching towards town hall, quickly followed by workers of similar trades at various other companies. Tailors, bakers, janitors, teachers, factory workers, and even the staffs of various manors alike took part in the March on Essen. Other cities would experience the same fate. Protests got so large in Duisburg that police officers started abandoning posts and joined in, while bureaucrats at the town hall would simply not show up for work, leaving the government unable to function in the slightest. Delegates from around the nation partaking the occupation of the factories and small-scale general strikes eventually established the German Workers Front, a workers organizations to deal with the major corporations trying to retake the factories. Thus, off they go to win over the bourgeoisie, the hounds of the military start coming ever closer with their militant flag waving. Not to mention the ever large brownshirts that remain. In Regensburg, a member of the Workers Council was shot in broad daylight. Factories were broken into - set aflame. Though the press threw themselves on talking about the expansion of leftist influences upon the Republic, the Nazi remnants still pushed forward with their guerrilla tactics.
Otto Dix, Street Fight (1927)
All the while, backdoor dealings are setting up days for the funeral of the Weimar Coalition. The chats started back in the early days of March, as Hitler was announced Chancellor, then the election results came in. Junker elite watched in disgust as the social democrats put in radical leftists into seats of power within the Reichstag - or more appropriately, various manor houses - with only one seat thrown to their type, along with the destruction of the post General Hindenburg ruled valiantly from for a decade. Now, now the reds were gaining power. On hunting trips in East Prussia, some of the most powerful men in Germany met. The Junkers as mentioned before, but also DNVP members, and a large contingent of Zentrum higher-ups. While they would hunt down foxes, these Zentrum members, already questioning why they were still in this party that associated with revolutionaries, especially when a man with such prowess like Lettow-Vorbeck is at the helm. Then, the whispers. A single name, spread amongst the manor houses in the early days of spring - Engelbert Dollfuss - a favor needed to be returned. Then, the conversations changed. No more was it the death of the Weimar Coalition, but of the Weimar Republic. Talking was over - now it was scheming. Though you could say they signed themselves up to it when it was only turning from idle chatter, with the Junkers letting in SA/SS forces running away from authorities. With open arms, and their wealth and influence used to make some authorities turn a blind eye - when they already weren't. They had their own private army, ready to start at any point. And as the first flowers bloomed in March and April the barons would begin their plot.
In Austria, the Strasser brothers, National Bolshevik Ernst Niekisch, and various others start touring the country, giving speeches on their ideologies to major colleges and universities. Though in some places, this ends up being the uniting factor between the Austrian right and Austrian left: how idiotic these Germans are. Though in others, young, impressionable National Socialists start forming clubs around the ideology, with the University of Vienna being by far the biggest. Meeting at local cafes every week, attracted a devoted following from the city. Karl Silberbauer was its founder and leader, having attended multiple speeches of the German refugees. In light of the expansion of the clubs, Ernst Niekisch, who founded the Widerstand magazine - a publication centered around spreading the word of National Bolsheviks, refounded the magazine in the city of Innsbruck, establishing his own publishing house. After unsuccessful attempts to spread the publication to most of Italy - in major part due to censorship, though in another due to the disgust by Italian fascists, as one official in the Secretariat for Press and Propaganda put it, "When I walk to the cafe in the mornings and at noon, I often seen younger men grabbing lighters, setting editions of the paper ablaze. With such visceral hatred towards the publication in most of Italy, the censors do not have to do much. 'Wisdom of the crowd', the saying goes. Even when the reds in the south light fires in town squares, acting like barbarians at the very site of the word "Widerstand", your job becomes a whole lot easier". It only remained popular in Tyrol, due to the pan-German sentiments there. Though, due to the strict anti-German laws there, it went underground, with clubs reading and discussing them in private, with the occasional police raid, where Niekisch would turn his head.
Though, Chancellor Dollfuss and his government were not big fans of the new fascists on the block. Austofacism was not like their German counterparts to the north. The Christian Social Party and their allies were the last vestiges of the days of the Habsburgs, forming a machine between the corporations and the clergy, with Austrian nationalism at the core of their belief structure. The German people were Protestants - the Austrian, Catholic thus more pious than their northern brothers. The National Socialists were banned in early 1933, and the Chancellor and party leaders committed a "self-coup" of sorts, with the self-elimination of the Austrian Parliament due to various resignations over votes on what to do with a railroad workers strike, and with the help of loopholes within the constitution, the next day Chancellor Dollfuss found himself as autocrat supreme on March 5. According to the constitution, President Wilhelm Miklas could at any point stop the Chancellor from continuing his doings, but instead remained passive - taking after President Hindenburg. All the while the Chancellor ran around with his foreign legions, beating political opponents to submission. Or, simply killing them. Though with over a million signatures delivered to his doorstep requesting the dissolution of the current government and new elections.
Though, the German revolts and election served as a wake up call for Miklas. And, on an official proclamation after a set of disagreements on the banning of a few political parties, was published on April 16th, disbanding Chancellor Dollfuss' cabinet and setting dates for a new election on June 16th. Dollfuss walked off from his position with ease - like a leaf in the wind. But as the politicians of Vienna saw the disgraced Chancellor leave the building, little did they know the reply they were going to receive.
Chapter 3: The German Civil War, Part 1: April-November 1933
Chapter 3: The German Civil War Part 1: April-November 1933
When news that there'd have been another set of strikes in the Rhineland occurred reached the Prussian Landtag, it was just another nail in the coffin. Strikes and riots have been all over the state, so when the Landtag decided to do something about it, tensions were to flare. After the collapse of Nazi rule, Prussian elections were called. The DNVP and SPD made large gains, with the SPD coming out on top, putting in Ernst Wittmaack once again, as President of the Landtag. So, when the discussion period started, and arguments started to begin between the monarchist and socialist camps, with one monarchist calling the SPD "filthy traitors to the Kaiser - leading to the collapse of our holy empire" a few fists might've been raised, including one targeted at Wittmaack who had joined the counter-argument, left the room. The DNVP members took this as a good time to work on the whole monarchist putsch thing that had been on the works. And after some exchanges via telegraph, when the news hit Chancellor Wels that the Prussian Landtag had been dissolved, and instead the "Council of Estates" had been created, with one Friedrich von Winterfeld - Chairman of the DNVP Landtag faction, as "Chief Minister", with Franz Joseph Prinz von Hohenzollern-Emden (member of another part of the branch - being a cousin to Wilhelm II, while Franz's family ruled over Romania) as Kaiser of the Germanic Reich declaring that "the days of red Weimar are over - the Reich shall rise up once more, and take its place amongst the powers of Europe, where it belongs" He accordingly called an emergency cabinet meeting. And as the troops were mobilized in the evening, new reports started to come in. SA remnants were revolting once again - towns in Bavaria being occupied by legions of them. In East Prussia mainly, contingents of the Stahlhelm and former Freikorps pick up their weapons and charge into urban combat. And then if things couldn't get worse, news from Bavaria came.
Kaiser Franz Joseph, with wife.
Chancellor Dollfuss was not expecting many things. The social democrats winning a stunning victory as the Nazis fell apart. A revolt in Germany that lasted only a week or two at its more volatile moments. The entry of SS/SA troops into his country, creating the Austrian Foreign Legions - a mix between personal guards and secret police. The promises he made with the monarchists he thought was just talk - score the relations high if they gain power - a potential ally in the future. He sure as hell didn't expect him being kicked out of power - nor the constant pressure from the defeated German barons to join in. Thus, he put two and two together. Protests from the right started without him needing to add fire to the situation, contacts via the clergy informed that the Church was ready to silence relations with the government. The corporates already getting prepared to destroy government revenue and the like. Yet, on April 13th, in the early morning hours, Parliament and the Presidential Palace - Hofburg, were stormed, and the President taken hostage. Radio towers, party headquarters, and other halls of state were taken with ease, under the leadership of the right-wing Heimwehr paramilitary force. In every major city, Heimwehr, protestors, or often mix of the two.
The next two days would see fighting break out between the military and the socialist paramilitary forces against the fascist legions. In Vienna and other industrial cities, workers established collectives and engaged in combat with the fascists. Though the battle in the highlands were also important. Whoever would win there would get some of the best defence positions in the entire nation. It often depended on the local politics, but the Austrofascists managed to gain many of the townships in the Alps. But, the foreign legions had a job to do. And as the Reich was proclaimed once more, the Austrian Foreign Legion started capturing various border towns in Bavaria, often times with crowds celebrating their entry, as liberators from the reds.
Zentrum denounces these horrendous actions caused by their members, while the DNVP more silently denounces it, which causes a major rift in the former party. The monarchists were already packing their bags, but now, with those leftists, they are attacking the Reich protectors? In a party meeting, the right branch walks out, and refuses to show up to new meetings. Ludwig Kaas resigns, leading to a meeting electing Adam Stegerwald, leader of the left faction, as new Chairman. Quickly after that, the walk-out leaders establish their own party, while the remaining Zentrum leadership doesn't know what to do. Chancellor Wels watches, as his coalition falls apart. The three Zentrum cabinet members, being on the left side, announce that they are joining the DDP. So do many other Zentrum politicians, and Chairman Stergerwald resigns after a few days. The splinter-party, the Traditional People's Party, enters in a new coalition with the DNVP.
But the collapse of Zentrum was the least of Wels' worries. East German towns were quickly getting swept under the forces of the Reich, and the "liberating" Austrian Foreign Legion continues forwards. The paramilitary forces are once again called up, and the uneasy alliance of the first revolts are restored. In Austria, the Austrofacists continues to establish dominance all over the country, with bloody battles and skirmishes occurring in industrial centers, though some end with victories from the leftist united front. With the coup inside of the Prussian Landtag, the Weimar government dissolves Prussia, and establishes an "Interim Confederacy" within the states that aren't under Junker occupation. In the meantime, the city of Munich is quickly barricaded. Paramilitary, military, and civilian alike prepare for the worst, as the riots in the city and throughout the country continue to get bloodier and bloodier, being quelled by the 7th Reichswehr Division located there. Contingents of the division made their way out from Munich to engage and defend in the southern portions of Bavaria. In various cities, soldiers hunkered and dug down, the lessons of the Great War still in their heads. In the town of Prien am Chiemsee - 40 miles south-east of Munich, the local defence force - composed of military men, paramilitary forces, police, and civilian volunteers were spread around town, and on the outskirts, makeshift high trenches and barricades in farmers' fields and the like, those legionaries from Austria popped their heads up. The towns of Grassau and Bernau am Chiemsee - several miles south, fell to the invading forces a few days before, after a stiff resistance, they travelled up the roads, where saboteurs and the like would take out some of them. Thus, when some southern-most trenches heard the sounds of bullets aimed right at them late at night, they were not particularly surprised. Several hours later, April 30th was closing onto noon, and the Austrians were successfully routed out, going back to their camps in the next town over. Celebrating filled the hours after that. The southern trenches almost collapsed with the legionaries forcing their way through, and reinforcements from the town proper was the saving grace. The Battle of Prien am Chiemsee took the lives of 43 coalition forces, and 61 legionaries. Though, seeming like smaller numbers, one must take into account the defence of Prien had a total of 223, and the contingent of the Austrian forces had 140. As one soldier wrote, "The celebrating we did in the town square, it wasn't for joy. It was to drink away the trauma. The images of corpses in our heads. We couldn't live this fantasy for very long - we were sent back to our positions later that night, as the officer barked at us. A victory yes, but one that is still so very far away from the end of this nightmare"
Bavarian Front:
Though there were initial gains by coalition forces, they couldn't be held back. In almost every town, there were at least some Nazis and monarchists willing to have their own March on Rome, even with snipers in every building. These revolts would take away resources and men that were supposed to focus on defence. And once a town was taken over by the advancing Austro-Reich forces, the locals would join in. As long as towns fell, new manpower was available, replacing the losses on the way there. Government forces couldn't really do that all too well, the war was not looking favorably for them, with the third revolt in a few months, with this one garnering lots more support than the last two.
The local level revolts, sporadically popping up all over the state, and country as a whole, was the major strain for the government coalition. The police - already falling apart with where their loyalties lie, especially after news broke that a certain Berlin Police Captain Schultz disappeared, caused police high command to go into full panic mode. Not to mention the near collapse of the military high command. Nazi and monarchist sympathizers led almost every high-up position, and when Hammerstein-Equord took over, troops often left. Though, he had one saving grace - he commanded respect. Experienced, but not senile opposed to some of his cohorts, he was fit for the job.
Either way, the March to Munich was a major source of fear for nearly everyone in the government camp. This inspired many to flee the city, or worse, start yet another fascist revolt inside the city. Though mainly in the central parts of the city and suburbs, workers' militias ended up saving the city from meeting the same fate of Berlin. Though, with every township that's closer to Munich, the harder the resistance becomes. The Legionaries advanced in a straight line - hoping that the local-level revolts would consume cities in time for their arrival, occasionally it did, but when photos and broadcasts spread of the Battles of Kempten, Memmingen (60 miles west of Munich), and various other cities, it considerably slowed down the march. The lessons learned in those battles was that the Democrats would continue to defend, even if manpower was draining.
One of the advances the fascist forces tried to make was from the town of Murnau am Staffelsee - 35 miles south-west of Munich - a market town, on the outer edges of the Bavarian Alps. Forces there, using locals as trackers and guides, deviced a plan to get an outpost near Munich. Advancing 11 miles northwards, capturing various villages on the way, Seeshaupt, on the banks of Lake Starnberg, had a ferry regularly going from there to the city of Starnberg, 13 miles outside of Munich. A large contingent of the invading forces would capture Seeshaput, the ferry, the towns on the coasts of the Starnberg, and end with the capture of the city of the same name. Several hundred men were committed to this.
On May 19th, in the middle of the night, Seeshaput's docks were completely seized, with every boat that could fit soldiers aboard it being sent out. Soldiers going to the towns of Bernried am Starnberger See, Tutzing, Feldafing, Pöcking, Berg, and Münsing were sent out earlier. Thus, the vessels embarked onto the dark waters. As they made their way across however, disaster struck. Mortar, machine gun, and armored car fire made their way across the water, and started hitting soldiers and the vessels themselves. You see the land forces were divided into two groups - one to go eastwards, and one to go westwards. The defences of the various municipalities managed to fight back, and soldiers positioned on the shore were able to keep at their posts, and target the oncoming vessels. Most of them would end up sinking, with bullets and mortars flying in every direction, others crashing onto shore, where Democratic forces would capture them. The remainder, that managed to avoid the barrage for the most part, would land near Starnberg, but being so close to Munich, the moment they unloaded themselves and started advancing towards the city, they were fired upon. The fascist forces that stayed on land would end up capturing some towns, but were driven out over the course of the next few days. The Battle of Lake Starnberg would end up being one of the biggest rallying cries for the Democrats. Publications the world over would report on it. George Orwell found himself being located in Starnberg and was involved in the capture of the dwindling forces that landed near the city.
It also took out a lot of the Legionaries. The battle was the biggest commitment thus far for the mostly German forces reclaiming their homeland. The new manpower in every city that they rolled into helped, but with such a major blow, they would need reinforcements from Austria proper, or go back to small-scale targets, which was something the impulsive SA/SS leadership and soldiers were not much of a fan of. But, as May slowly came to a close, and the summer months ready to start, the Legion began to dig in.
The reinforcements that they were looking force eventually did come in mid June. With the sun up in the sky for ever more, Austrian soldiers and paramilitary forces found themselves up in arms with their Bavarian brothers. Offensives were organized, and a full out assault began in the first days of July. They went swimmingly for the fascists. Bashing through city after city, trench after trench, retaking the ground lost during the various skirmishes of the summer doldrums, with the never ending new manpower that'd join along. Though the old rule stands: the closer to Munich, the harder it gets. On the outskirts of the Munich suburbs, commenced the real battle.
SA Legionaries
Holzkirchen, nearly 20 miles south of Munich was the new line of defences during the July offensive. Troops were packed there and in several other cities. Lake Starnberg saw fighting resume from the southern outposts of the fascist forces, and were slowly pushing upwards. Trenches were dug deep, in as many places as possible. Another round of large-scale fascists insurrections occurred within city boundaries, which were taken care of. The first attacks upon the Democrats' position was on July 10, with forces flanking the town and aiming for the square. The advances from the days before, going through a few small villages dealt very little damage, so they couldn't rely on that. Phones rung in military HQs in Munich. Forces mobilized. Holzkirchen would not fall to the "Reich". Thus, the rural town square was defended to the bone, while other troops moved farther into the wooded country to deal with the advancing forces. The rural trenches managed not to fall, with retreating forces from nearby villages linking up with them from the days prior.
Trench combat commenced, the men inside managing to take out dozens of fascists with every volley. But there were so many of them. Grenadiers would take over bands of them, and another officers' corps would show up right behind them. Heavy machine guns and artillery boomed overhead, killing more and more. Yet, they continued forwards. Melee combat made their way, as the fascists found their ways inside the crumbling trenches. One by one, they started to fall. The artillery continued to boom, snipers atop of various hills continued their fire. But, to no avail. They continued forwards. The country-side, only with the main road leading towards the central parts of down lay ahead of them, though heavily guarded. The attacks farther to the north, on the western sections into the Roggersdorf block of houses, erupted into all out urban-combat. House to house, snipers, grenadiers, machine gunners, and footmen battled each other. At one point, the guns went silent. An eerie peace passed over the city. The monarchists, thinking themselves triumphant began singing "Die Wacht am Rhein" as houses were entered. Others started yelling "To Kaiser! To Fatherland!" before "To Luxemburg! To The Eternal Revolution!" reached their ears as grenades landed on the road Beiweg, ending the chorus abruptly. Though, the songs of the proletariat would end. Armored cars from both sides battled each other, along with damages from the other combatants, with all houses being nothing but charred rubble hours later, with the occasional machine gun nest firing.
Fighting would occur amongst the farmer's fields, as soldiers played their elaborate tango. The whistle of artillery, the clatter of machine guns. The screams of injured men. The sun shone down on them all. Sweat beating down everyone's necks. On the eastern front of the city, the forces were ever closer to the main portions of the town. The fighting was slower, as the main bulk of the forces were located several miles away. As Roggersdorf met it's fate, the battling in the houses of eastern Holzkirchen was still raging. Flags - anarchist, monarchist, and republican flew in the wind as bullets and shrapnel flew around the place. As the fighting started reaching afternoon, train upon train arrived into town square. The military forces have arrived. Quickly sent around town, the Democratic forces began forcing the brownshirts back. Tooth and nail were fought over it all, and even the sudden influx of men quickly wore out. Fascists within town started blowing up buildings, or setting them on fire. Though often taken care of with a bullet through the head, it still took momentum off of the push. Thus, the tug-of-war began. The night saw marauding bands from both sides trying to capture outposts, before getting slaughter. Streetlamps lit the way when they didn't have power, though lanterns were especially useful. In the morning, a brownshirt push was made for Föching neighborhood in the northern sector of the city, which was captured after the barricades fell. The defenders from the town, and attackers from the destruction of Roggersdorf and Föching met up in north-western Erlkam, though not on the friendliest terms. From opposite sides from the main street, the barrages started whistling their own tunes once more. Houses destroyed, soldiers falling dead. The hellscape of miniature ended in victory for the Democrats.
Erlkam was only a diversion. Through the streets, the Legionaries marched their way towards city center. Fired upon immediately, houses were taken for cover, and the urban fighting commenced. By now, foreign volunteers have managed their way to the German front lines. The volunteers from the Spartacus Internationale - originally just the Spartacus League, usurped from the failed revolution of a generation earlier, volunteers from the Rhine and other socialist groups, besides the red flags would carry the name as well. When foreigners began volunteering, attaching Internationale to the end of it. Thus, in those boarded up houses in Holzkirchen, machine gun nests with whispered French and snipers with Spanish and English passed around. Bullets flew, buildings destroyed, sniping duels lasted throughout the day. As the sun rose for a second day over the destroyed village, the red flags were taken down. The last bayonets stabbed into chests. In a final act of defence, the train station had dynamite laid around by some soldiers. They would rather go out on their own accord, rather than by traitors to the Republic.
Munich was made into a defencive stronghold. Even more than before. Military men arrested monarchist and fascist collaborators. Munich workers did their own spring cleaning, quickly collectivising even more factories, which the government watched warily, but cannot do much to combat. Machine guns on every street. Snipers on the highest roofs and hills. Militias patrolling the streets, and barricades in every building. Artillery located outside the city, just in case. The suburbs faired a similar fate - the further away from Munich, the harder it was to quickly put all of these together. Thus, and July began to end, the brownshirts could only advance so far towards Munich. Miraculous victories and harrowing defeats would fill the publications. Battles went from lasting hours to days to weeks. The hail of bullets was like a plague, no one could escape it. August began dragging itself into the middle of the month. Nothing but stalemate. Advances from both sides would just as quickly be combated. The occasional brown scare within the cities, as yet another loon proclaims the death of the red empire before being shot by a disgruntled worker on lunch break.
In an advance in late August, a strain of brownshirts managed to get 10 miles outside of Munich. As one reporter wrote, "The leaves haven't even started to fall, and yet the cold has taken hold upon us. Everyone listens to the radio. Poor families gather in small apartments, all trying to hear the news. The patrols continue, most with nerve. Today, a young police officer kicked and screamed in the town square, before sending a bullet through his head. As the crowds watched while the medics carted them away, I could see the main one sighing. When I managed to speak to him at the hospital, his sunken, dull eyes described the various other cases he's seen. A medic when young during the war, now a civilian. Never hoping for combat to reach his door, he must return to the young collapse under pressure by the high commands". After various battles in the suburbs, they were pushed out. The Democrats went from the defence to the offense, pushing them several more miles out from their previous positions, before another round sent them retreating somewhat.
More battles took place, but they settled down. When a dismal Oktoberfest was held, spirits to be raised high, a pipe bomb went off, killing several celebrants. From there, the drunken laborers became a mob and started chasing brownshirts and getting rid of them. By November, the forces began hunkering down once more. Many wondering what would happen next.
Prussian Front:
Prussian Landtag
The April 12 coup within the Landtag was executed with precision. All the delegates within the physical building were quickly taken by the guards. The Prussian Secret Police was one of the first to be given go. Communist and socialist housing burned to the ground, political opponents quickly executed. The Nazi forces, often disguised and put into the police force (both secret and civilian) mobilized properly. Warehouses opened up, trains boarded. The men leading this revolt were the same men of the Weltkrieg, Prussian efficiency and order was used to the best of their ability. The militant forces quickly got to taking over major cities, which they did with relative ease in the Eastern portions of the state. Further out west, the harder. When skirmishes began in Berlin, workers militias who'd be recently growing in number quickly showed themselves, and were fought back. Not to mention the news reached Wels quickly enough. The military was mobilized, and the battles started.
In almost every major city and in the Rhineland, it was the leftist workers who would get their praises sung. In Munster, Potsdam, Cottbus, etc. the local communes and such were able to pull enough resources in time to fight the Junkers and their underlings. One of the employers of the elite was supposed to be the remnants of the NSBO. Scattered about in various trade unions after theirs was made illegal, some more conservative and general-populist ones managed to have coups, installing Nazis on the Chairs, and breaking off relations with others. With the trade unions being some of the first responders many of the early battles were between each other, opposed to the Prussian Police. Though the NSBO was not the best fighters. Not like the Junker League didn't expected that. The country squires of Ostpreussen were not typically the ones to be infatuated by hybrid Nazi-communist rhetoric. Fodder, fed to the red wolves.
Over the next few weeks, the battles throughout the city and countryside quickly formed the main boundaries of the front. Quickly pushed out of the metropolitan areas, and the complete collapse of Prussia, with the Interim German Confederate being created to deal with the power vacuum, which itself was broken. The Ruhr Workers' Compact quickly became the Rhine Workers' Compact, and many individual cities established themselves as independent city-states, with socialist councils often behind it. Mostly everything east of the banks of the West Oder were in the hands of the Junkers, west belonging to the various democratic factions.
After defeat after defeat, the Barons' levies regrouped and Kaiser Franz Joseph and High Command began to motivate and train the troops, in the various backwoods of the country. The sporadic revolts in the meantime did their job like in Bavaria, pulling manpower and resources away from the main front. Cities under occupation would also have their own workers' revolts, councils being set up, often before the red flags were torn down by machine guns. Some were successful, especially in the mining regions of the south and northern port cities, effectively ousting Prussian influence over the area.
Yet, the sheer amount of monarchists within the territory guaranteed that the Kaiserreich would have more troops to throw into the meat grinder. Berlin's suburbs would occasionally get the Imperial flag raised, and threw up a stubborn resistance. The rich of the outskirts of the city would supply them. In the far south-east, ethnic Polish revolts would rise up, calling for Polish unity. The Reich's borders, like it's internationally recognized predecessor towards the end of its life, were constantly shifting about, with squabbling factions vying for control.
July would find a new offensive. Trying to work with their Bavarian compatriots, attacks were launches over the Oder, engineers quickly constructing pontoon bridges, while experienced naval officers commandeered various operations. Varied results came out of it. To the north, socialist volunteers from the various communes set up along the banks of the Baltic were a major part of preventing the attacks from making too much ground. The attacks aiming for Berlin, where the blunt of the offensive was, saw the most blood spilled the summer heat. Successive attacks over the Oder were the first major obstacle. Democratic artillery managed to find out quickly enough to blow out the engineer's constructions, which shifted the focus to raiding parties, and to quickly take over near by villages in which troops were located. Though out of these Küstrin was the hardest nut to crack. Already partially occupied by the Reich's forces, camping out in the Eastern Sector of the city, fire fights did break out on main streets, and the like. When the July orders came, the relatively quiet urban fighting resumed, full force. Being a town of many Poles, the brownshirts adopted a scorched-earth policy, burning down neighborhood after neighborhood. This was not good when the defenders of the town managed to secure the three bridges connecting the two sides of the city over the Oder. Pushing them back, and house-to-house combat once again being the schedule, the battling went back and forth. Boarded-up houses, the occasional grenade exploding, or curse during the midday. The pattering of rifle fire during the twilight, and raids from one house to another during the night, as bright oranges and yellows saw houses and livelihoods destroyed. The town's train station was recaptured by the Democrats, with a camp being made in the station proper. When the building was quickly overrun by the brownshirts however, the train station was back in the hands of the right-wing. The canons of theirs rang too, and other major buildings throughout the city fell the great volleys of shrapnel. The stormtroopers filled the streets, and marched towards the contested bridges, where close-range shooting quickly became hand-to-hand combat. As one military officer would later recollect;
"...I myself was approached by an average looking fellow, in his brown uniform with an armband containing the Imperial eagle, before grabbing my ammo-less pistol and trying to knock him out. But before I could he knocked me onto the stones below, where we'd played this elaborate tango of repeated hand and foot movements, before I finally got the chance to take his rifle, and push it up against his chest. Backed into a relatively secluded area of the bridge, I had time to decide whether to kill the tired, bruised man in front of me, which I did. A bullet sent from his rifle into his heart, before his lifeless body fell into the river below us…"
Though, the Democrats managed to get beaten, and over the bridges they were forced, before artillery destroyed them, to prevent any more crossings, and forces dug in on the island they were on - separating what was fully on the other side of the Oder. Artillery fired from both directions. Shells making dents into the ground. Boats and other vessels launching from the other side, before the shrill and whistles of lead would kill the occupants. This would go on for another 12 hours, before the island's artillery was silenced, and the boats managed to make their way. Then, the other bridge blew, in the nick of time. The brownshirts clamoring on it, quickly falling into the waters below. Over the next few days in July, villagers south would report the river turning red, as many called for help from above. Though, the deities from above did not heed to the citizenry's pleading, and monotonous attacks throughout the town, from apartment to apart, street to street, continued, before Küstrin fell. The Imperial Banner, lifted to the top of the town hall, where one more defence was given. Soldiers reported hearing the Internationale sung by dying soldiers, refusing medical attention. Prisoners taken would also sing it, along with other socialist songs, before being beaten and killed by their captors.
Soon enough the villages of Neulewin, Letschin, Bleyen-Genschmar would also succumb to the brown march. The flags of black, white, red waved by young boys, the Kasierreich's anthem sung and played by others down the ruined streets. The battles there would not be the bloodbath that Küstrin was, but when hungry and drunk troops demanded food from farmers, often times, the ones they hadn't reached yet, set ablaze their fields, along with warehouse owners and clerks with their own supplies. The police force there had given in quickly, anyhow. If this war was to be won, and those fascists to be in the depths of Hell, one would have to starve them.
Frankfurt an der Oder, nearly 20 miles south of Küstrin, would receive an even worse fate. The march to the eastern banks was already one filled with local revolts from both sides, and the scorched earth policy was already taking effect, but the first attacks upon the Dammvorstadt neighborhood was a sign of things to come. Both sides had armored cars, which fired at any suspected locations of troops. Roaming around the streets, with squadrons of soldiers on both sides, the first interaction of the bands ended with both sides retreating from the premises. Squadrons in the following days would play the ol' tug-of-war for some row of houses that hadn't been blown into shreds, before the eventual capture by the Junkerist forces.
As they were pushed back from the outer streets, into the more densely packed central areas, the main road was laced with dynamite to stop the advancing brownshirts. Snipers thrown around roofs...anything to prevent the march forwards. Rail links on the other side of the city were quickly secured, parks closer to the river crossing as well. Government offices and museums have patrols throughout the night. The old Collegienhaus was turned into an arsenal, and after pamphlets were spread to older students, a volunteer group paraded with weapons in the courtyard, while other would observe. Women would take up chambers and turn them into nursing facilities, while students that couldn't serve would help feed. All the while soldiers were quickly thrown onto the bridge over the Oder.
From the Lennepark and main road the nervous patrol starred forwards. The bridge, occasionally receiving a few pieces of shrapnel, though the crates used to protect soldiers did their job well. Then, one night, a small contingent of fascist volunteers in the unoccupied part of the city, working with the main forces, took a paddle boat, and climbed up the ladders at the bottom of the bridge. Scuttling through the night, soldiers that were passed out from the day's duties were quickly killed or taken hostage. Patrols met more violent fates. When the job was satisfactory, flares were shot up, and then came rolling the cavalry. Though, the rouse was noticed by the patrols on the other side, with a teacher at the Collegienhaus taking the night shift, took good notice of the events going on the other side, and it was not long until engagements were made. Very quickly, the entire city was mobilized, as more troops were poured onto the steel.
Collegienhaus (1911)
Slowly, the Democrats were pushed back. By now, the patrols in the park were engaging. Plans were derived for blowing up the train station beforehand. Men were rushed into the schoolhouse as young and overwhelmed nurses tried their best. The front shifted to the park, and now students and teachers were thrown into the fray. Cannons roared from the distance, cramming in dents into the back of the lines, though friendly-fire would sometimes occur upon the urban landscape. Yet, like waves in a vast ocean they kept on forming and splashing itself upon the Democratic shores. Forwards, they pushed. Battle lines formed around the rail station and campus. Resistance was stubborn, and no one on either side gave in. For the next few days, the individual fronts continued. As one kitchen staffer would report, "Located in the basement with some others during our break about midday. A professor read his book, looking weary, taking off his glasses. Then, the rumbles started. In conversation with some others, we tried to ignore the happenings of above, but we couldn't. Old books on shelves fell onto the floor. Not to mention that some of them were over 200 years old. More shaking, and the power in the room went off. An upperclassman in the room stumbled and cursed, trying to find a lantern or match that he reportedly saw earlier. The upperclassman gave up, we were all too tired to have fear. Thus, we sat there, hearing whistling of bullets. The previously silent professor started speaking in mournful tones about the same sounds he saw at the front years earlier. The light came back up, and the reign of bullets ceased."
Soon enough, the city would fall. The station's halls were seized, and room by room the campus fell, the student volunteers putting up one last fight before the end. The Battle of Frankfurt am Oder lasted for a week, and though the Imperial banner was raised, the Junkerist forces lost many a soldier. But, to the High Command and the Council of Estates, forwards they must push. And push they'd try. Trying to take over the villages outside of Küstrin and am Oder were only met with partial success. The casualties taken left the Kaiser's armies in a battered position. No large engagements were taken, and skirmishes dealt blow after blow. By now, the midsummer's haze was setting, and the last bastion of the summer heat was coming before them. August would need a new offensive to makeup for the summer doldrums.
In between the last days of July and August 16th, an awkward silence filled the Prussian front. Besides the skirmishes, no one made any advances. Frankfurt am Oder and Küstrin were too much for the Weimar Republic. There was increasing reliance on leftist volunteers, along with the first of the Spartacus Internationale. The Kaiser and his men went back to the forests and started training need forces once more. With the build-up ready, the March for Berlin began. Over the next few weeks, village after village was fought over. Some with Democratic victory, others not so much. Advancing 20 miles by mid-September, the sleepy town of Müncheberg, 30 miles east of Berlin, became the logical destination for the High Commands of both sides. Once again, in a similar fashion to previous battles, total destruction took hold. More and more troops were forced into the tiny town. If it fell, Rüdersdorf would topple, and then Hoppegarten, and then you're right outside of Berlin!
Which is what happened.
Powering through the various suburbs of Berlin, Hoppegarten was quickly set up as the main offensive line on all of the Prussian front. But, even compared to the revolutionary fervor of the Poles and physical laborers back east of the Oder, they could not deal with the red tide in the metropolis. The Reich's forces manage to hold parts of main roads and the outskirts of Tierpark Berlin for only a few days, before the massive amounts of artillery, machine gun, and armored vehicles opened fire, quickly routing them. In fact, Berlin forces managed to recapture the various towns that were lost on the outskirts of the metro area. Before long, with reinforcements, Müncheberg was recaptured. The leaves now falling, the offensive was called off. Positions were dug in, as the armies prepared for winter.
East Prussian Front:
Like on the mainland, April 12th was carefully planned, and executed with supreme precision. Squadrons of the Prussian Secret Police and brownshirts quickly overran municipal governments, took over arsenals, police stations, universities, radio stations, etc. Not like it could've been too hard anyways, Ostpreussen was not a hive of revolutionary activity. The Junkers were as strong here as the east banks of the Oder. If not more so, with the lack of pesky ethnic minorities and leftist intelligentsia. The main operation of the attacks of that night was from Konigsberg, being the largest city in the exclave. Thus, with the first reports of civil unrest and uprising came to the commander of the Weimar Republic's 1st Division, they were mobilized, and the Battle of Konigsberg began instantly.
Eastern side of Königsberg Castle, ca. 1900.
But, referring to the statement above, the 1st Division would not receive the same support as troops in Berlin would. The citizenry were right-wing - this was the German conservative heartland, after all. And, the division was already riddled with internal problems. Like much of the High Command in the nation, units were led by Nazi cooperators or monarchists, who had to be retired by Reichswehr Minister Hammerstein-Equord, and often replaced by aging generals or those from lesser command. This would lead to desertions by the more right-wing troops, while morale was often at quite the lows.
Yet, the 1st Division defended the best they could. Getting support from Catholic trade unionists who'd often end up fighting in the industrial sectors of the city. Artillery would prove to be some of the most useful defence forces during the battle. Helping clear out streets with smaller types, and larger plowing through parks and fields, it spared the lives of the 1st Division. But of course, this couldn't go on for that long. They were outnumbered and the spirits and nationalistic fervor from the brownshirts were high enough to keep on throwing themselves at any number of machine gun nests, sniper towers, armored cars, and so forth. Approaching the end of April, they pulled out of the city. The next few months would not warrant any great victory for the force.
Being cut off from the rest of the nation was the worst part of the ventures of the 1st Division. In every major city, the Reich raised the Imperial Banner with often ineffective resistance. The division had one choice - roam the countryside. There wasn't much else to do, non? Thus, into the great Prussian fields they went. Often personified as barbarians raiding the homes of the German people, when it was more like setting up shop in a field, dipping quick trench positions and hoping for the best, before being kicked out by the militia-monarchist-police machine. All the while, desertions ever increased.Message after message was sent to Berlin, requesting any support. But all were turned down. They were left to the Junkerist wolves.
Eventually, they were able to dig down deep after crossing the river Matrosovka finding support amongst local villagers were able to enter the villages of Zapowiednoje, Bolshiye Berezhki, and various others in the general area with relative ease, after kicking out the small marauding bands of Junkerists. Thus, the shovels were pulled out, and rifles were raised. Yet, the forces were dwindling. Many found it easy to leave post, and necessary. The forces located in northern Ostpreussen would have to make do.
Engagement after engagement occurred, but the cannons preventing major successes over the river. But the Huns' hordes didn't stop coming. They threw themselves over and over again, managing to take one of the villages of the western banks, where close-quarters combat erupted, whose losses was stalled by the Democratic forces. The battles there would manage to stretch out to a couple of days, before they started pushing forwards. By now, the northern portions of Ostpreussen had liberated themselves, with unsuspected revolutionary activity finding its way into the small, rural hamlets of the north. Peasants' Councils were created, and pamphleteer-messengers went on horse from town to town spouting the rhetoric. At the helm was Clergyman Wurfel of Tilsit, having refused entry of several Junkermen into his Church to rat out suspected Jewish saboteurs, whose words, "The pompous Hohenzollern is now an apparition, and the Republic is all that stands" quickly started a series of insurrections throughout each town, quickly overthrowing any resistance. The lead Junker's manor was turned into the main headquarters and meeting space for the new Ostpreussen Council Federation, where executive decisions were made. "All equal under God's light" became the rallying cry for the Federation, and Wurfel's bands became the new leaders of the north. And after the rousing defeats of Matrosovka River, the 1st Division quickly retreated into the OCF territory.
There, and especially in the developed city of Tilsit a combined Unionist-Militia-Soldier line was formed, (Tilsit had an electric tram system, along with direct rail links to Königsberg and Labiau, along with daily steamer activity, and in the first days of the revolution a sizeable United Transporters' Union was established - the Jewish saboteurs protected by Wurfel were themselves railmen and conductors and card-carrying members of the union.) and once more positions were dug in, buildings secured, streets barricades, and guns pointed. The attacks continued to come, and with defences being reorganized, they were effectively routed, with some advancements being made. Yet, silence soon fell over the front, as the back-and-forth nature started to dwindle? Was it the Reich Reincarnated going back to training new soldiers to throw into the meat-grinder, or is it because of the leaves falling, and the storms of winter about to thunder over? Either way, the new spirit the invigorated forces were ready for another fight, no matter how less and less of their still served.
This is looking darker and darker, with the Nazis making a come-back with an unholy alliance with the monarchists. I was hoping there would be a degree of stability developing with the defeat of the initial Nazi uprising but it looks like things are only getting worse. Even if the right is finally defeated how powerful would the more extreme left wing elements have become?
I wonder what the reaction of the rest of Europe is? Possibly a desire to keep well out of such a mess but would have thought there would be some concern about the instability and the growth of extremism on both sides. Most likely, given the actions of the rights against the Polish minority in the east I wonder if the Polish government might seek to intervene. Although that could make things worse by playing to the properganda of the right.
(Before y'all read the actual update, I apologize for such the delay! School really started to take it's toll on me, and thus my mental health as well, along with the fact this is a lengthy update already, but now I'm in a much better place than the beginning of this month, so here it is!)
Chapter 3: The German Civil War Part 2: Council Spring
Munich:
Even with initial successes, Munich was still under a stage of siege throughout the winter months of 1933 and early 1934. By now, Austrian soldiers sent from the homeland were joining the Bavarian regulars, with proved to be deadly. The Bavarian numbers were dwindling for a while now, with the entire March to Munich being commandeered by them, for them. They would need reinforcements quickly, and with the dust mostly being settled in Austria, Dollfuss could sent some of his fascist drones over. Along with that, new allies were made - the Thule Society.
The Thule Society, an occultist, fascist secret society operating in Munich during the 1920s, might've not seen like an obvious ally for anyone. Especially for someone like Dollfuss, having important contacts within the ranks of the clergy - this seemed a bit awkward to form an alliance with them, but rules change in war. With there being commanders within the Legions being interested in the paranormal and occult, (besides Himmler himself) such as Alfred Ritscher, a Navy veteran-turned airman with a high-up within the High Command with important contacts within the government and industrialists, he became the main pusher for an alliance. Rudolf von Sebottendorf - the leader of the Thule Society would also contract many of his base of support this, and soon came an entire team dedicated to the alliance between the fascist forces and the Thule Society, with such names as Herman Wirth, Walther Wüst, and most importantly Ludwig Roselius - a coffee merchant who founded the decaffeinated coffee company, KAFFEE HAG - who had much money to spare, and who supplied the Austro-Bavarian armed forces with coffee.
Thus, the Thule Society, now with an official grant from the occupying government, and from various tycoons and merchants, quickly grew in number and now was able to start a propaganda campaign behind enemy lines. Everyday, leaflets would appear on the streets of Munich, talking about the common folk's Jewish overlords, and how these positions of power needed to be destroy to let the German worker be truly free, (there were a good deal of ex-communists amongst their number, making appealing prose all the easier) and give codes to find meeting places. And, as the winter months progressed, the Thule Society did experience that swell in numbers. And better, they started to have access to arms. Thus, they prepared, the Thule Brigade now training in secret, under the cover of night. Yet, to strike one needs precision - which the Thule Brigade needs to develop first. They sit back for now, watching their comrades prepare their own attacks.
The protectors of the city continued to watch from their defences, as both sides don't move. Finally, the Austro-Bavarians take the force step, by sending troops to take over the rail line in Oberhaching - an independent municipality 7 miles south of central Munich, which ended in quick victory. From there, the town was quickly taken over, and defences were prepared to repel the Weimar forces. Back-and-forth fighting would occur over the control for the main road and the neighboring community of Taufkirchen, which produced little result for either side, and in-fact created a No Man's Land of sorts within the Potzham neighborhood. But while forces focused on that, a new threat arose in Munich. It was time for the Thule Brigade.
From 'Memoirs of the Siege of Munich' - 1952 Lt. Ralph Daecher
It was past 10 PM on January 14 when the platoon was occupying the schoolhouse, when several bullets flew through the glass windows, and hit the patrol sitting next to me, by the name of Klaus. Immediately, panic filled the building as positions were taken from our previously resting positions. I myself was reading a daily, before I raised my rifle to the window. There, from across the street, I saw a machine gun nest that fired towards the windows. I managed to dodge the shrapnel, that took the other men at the windows. I crawled away, scared for my life. More machine guns started firing, and by this point we didn't know what to do, as rank fell apart. At that moment, the doors flew open, and a company of men with insignia I had never seen before started attacking us brutally. We were on the second floor, and somehow they entered in silence and took out the patrols on the floor below. Bullets were sent in every which way, as more of the mysterious men entered the room. A stray bullet hit my leg, and I found myself unconscious, before waking up on a bed, in a small room with young nurses swarming the place. I spoke to the nurse attending to me, and asking her where I was. We were in the Bayerischer Hof, in a below-ground room, where several platoons retreated to. "Who attacked us?" "The Thule Brigade" the young woman responded. [...]
When I was eventually regained the strength to venture to the main floors of the hotel, I saw a flurry of other soldiers. I sat down in the classy lobby, and pulled out a cigar. Another man, older and festooned with officer's gear sat next to me. "Can I help you with something?" I asked.
"What's your rank, boy?"
"I'm a private, sir."
"You're of good caliber…" the officer said, looking at me with distraught eyes "...and the future of the armed forces...I was with my officers in our quarters, when a bomb went off. Almost everyone died in that building - there were dozens of us, and by God's graces I made it out alright." [...]
The next few days, I roamed throughout the hotel. Talking to other soldiers, and the few remaining civilians. I even got a chance to speak with the hotel manager, clearly shaken by the events of the last few days and how the Reichswehr have taken over his pristine building, he went around asking how people were feeling, and if he or his staff could provide anything. Sometimes in the day break a few of us would venture into the city proper, and go to open cafes. The area was guarded on all sides from soldiers. Apparently the Thule men that ventured into these parts were taken care of while I was unconscious. One day, when in a local cafe, the waiter called us all to the radio. The room went silent, as everyone clambered to the few seats near the radio. A correspondent reported of advancements made by the Thule Brigade, and how several bridgeheads leading into Central Munich were taken over. Being in that area of Munich, the doors were barricaded, and a group of us took watch with various weapons that the cafe had stored in emergency, along with the ones the customers had on them. My leg was in pain when positioning myself, but I forced myself through it. We heard the thunder of artillery in those horrifying hours. We saw no shrapnel destroy any buildings nearby, however. Then, we heard the whistle of mortars and machine guns. This went on and off for several hours, before it ceased for good. By now, it was night time, and after an announcement from the military over the radio, we ventured back to our lodgings. Barricades in the lobby, and the window in my room boarded up.
The next several days would be the same perpetual cycle of fear and resilience against the brownshirts trying to take over our city. Nearly every hour another group of men would be bursted into the building, casualties of the latest raid. When I wasn't fit for patrol duty, I offered my help to the overwhelmed nurses who by this point had moved into various other rooms scattered about. I'd fetch water, though I was often tasked with reading various books and periodicals I brought with me when I volunteered for the army back home. The injured especially loved the edition of Don Quixote I carried with me. When taking breaks, a weakly voice would call for me to resume, which I happily did.
There was no proper end to the Thule Uprising, but by the time the 23rd had come around, the guns had mostly silenced. Though at great cost for both sides. The amount of soldiers I saw come through those doors, and the amount that I saw die are too high to count. Some soldiers were forced to bury the bodies, and an army chaplain presented himself. In the cases of Jewish soldiers, an officer, Brothman, volunteered himself. I went to every single one I could, due to the lack of family presence. Friends in the same platoon, their officers, and the nurses were the main contingent in the procession. Though, sometimes family members managed to show up.
Letter To Jonas Achen - January 11, 1934 Thorsten Achen
Dear Brother,
I'm sorry I couldn't respond to your letter earlier - I was separated from any sort of non-combatant location for several days, and the mail delivery was delayed as well. The morale of the troops is dropping, with new engagements with the "Thule Brigade" - I couldn't believe it when I heard the news that occult fascists were now leading the charge - I guess Chancellor Dollfuss needed some help. Another one of the [Die] Rote Fahne staff - Ulrich (You met him if I recall, New Year's Party back in 32? Round glasses, balding?) managed to sneak into one of their meetings years back, and said to me that "it seemed more like a parody of an occult organization, opposed to anything remotely serious," and I took his word for it. But back them, we were joking of Hitler's chancellorship - times are changing. And besides the new engagements, there is just less of the officer corps around. Many are dying in battle, hindering the already weakened force after the Culling of last year, thus there is just less people taking the helm. Berlin can't do anything, their hands are tied with the engagements there with the Junkers, thus they are left to their own accord. Some talk of self-promotion and soldiers' councils, and there are rumors of leaflets being distributed amongst some circles, though for the life of me I cannot confirm any of this. I shall plug my ear to the grape-vine and report back if anything reaches me. I wish I could write more, but I desperately need to rest.
Tell Rita and Elli Uncle Thorsten says hello, and that I'll be back in Ingolstadt very soon.
Yours truly,
Thorsten
The Soldier-Council Idea - January/February 1934 Anonymous - Circulated amongst Munich soldiers after Thule Uprising
Soldiers! Protectors of Weimar democracy! You have sacrificed much for this land - the city streets from which civilians walk upon, and the fields that farmers toil has our blood ingrained into it. The finest of Germany are serving themselves to fight the fascist menace at our doorstep. Legions of brownshirts come into city centers and harass soldier and civilian alike. We are the first lines of defence. From Cologne to Konigsburg us, countrymen, brothers-in-arms have served faithfully. Even under demands from the higher-ups, allies of the forces we're fighting, telling us to lay down our arms - we do not! The Republican flag will always remain high, and we will give our last breath to the Republic. Is it not proper that we have power? The officers that served with us have left the cause - delusioned by prospects of Kaiser and Fatherland, the ones that remained, fighting valiantly have perished in battle. The bureaucrats have yet to appoint new officers, and for the traditional, there is nothing without the word from above. This makes us weak! We shall not wait for inspectors to come to the barricades of Munich and appoint new leaders, we must do it ourselves! They will realize that the soldier, their fellow countrymen serve with the same level of pride, resourcefulness, and intellect as their own. Soldiers' councils must be organized - direct action taken. We know the men who we serve with. They are our comrades, and it can only be us that choose. Power to the worker is guaranteed by our constitution, and we must use that to the greatest extent possible. Our leaders in tune with their contingents - opposed to a Junker squier. A power vacuum sits within the barricades and defence-works of Munich, one that cannot be filled with heeding to a message that might never come from Berlin. Now forwards soldiers! Let your voices heard! Soldiers' Councils must be organized for the future of Germany as we know it!
The Soldiers Councils Born Anew! - February 1, 1934 Chairman Marko Schmitz
In these times of unpresented fear and instability within our borders, collective action must be established. In the past year, the comrades within the 5th Munich Artillery Battery has witnessed the complete collapse of the officer corps, with the six main officers and much of the 120 Unteroffiziers [Corporals] either abandoning their posts, facing detention by High Command, or meeting their fate in battle. Without such leadership, we are useless in face of the reactionary enemy that finds themselves only a few streets away. After a week of whisperings of electing councils proposed by The Soldier-Council Idea pamphlet and reports of other units committing the same, along with disgruntled comrades talking about councils prior, a meeting was held after dark in our bunks. There, I and a few others wrote up the following passage, which was to be delivered the following day:
'We, the undersigned demand the recognition of soldiers' democracy within our unit, and all subordinates, with the prerequisite of democratic voting, due to the lack of proper leadership, and the actions taken by various individuals without the consent of your subordinates. In order to establish the most effective fighting force we can, us, as a whole unit must have open and fair elections.'
When morning came, and we had breakfast in the mess hall, and via a series of couriers the demands were presented to the chief-acting officer, Vogt in his main office. At the bottom of the paper, was my name, along with the other comrades' emboldened, to show who was in charge. Called into his office, along with his own delegation of his closest aides/cohorts, he spoke in a fragile voice. The chair he was sitting in was bought by the commander before him, a much larger fellow, and he looked sickly and weak in it. Within ten minutes, he gave into his demands, and resigned. By the time we left the office, a crowd had positioned itself through the mess hall. A crate was carried by two men and placed in the mess hall entrance for I to give a speech. Calling for elections to be held that day, I saw from the corner of my eye the disgraced Vogt and his fellows leave the room. Within the next several hours, elections were held, first with a unanimous vote for I as Officer, and then sub-units electing their own commanders - often times, lower level leaders got re-elected, being popular amongst the troops, though in some cases unpopular and ridiculed figures were disposed of. Though, I was surprised that many of the units elected these men before our couriers reached them! Without sifting through reports I estimate that ~40 per cent of the subunits elected men preemptively, out of the remaining ~60 per cent that need to be heeded,half reelected their previous commanders, and the rest elected new men - out of this, only a few had any sort of violent incidents.
Soldiers' Councils Elected In Bavaria - February 9, 1934 Kristian Ritter for the Daily Worker
It has been over a decade since I last stepped foot onto German soil, yet I am joyed to find that the old revolutionary calles of Luxemburg and Liebknecht, Landauer and Gesell are being harkened to once more. Via telegrams I have received from a circle acquaintances and friends, passed from one circle to another, until he reached into my hands, I can now tell an international audience what is happening. One must note however, that some parts of the messages might've been lost in it's journey reaching me, due to the amount of people it went through, though I do put my full trust into my comrades and their own.
The first reports I can collect of councils appearing in Munich is that of the 21st Infantry Regiment, where the 2nd Battalion took charge. Several men had been in contact with labor leaders in the rest of Munich, along with another few who worked with some Americans of the Spartacus units. When after some street-fighting killed a popular commander, followed by a subsequent appointment by an inspector of the main division, putting in charge a "man of of unknown caliber, in which no one knew who he was or where he came from," as a Comrade Z described him as, before being sent off for a brief week's training. In the meantime, with rumors of a new offensive to retake several streets nearby, which would include a risky assault upon a warehouse, on the night of the 29th, a meeting was called in a nearby inn while soldiers were on leave. Suspicious of several men in the inn, they moved to a quiet alley, where their meeting progressed throughout the whole night. In it, a decision was made, and one of their own was made as Chair of the Battalion - before returning to their main locale, rallying up support amongst the members who weren't present through the remainder of the night and next morning. There, a letter to be sent to the High Command of the Regiment was written, along with the signature of every man involved, which also included all the under-officers:
'With the premature death of our dear Commander Berg, we understand the necessity of the appointment of [Commander] Klug, yet we the undersigned believe this to be a mistake. Not recognizing the man, before being quickly sent off to training - he is a complete stranger to all of us here. Thus, we see it fit to elect our own commanders, appointing Martin Beich as our new officer via a general agreement amongst the whole number of us in a council. We hope you see the benefit of our actions and send Klug to a more fitting position where his men can serve valiantly.'
When reports from comrades working for the commanding officers of the Regiment came in, saying that though they were steamed, no action would be taken against them. This came to a head when at midday a black Mercedes-Benz pulled to their location, where a functionary of HQ accompanied by several guards came in to receive Commander Beich, carrying a telegraph. Taking his cohorts, along with a large red flag and various pins acquired via the American contacts, they headed into the car. When a young soldier chased after Beich, demanding what would the unit do if he perished, Beich reportedly responded with, "If I perish, damn those reactionary fools! But, spread my words to the masses like is was a Gospel signed by God himself!" patting him on his shoulder and departing. Later that day, swarms of couriers went to various underground print-shops to get Beich's message heard.
Though no known minutes of the meeting exist, reports from various secretaries in the main offices do report that the commanders were stiff to give into their demands, but reportedly after Beich gave an impassioned speech, they were alright with the council, as long as they didn't revolt. And with that, the soldier council idea was indeed borne, out of the mind of the anonymous comrade who got those pamphlets out, along with the many who found themselves contributing to the self-realization of the worker.
From there, the pamphleteers that were to heed to Comrade B's words spread them like wild-fire. Though several print-shops that they were to be printed at had reportedly been looted, as an old friend of mine wrote - having actually been to one of them and knowing the owner, "The windows were broken, propaganda attached to it about the 'Jewish menace' signed off by the newly-created Thule Brigade - it was an awful sight. The woman running the shop had been doing it since the days of the Bavarian Soviet, using the one printer she bought from her factory job to print out various proclamations floating around at the time. Yet, even now, her spirit cannot be deterred. Meeting her in her apartment, she provided me with funds to give to our army comrades to get their own dedicated printers…"
And, as one expects, with such a flurry of revolutionary activity, the comrades in the rank-and-file showed their true colors. Red flags were hung - when writing this piece, a comrade sent a photo of a Chairman of a cavalry unit proudly smiling with a red flag and the helmets of several fascists, which is attached to the article. In quick succession, the regulars of all three regiments quickly established councils in the following days, with Chairman Schmitz of the 5th Artillery Battery becoming famous amongst the military circles. Most importantly, the HQ couldn't resist - when the medics of the division started meeting with civilians who bore the white and red - with one beerhall hosting a meeting of medics, nurses, and workers in pharmacies writing up a series of proposals to be presented to the Bavarian government in regards to medical access, the HQ and clerks within it were bound to also raise the red flag. The chauffeurs and coachmen, met with taxi drivers and others working for public transport, and most importantly the News Department rallied up workers on the 4th, barricading off their building to prevent any sort of interference by reactionary superiors - within hours their demands of workplace democracy and cooperatives were given into.
All of this have been in peaceful terms, besides the occasional brawl or fistfight - though never were guns fried in the process. Landauer and his comrades would be proud of the men and women serving the revolution faithfully. Toller once described the Bavarian Councils as the 'Bavarian Revolution of Love,'and a new generation have carried on this torch! The masses have spoken, and they will not be denied! The proletarians who find themselves in arms unite with brother and sister to form something better than Berlin and its censors ever could. Forwards they must go, avoiding the pitfalls of the generation past! In the never ceasing struggle for the realization of the worker, these days in winter will be marked down in the history books as a turning point - no longer will the face of the left be men who paint the capitalists' yoke red - it will be of the aggressors who dare dismantle them! Now, onwards to a glorious future!
Convocation of Soldiers, Workers, And Peasants Councils - February 21, 1934 DAP-FAUD Joint-Committee of Munich
SOLDIERS! WORKERS! PEASANTS! WEARERS OF BLACK AND RED!
The birth of soldiers' and workers' councils within the hostile conditions of Munich are signs of changing times. Our comrades ridded the German lands of Nazism and monarchism once, and now we must do it again - the plague is vanishing, and we are destroying it! And in order to prevent the beast from dominating itself, we must follow the path of the individual, letting our voices heard - octaves raised, eyes flaring like a brimstone preacher; our words heeded to from across the horse-drawn carriages of Ostpreussen to the textile factories of Saxony. And with the abdication of both the Bavarian and Munich governments - afraid of the brown march and growing conscious of the workers we have to advocate for the growth of the council idea, and assert our position amongst the aristocrats that try to dominate over us. Starting within two days, Friday the 23rd, in the Max Emanuel Brauerei, we call for all representatives and members of the soldiers, workers, and peasants councils to convene at the Max Emanuel Brauerei starting at 5 PM, to elect an Executive Council and create a new government within Munich.
From 'The Red Banners Raised Anew: Diaries of the German Civil War' - 1961 Wilhelm Gorski
Meeting in the early morning with the rest of the Regensburg Delegation, we boarded the express train to Munich around 10 a.m., where at the Central Station many commuters waved at us for good luck. Having only been recently elected to the Commune on the heels of my cohorts back in the factory removing the SPD member from power, the impromptu speech won me much respect from them. Only a few weeks into it, I was chosen to come along with the large contingent heading to Munich to join the Munich Workers' Council meeting - Erich Müusam appeared at one meeting a few days prior, sent on the behalf of his fellows in Munich, asking us to come to form a Bavarian Council Republic, due to the collapse of the Bavarian Government, in which Minister-President Held and his entire right-wing cabinet resigned. Already teetering on full-on Wittelsbach Reactionaryism, the rise of councils was too much for the old man, thus leaving. Family and friends down there would write me that red flags were raised high that day.
The train stopped a few times along the way, to pick up various delegations of rural council members. Guards were at every door, making sure no one would attack us. When we entered Munich proper, several police cars and truck took part in the processional. Around 1 p.m. we arrived near our destination, where cars were waiting to escort us. Quickly driving us to the beer hall, where military units were stationed about we entered. I took my seat with the rest of the delegation, next to various members of the Students' Union of the nearby Ludwig-Maximilian University. Talking to some of them, in particular a quiet one by the name of Gustav, I remembered my own youthful days. They were dedicated and invigorated, and would not stop at anything for the revolution.
Over the next few hours, various speeches by DAP and FAUD members were given. Erich Müusam and Ernst Toller, amongst various other veterans of the Bavarian Council Republic gave their accounts of the series of events, and talking about how we now have another opportunity to unite the red and black together in a United Front. A chorus of applause was given to each and every one of them. [...]
Discussions were held over the next few days, debating and deciding upon cabinet positions and proclamations. At the top was Chairman Ernst Toller with Vice-Chairman Max Levien, and a cabinet consisting of People's Delegate of Civil Defence Richard Scheringer; People's Delegate of Agriculture and Labor Heinrich Schmitt; People's Delegate of Education Helmut Rüdiger; People's Delegate of the Interior Erich Mühsam; People's Delegate of Justice Hans Beimler; People's Delegate of Culture Konrad Kübler and People's Delegate of Finance Fritz Oerter.
The cabinet picks were heeding to the failures of the First and Second Republics of 1919. The KPD and anarchist factions didn't work with each other, causing major riffs within the councils, and helped lead to its demise. The veterans that spoke that weekend knew this, and thus a black and red cabinet was appointed. This was all organized by the anarcho-syndicalist FAUD and anti-KPD establishment DAP, which itself consisted of several different factions. This was a clear sign of a United Front. [...]
Declaration of Support of Workers Self-Determination - February 28, 1934
Bavarian Secretariat of the Interior
With the birth of the Third Council Republic within Bavaria, and more specifically Munich, we send our regards and endorsements to the struggles of other Bavarian cities and beyond. Within the last week, in Ingolstadt a rail workers' march attracted the attention of locals and installed themselves into office, in Würzburg almost every factory have been socialized and councils elected, Augsburg and Ulm have had their councils called a general strike, in Nuremberg a reactionary mayor was installed via paramilitary force, before being quickly being overthrown by our comrades there, and instituting shop democracy, with the wealth being distributed. In Regensburg, the first established commune in all of Germany, have continued to defend the basic principals of all of the proletariat, and have helped established communes all over the suburbs and countryside. No matter what the specific circumstances were, workers have taken over and established proper democracy, and destroying the bourgeois institutions. In every major university, student unions have demanded direct democracy in regards to professors, many of whom have also joined these clubs. Yesterday, a student march has replaced the reactionary Heads of Colleges here in Munich. And the soldiers, who have been the source of this new revolutionary spring, have continued their support. It was the soldiers who raised up their arms in support of the rail workers in Ingolstadt, demanded the recognition of the soldiers councils while barricading their fortress, and once it was accepted, they marched on the streets. From there, the officers elected during the barricading in the various mess halls of the morning, presented their demands to the mayor's office alongside the rail workers, and even the clerks within the offices themselves who relayed the message and threatened to raise up arms, and got the reactionary mayor to resign. The rise of the councils is upon us, and we recognize the struggle of every movement that has appeared before us. We also invite every member of these councils to Munich to participate in the meetings of the Bavarian Council Congress located in Munich. Solidarity forever! All power to the councils!
Results of the Second Bavarian Congress - April 10, 1934 Norman Bethune for The Clarion
Comrades, I write to you from Munich where the Second Bavarian Council Congress has just finished up. The journey to get here was a treacherous one, landing in the Port of Hamburg before boarding various trains throughout the country, facing the possibilities of raids by the Junker forces, in their black-and-grey-clad uniforms harkening to the days of the Kaiserreich, towns being attacked, police beatings, and so on. I managed to avoid a few of the tribulations, but scars were still left. For as reactionary as the history of the SPD is, they do try not to go back to the days of Noske and the Free Corps. Finally arriving in within the union-controlled city of Krumbach, an express train brought me to Munich within a few hours a week ago.
Having been given money by my charitable German sponsors, I was given a room at the sleek, expensive Bayerischer Hof. It wasn't for the purpose to basque in bourgeois luxury, as much as this was a central locale for the treatment of injured soldiers, and where many would end up on leave. Eating in the grand dining hall every morning and night, the soldiers were often already in council formations, holding meetings at certain tables. I asked to join one of them, belonging to the Pioneer Battalion and listened intently to their talks that went throughout the evening. It was a enlightening experience, seeing the Chair of it, a Comrade Wieczorek responding to the concerns involving rationing and leave, along with news and demands from the higher-ups. As we parted ways late into the night, I brought up the upcoming Second Congress, where Comrade Wieczorek responded that he was going. Saying how I was a member of the press, and if I could accompany the meeting with him and his cohorts, he agreed.
When the day of decision did come, we gathered in the Wittelsbach Palace - a large assortment of hundreds of room scattered about with paintings and neoclassical architecture. The meeting would be take course over the entire day, starting at 10 am and ending late into the evening. Everyone had to stay vigilant - Munich is still in the middle of a siege, which explained the series of barricades, trenches, mortars, machine guns, snipers, guards, footmen, and patrols everywhere. Most were of the new Bavarian State Army raised - a tradition kept in the southern provinces, where secessionist tendencies have been around since they were integrated with Prussia in 1871. Thus, their king and aristocrats were able to run their own forces, all up until the Revolution of 1918-19. I talked to some of them, and they were filled with vigour. Recruiting campaigns have been running ever since power was taken, with the presses becoming one of the most important aspects of all of this. Print-shops and couriers and radio all fed into the spread of information.
Once the assembly started proper, one could see how attentive everyone was on avoiding the mistakes and the reasons of collapse of the First Republic all those years ago. The cabinet was filled with both full-blown anarchists, with Delegate Muhsam, taking charge of the Secretariat of the Interior and Ernst Toller as Chairman of the whole organization both being some of the most important anarchist agitators in the country. Many on the cabinet were ex-KPD functionaries who joined on the DAP and help spread it to the various industrial centers in Bavaria, seeing the state to be more important. Whether quoting Kropotkin or the Mensheviks, they do believe faithfully in a united front.
Within the Congress there are a few different factions - a way some pundits propose if one is a DAP or FAUD member. Of course, the divisions are very muddled, due to the mix and overlap of both parties. A more accurate system would be based on proper ideological perspectives. The largest faction by far are the anarchists, ranging from the more "jack-of-all-trades" Toller to the heavily syndicalist FAUD reps. From there, comes the KAPD-Luxemburgist faction - the main forces playing the DAP. Calling for a dictatorship of the proletariat, and being chased out of the Comintern, they find themselves in good relations with the anarchists, though the more authoritarian approach does cause issues. Besides the Luxemburgists, Orthodox Marxists do play a large role. Next, was the Bavarian Peasants League. Having already played a significant role in the Bavarian Workers' Congress of 1919, they have been representing agrarian interests for Bavarian peasants since 1870. More leftist and secular than their northern fellows, the left-wing led by Karl Gandorfer wields significant influence on the peasants councils, and therefore in the Landtag as well. After the big three, comes a string of minorities. USPD members have found themselves amongst some numbers, but their company pales in comparison to the big three. Even less are SPD folks, if there's around 10 USPD members, there's less than half in terms of SPD members. From there, come only a few authoritarians from the KPD establishment - though their proposals were shot down as quickly as the SPD's.
Several general proposals were pushed through. One, the call of a general strike. To rally up the workers against the resilient factory owners and capitalists - often times being behind-the-scenes Nazi financiers, the Bavarian political machine needs to be destroyed from the bottom-up. Thus, everything is to be unionized and collectivized. All areas not under workers control is to be asserted immediately, with general ways of forcing municipal governments to cave in avoiding bloodshed as much as possible to be told to the various councils all over the republic. Next, was military and police reform. In a declaration that would be given the next day, all police forces were declared as being unsupported from the government, and turned illegal - requesting that any and all police officers should turn in their weapons to the local Red Guard or municipal council. If they were not to comply, they were to be treated as a criminal and to be punished. If the police want to serve their communities valiantly, they should join the Red Guard - the police forces as they are, being nothing more than guardians of the reactionary state. On a similar subject, all political prisoners arrested under the previous government are to be given amnesty and released at once - if the local governments did not comply, punishment is to be faced. From there, educational initiatives passed removing religion being taught in school that is strictly not a historical/general overview of the teachings. In all schools, professors and faculty are to form councils to elect higher-ups , and in universities and the higher levels of secondary school, students are to take part in them as well, along with participating in district education councils as well. A universal healthcare system has also been launched, with any and all residents being able to go to hospitals and the like with no money taken from their wallets, as proposed in the Proclamation of the Munich Medical Practitioners. Along with the medical care proposed in said proclamation, was the declaration of support for homosexual and transvestite rights, and calling to an end to any 'cruel and unusual punishments' towards them, and recognize them as full citizens and not restrict any aspect that was sanctioned off to heterosexuals previously. Though debates were heated, Delegate Muhsam won the day by giving one of the most fiery speeches the men and women in the voting room had ever seen. Thus, to all the people listening on the radio universal suffrage was given to them, along with the full legality of any gender-transition surgery.
What was probably the most elaborate tango played is with the situation of the 7th Division and the soldiers' councils. Several hours into the meeting, a courier brought in news that the high-command had resigned in anger against the soldiers councils, due to efforts in the HQ, leading to a minor skirmish between the workers and soldiers versus the loyalists, leaving several injured. Preemptively, the commander and his entire staff resigned. The soldiers in the council were called to elect higher-ups, and the meeting ended, as it was unfit to continue passing laws when a good portion of your delegates need to ensure that your council will still be around. In the meantime, a proposal was drawn up tbe delivered to them, and what their position in terms of government would be. The Red Guards created by the Civil Defence Secretariat would be a separate entity from the 7th Division - only soldiers councils could lead that one, and Berlin was still to be monitoring the situation, no matter how much Munich disliked them. If Berlin was to call foul and recognize the soldiers councils as unlawful however, the Red Guards were to come to their side. It was passed by the remaining delegates and sent to the Council Congress of the 7th Division, and word got back it was not currently accepted, due to the fact no leader had been purposely put in charge but the soldiers seemed receptive to it. By the early morning, the 22 year-old Karl-Heinz Hoffmann was chosen as Chairman - young and fiery, having been arrested in multiple cases due to involvements in street fights and a KPD-turn-DAP member, he was perfect for the circumstances. As one soldier would later tell me,'the man could get an entire crowd riled up about a missing name in a telephone directory,' and I could tell. When catching up with him with him at a beer-hall with other soldiers, his eyes were blazing and his mind went at a mile a minute - one can tell why he was able to win. On the heels of his election, he instantly accepted the Council's proposal, and got onto sending a telegram to Berlin, with his name amongst the other council ranks to show who was now in charge of the 7th Division. Later that day, the Toller Cabinet and the Hoffmann Division held a long radio announcement session - talking about all the reforms that have been passed. A rally would've been held, but reports came in of a possible advance by the now invigorated occult Thule Brigade, which has become a growing menace on Munich's streets.
Within the next few days the first grand orders by the democratically elected 7th Division roared, with several major buildings previously under the control of the monarchists retaken. Alas, I could not see these daring attacks up front. After the end of the Congress I have come with a bout of illness, and only now am I able to leave my bed-ridden state. Thus, I leave you with the news I could gather and see for myself. However, no matter what Berlin and Chancellor Wels are thinking, the Bavarian Council Republic has become an important ally for keeping the Union together - and the bureaucrats of the north can only watch as they save them from the legions of fascists on the doorstep.
Chairman Ernst Toller
Ostpreussen:
Assessment of the Ostpreussen Situation - February 26, 1934 Romeo Lindström for Folkets Dagblad Politiken
Ever since stepping foot onto the Weimar-controlled territory south of our [Swedish] shores, a revolutionary environment has taken over. The news from Bavaria has been heralded amongst the forces here, ever since I unboarded from a Lithuanian steamer near the border last month. When I first arrived, it was still in the traditional officer's corps command. Checkpoints at the border had the black-red-gold around, newspapers and letters were still controlled by the censors of the HQ, and so forth. Going from town to town, it was much more libertarian than the higher-ups of the military would allow Wurfel, now Chairman of the Ostpreussen Council Federation ran everything with die-hard reformism and the radical teachings of his book at mind. Councils of the unemployed and of workers now ran the towns, especially the seat of Tilsit, easily the biggest in the area. Censorship here was nearly none, only when the right-wing began to speak, especially when endorsing Nazis and monarchists, did the newly made peasants' patrols chase them off, and arrest them. Having been able to visit one trial, it was an interesting process seeing the inner mechanisms of the government. The man arrested, a von Abend had tried to spread monarchist propaganda on a steamer in Tilsit, and an off-duty patrol, along with several civilians attacked him and arrested him, before the vessel landed back in their territory. The judge was not a man of traditional law - as I found out, in the process of removing Junkerist influence, many of the high-courts here were aligned with them, and thus law books were burned in a large bonfire in the central square, with celebrations going on around it. Though they'd die-down due to the fact that the amount of filings lasted for a few nights. The man was elected by clerks of the mayoral offices, and was highly respected as I soon found out. The government claimed he was subverting the rights of all men by trying to spread his message, and it was quickly sent to prison for a few years.
The town squares are hives of revolutionary activity. While the military censors tried their best - over the months it became harder and harder to control troop activity, and when I arrived it was already in a very lax state, as stated previously the censors did not exist in the municipalities. Thus, legions of soldiers while on leave would be able to access as much information as possible. As in much of history, cafes are particularly active. Going to one to grab food for the night, several soldiers at their table had what seemed like letters from some sort of contact in mainland Germany, and from the snippets of conversation I could hear, it seemed like they were fighting for the anarchist forces operating in the Rhine or near there. The state of morale was also another issue. Ever since the siege and retreat from Königsberg, the forces have always been getting smaller and smaller. No reinforcements would come, so every death or bullet fired was going to be one lost for eternity. With much of the officer corps being monarchists, many left, or simply died in battle. Thus, the remainder had to take up a laissez-faire, live-and-let-live approach if any morale wanted to be kept amongst the rank-and-file during the doldrums between engagements.
On that subject, everyone was prepared for any sort of battle. The tired troops as much as the couriers working for the officers of the councils. Defences - though not as grand as the ones in Berlin or Munich of course, were stationed around, and guns ready to be fired.When engagements did come, it was like clockwork. I've read reports of how the Kaiser's men mobilized so quickly at the outbreak of war in 1914, and I can't help but be reminded of this when awoken in my hotel room by the hotel manager warning me to go to the safe basements. Instead of course, I threw on my clothes and headed into the night to observe the men in action. Arsenals took up spaces in various buildings, young men kissing their mothers and wives good-bye, only seen by their silhouettes of orange candle light and the yellow glow of porch lights. Trucks and cars can forwards, one that I managed to board was a car for various officers off-duty, formerly belonging to the now abolished police force. When we arrived at the entrenchments in the various fields and forests outside of town - the further we drove the more basic the transport was. At one point I saw several men aboard horses - volleys were sent back and forth in the anarchic night. Yelling was especially one sound heard. The whistle of bullets managed to avoid me several times, though one drove right through my hat. Now ducking down with a gun I had been handed by one of the men, I made sure another one of these incidents wouldn't occur, and hopefully make it out alive. Throughout the next few hours, roars of artillery would be heard from both sides, with the underbrush shaking before us. I fired a few pot-shots, though I am nothing of a marksman - my glasses kept on sliding off of my face in vital moments, making me practically blind without the glass and metal assistants. I am bad at writing a battle scene as I myself did not know what was going on. All I can say is that I saw men fall next to me, as I hoped for the conclusion of the battle. Eventually it did come, as the sun began to rise through the trees, and the forces were routed, over a period of a few hours. Too tired to move forward with the advancing army I stayed back and went to the medical bay and commissariat locales, conversing with the staffers there. The ups-and-downs of battles could always be seen in those areas, with lack of new bodies to entire floods of them coming to the overworked doctors and nurses. Eventually, I was called to action. A soldier needed more advanced treatment as quickly as possible, and for one reason and another - I couldn't hear the orders from one of the main doctors with all the noise around us - there was a lack of ambulance drivers, and she asked if I was an experienced driver. Responding with yes, I was given the keys to a recently refurbished ambulance car, where the nurses next to me quickly got into the trunk with the stretcher in hand. Putting my foot hard onto the pedal, I was to drive to the village of Heinrichswalde where there were less overworked and skilled doctors to deal with the issues of the man in the back. Quickly driving there upon the winding country roads, trying to avoid the occasional animal positioning itself on the road, the man-and-woman pair behind me seemed frantic. The occasional turn-around saw blood spurting everywhere. Then, the engine started to act up - the vehicle didn't seem to be perfect with the uneven terrain below us. Eventually rushing into the town center, we disembarked, where several soldiers' patrols saw the ambulance and quickly escorted us to the main base of operations, in a large school house. There, a doctor of Estonian origin took the poor man under his wing and I was relieved of duty, where another man thanked me for my quick delivery and boarded the ambulance car. As the adrenalin of the last day had taken all out of me, and I proceeded to rest in the break-room, where doctors would come to and fro. The day would pass quickly, with the occasional idle conversation from the sidelines.
When I eventually did return to Tilsit the following afternoon, I checked into my hotel and would do regular tours around the central parts of town. The fighting would start spark up, but the main actions seemed to be wrapped up. When one morning I looked through my window after getting dressed, I saw giant crowds of soldiers outside, chanting. That's what woke me up after all, many waving red flags, or singing socialist anthems. Quickly getting prepared, the hallway was also filled to the brim with men in uniform. When I managed to get to the lobby, there were even more of the soldiers in the lobby and mess halls. A giant table was brought in, pamphleteers and messengers scattering around the place giving news. More men and women came into the lobby - having been earlier than this new wave, I was closer to the table. There, they proclaimed the creation of soldiers' councils, based upon the actions of the comrades in Munich, citing similar issues of a non-existent officer corps and lack of support from Berlin. When the proclamation was signed, a Patrick Muench was elected Chairman. He and over a dozen others were dressed in blue-clad uniforms - they were the remnants of the naval coastal batteries back in Konigsberg. That day, February 23 and the ones following, was a day of celebration and revolutionary activity. After the proclamation was made, we took to the streets. And even though I was tired and barely standing on my feet, I took place on the festivities of the day. Every major street had men and women celebrating, day in and day out. We sung the Internationale together - some shouts in Polish and Russian, and it showed the united front. From butchers' shops to banks, red flags were raised. Old men and children waved towards us. Democracy was created upon these streets. The steamers shot fireworks, and the trains had shouts of celebration, with members of the Communist Party of Poland even came. Over a dozen men from a brewery started handing out beer, wine, and various spirits to us passing around. I would almost lose my voice that day, yelling at the top of my lungs, as we furthered the revolution. Up and down the streets we went, many of us went into the villages over, though I was still sore and aching all over. At the locale we finished at, speech after speech was given, and by support of the comrades of the hotel I was with - several medical doctors I had acquainted with, pushed me onto the stage and I yelled out, about how this is one great step towards the destruction of the old Prussian, monarchical institutions and the rise of a new Germany, which got a response of thunderous applause. In true fashion, as the day turned into tonight, many of us celebrated by going to the various taverns run by workers' collectives. This indeed is the start of something new, and though the war may be far from over, I know for sure the monarchists will not survive this. The united front is far too strong for them, and like the parasites they are, they shall perish beneath our colossal might.
Downtown Tilsit, 1910
North Sea:
From 'Report of the Admiralty' - January 29, 1934 The Office of the Chief of the Naval Command
[...] It is a dangerous prospect to send transports to rescue the forces of the 1st Division. All major ports have been captured by the enemy monarchists, and their numbers only seem to be swelling. Naval intelligence has inconclusive reports on the size of the rebels' navy, though reports do say that the naval batteries of Konigsburg are still in working order. There are also reports that the Naval High Command is willing to enlist private citizens' vessels, which could prove as a major thorn on our side, with the citizenry being quite loyal to the rebel government. They have created militia forces as well, so any naval presence would be report instantaneously. If we were to land our vessels close to the 1st Division - which is impossible, due to the fact that they are nearly 30 miles away from the coast, and our river-crossing vessels could not take troops fast enough to be noticed, we'd need the support of the army, which seems to be over-burdened as is. The other choice is taking the socialist volunteers that have come from abroad, but morale is already low, and we do not instigators being the saviors or fellows of any of our men. [...]
Letter to Stephanie Schuhmacher - February 4, 1934 Patrick Mauer
Dearest Stephanie,
This telegraph could get me in deep trouble, but alas I feel like I must write this. News has been given to us at the latest officers meeting in Kiel about the course of action involving any actions to be taken about our comrades in Ostpreussen and about rescuing them from the trap they're in. For months now telegram after telegram has come to Berlin and the various naval command posts requesting help. As I told you before, the one I received from an acquaintance there very much startled me, and I gave it to my superior, but nothing has come out of it. No remorse is showing from their faces. And today, it was announcement from said superior that no actions will be taken in order to save those soldiers during the duration of the war. I was outraged, and expressed my position to the commander and my fellows. Immediately, I was laughed out of the room, and I have been in my bunk since - completely avoiding them. They're all just petty princes anyways - never ones to understand the struggles of the working classes. Though, our duty was to inform our men, and they shared the same disappointment I did. Boos and cries were given when delivering it to them during our meet, and I clearly expressed my opinions during their chorus. I recounted my stories about being forced out of the room by my fellows' jeering, and they applauded me. It seems amazing how even at my rank, there is no mobility or feeling for our brothers-in-arms. One can hope things will change soon enough. Whether at the high command or rank-and-file.
Yours truly,
Pat
The Bourgeoisie In Their High-Tower - February 1934 'Comrade Benschop'
Servicemen! Rise to your posts and self-realization! The war we find ourselves in is not a result of us, but instead of the men in their high-towers, strings in hand, commandeering every aspect of our lives. Eventually, when the proletarians started questioning this command, they were taken aback, and send their legions forth to attack us. We are the main defence line of the birth of a new era, and the death of the old institutions. Yet, our higher-ups and bosses often seem not to understand that. Instead they also retreat to their own towers. Instead of the brown and greys of the monarchists and Nazis, they instead paint it with light shades of red, trying to fool us. The united front and solidarity we want, they refuse. They call us 'agitators' and 'instigators' but we are not! We are purveyors of the truth and of necessity! All we want to do is promote what is right, and what is needed. And of course, they fear us. Actions are not being taken to save and support the comrades of the 1st Division - trapped in their hell of the plains of Ostpreussen. Already, they have had to deal with the ills of their environment. Both the 'social reactionaries' of the officer corps, but ones who do not care about being opaque and put forth their arms and bullets against them. In Munich, we see this self-realization. Our comrades have risen up, and established dominance over the old system. They have not mastered it - instead they destroyed it to rubble, and a phoenix has risen from it. These inactions are not protecting us! They are trying to rip apart our identity - the united front! We must look at the birth of revolution of Munich, and the failures before it and learn immediately. This cannot last!
The Creation of A Gunners Council - February 1934 Anonymous Letter Aboard the SMS Schleswig-Holstein
Comrades!
If you have received this letter, you are among the gunning crews of our dear Schleswig-Holstein. Even if our officers want to prevent our ears from hearing, we all know what our comrades in Munich and Ostpreussen are doing. We've all seen the red booklets during our breaks, whether aboard the ship or in the main town. The workers' councils there desperately want us to establish our own, and I think it's time. It has been time, if anything. A new path has been paved for us, and the officer corps won't do anything for us. I hear from some contacts, that the reason why we haven't seen the transport fleet to Prussia is because they're socialists, and we'll leave the navy! Can we let some incompetence rule over us? I do not think so. Weimar democracy is our democracy, and we will change it for the better. Please consider coming to the first meet outside of Melsdorf this Saturday.
A NEW PROLETARIAN FLEET - February 28, 1934 Telegram from M-82 to various naval offices and ships
Arise sailors of the working classes! The officers above us are nothing but lackeys of the ruling classes - perpetrators of the settings of the yokes around our necks! In doing so they do give up on their jobs in exchange for security in their palaces of marble, while the average man continues to live in his squalor the capitalist claims is meant for them! In this case, it manifests itself as abandoning saving our comrades in East Prussia, as the High Command sees are agitators and nothing more! Thus, pulling out of the port of Kiel are transport ships, valiantly taken over by sailors councils, setting their destination for our soldiers! Accompanying them is a cadre of other ships, filled with the revolutionary spirit. We hope the rest of the fleet will soon follow, raising their red flag in victory. For the officers and their men in uniform and servitude - join us in this new era! The revolution will come, and a united front will show the bright path!
From 'A History of the North Sea Revolts' - 1943 Luca Engel
It was that moment, at the telegram operators' desk that I realized what I had to do. I re-read the message constantly, making sure that I was sane during this procedure. Thus, I sent out the same message to every post and ship acting as subordinates of the Wilhelmshaven offices. I knew my boss would be coming soon - an old fellow, operating within railways during the Franco-Prussian War, worked for the Railroad Department during the Great War, and was taught in the Prusso-conservative ways of his Junker cohorts. He'd have on his old uniform, with medals and a nametag, with his pistol...thus, I convinced my co-workers in the other rooms to join in this new Council Spring. We overran room from room, taking the higher-ups and bosses prisoners. It was the middle of the night as we started, and as the few sprinkles of sunlight shone through the window, a comrade - his silhouette anonymous, replaced the black-red-gold with a solid red flag. A few soldiers who joined us shot their guns into the air as we saw this heroic action. [...]
From 'Red Wilhelmshaven: Memories of 1933-1936' - 1949 Monika Bergmann
It was late at night, after writing a set of manuscripts for the day when the news was delivered to me by one of the other council members. With her was a crumpled piece of paper, reading the proclamation from the M82, we knew that both of us had to get to port as soon as possible. Loading into the car that she took here, we braised at the highest speeds possible to witness this once-in-a-lifetime moment. When driving to the military port from where we were in the southern parts of the city, large booms could be heard. The windows stood no chance to prevent those maddening explosions from entering our ears. As we drove closer, bright lights seemed to come from the shoreline - along with what seemed like embers. Faster, we drew closer. Wails could be heard now, the booming was constant, and we could clearly tell fires were ripping through everything. In the distance, we could see various naval ships pitted against each other in an armed struggle. As we carefully drove around, the shadows of soldiers and guns could be seen. We camped out nearby for the entire night, filling page after page of our journals with the events happening. Storefronts and homes had evacuees leaving as quickly as possible. With the battle scene expanding, we decided to rush up onto the roof of a butchery and store. By the morning, we could see the death and destruction before us. Yet, having gone through a sleepless night, we were relieved and excited to see that there were red flags hanging over the vessels in the harbor. [...]
From 'Sailor's Log' - February 28, 1934 Uwe Wirth
[...] As the fleet was leaving port, we paused a while outside of it. Confused, I asked around, and the sailors there were as clueless as me. So, we all went to the sides of the ship to observe the sudden lack of momentum. There, we saw several giant flares go up into the air. Warning shots from some sort of battery or loyal ship there. For several minutes, we simply were quiet. We should've expected it - we all knew it by that moment. Our ship was taken over easily due to a captain already on the verge of retirement, and strong socialist leanings amongst the rank-and-file. A gunner was given orders to send out another warning shot. Another millennia of silence. I turned around for a bit, as a comrade was alerting me to something - quickly going below-deck. At that moment, a huge whistle went off, and I was blown to the floor. I was in a bad way - quickly losing vision, and dizzy as well, but I pressed forwards. My comrade disappeared, before another boom went off, followed by several more. By this point I couldn't tell which could've been ours or the reactionaries. I was running around then, when a tenth boom flew me to the floor again. A man dragged me into a room, where I forced myself to stand again. It was roomy - a former officer's cabin, with a dozen men there, in sharp debate, huddled about the room's desk. There, was the creation of the M-82 Proclamation. [...]
The Red Banner Freely in Kiel - 1961 Syndicalist Institute of Kiel
In the space of 72 hours, the proletarian rank-and-file of the navy has risen up, major newspapers resigned to socialists brethren to run them, and workers and sailors councils have combined forces to establish a new, recognized revolutionary government. It all started with the navy of course, where the battles of workers' liberation have been fought for centuries. Once the Civil War began, the navy stood still, besides more internal coups carried out by Berlin. Originally to take out the reactionary forces, the conversation High Command had started to overreach and started getting rid of more socialist-leaning officers. Under the covert safety of the darkness, and inspired by their comrades in East Prussia and Munich, the sailors of the North Sea began forming sailors councils. Though unlike the ones elsewhere, whose purposes were both revolutionary and non, this was exclusively revolutionary. Contacts on the main shores started printing out leaflets - handed about to get new members of the red chorus. The occasional sailor was sent away to prison, but the mix of those being few and far between, and the sad success of the military censors - the strongest in the naval ranks - prevented this from inciting much action. Yet they grew in scope, as the sailors - both revolutionary and reactionary alike were curious about the saving of their East Prussian comrades. This was rejected. As files later leaked, and spread amongst the crews, there were fears of a socialist uprising when interacting with them, thus it was shunned. From there, this caused uproar, and a plan was hatched - time for revolution.
Thus, on the late night of February 28th, all vessels in Kiel's port had sailors revolt. Most ended in major success, with other sailors being drawn into it, with captains and officers captured, or surrendered. Out of these, the bloodiest occurrence was aboard a torpedo boat, ending with the deaths of 4 comrades, who were given a funeral of full honors two days later. Yet, several ships remained staunchly in the hands of reactionaries. But, an odd period of peace was in place. 7/8ths of the fleet had red banners risen, and transport ships pulled out of harbor to rescue the comrades in the exclave. No one knew what was fully going on, and so peace resisted in such times. That was before, several warning shots were fired by a loyalist section of the harbor. Which was responded by warning shots from the leaving fleet. No one knows who fired first, but soon real shots were attacking each other's broadsides. Several vessels returned in quick haste to the shoreline, where raiding parties were unboarded and sent to loyalist batteries and ships. By the morning, the entire harbor area was under the control of the red guard. By now, sailors were marching on the town-square, with all the city's worker's councils. The March of Kiel was quick, and effective. In two days, all major publishing houses were occupied, and the mayoral government was replaced with various councils.
In Bremen and Hamburg, along with every other major North Sea port, similar events occurred. In Cuxhaven, it was the council of the unemployed who took control quickly, with the armed support of the sailors. From there, a band of fishermen and sailors seized a pleasure yacht from a baron who lived outside the city, and commandeered it to Heligoland, going to the mayor's home, delivering the various demands, which were given into. Afterwards, they paraded down the main avenue, who celebrated with spirits, quality tobacco, and shots fired up into the air. Within two hours after the festivities, the men left with the Heligoland Syndicate created - with only one injury, in the process of creation from a drunken celebrator who fell onto the concrete. Bremen had trade unions quickly established dominance - with a combined coalition of trade union councils replacing the local government there. The police forces in large swaths joined the reactionary SA and their offshoots around the country - and soon the battles of the Northern Germany were fought between sailors and police, along with their allies. The army was stretched too thin to deal with the situation, and weak cries for peace from Berlin couldn't do much. Yet, they were able to keep the army from rebelling. As stated previously, the councils in the army could be considered non-revolutionary, and many in the army played it safe and avoided revolution. Along with that, no councils were created in Berlin or the Oder front. The government had too much influence is such close proximity, thus they could re-supply the men with new officers. Thus, an elaborate system of enemies of allies was created in 1934, that'd last throughout the rest of the Civil War - equal to the Bismarckian system, only this time he'd be quite ashamed of what his countrymen made.
Was gender transition surgery a thing in the '30s? I hadn't thought that the procedures had been invented yet. Good on them for it, regardless.
I'm curious just how much this is an expansion of the civil war versus this being over enthusiastic comrades having enough of their cowardly superiors. Have the communists actually declared war on the republic, or do they still believe that at the end of the day they're still part of the republic and that they'll be peacefully (or mostly peacefully) reforming after the war? It seems like the latter is much more the case in Bavaria while the former is the case in the navy and the situation in East Prussia is too much in the air for anything other than survival to be a concern.
This is looking increasingly chaotic and I wonder how much military effectiveness is being affected by all those meetings and purges.
Also from the notes there is a socialist/Communist element until at least 36 in some areas and the reference to a Syndicalist Institute of Kiel in 1961 suggests it could be lasting far longer.
I wonder how assorted neighbours are taking all those developments? In the south has Mussolini offered any support to the fascists - presumably with assorted strings. In the east I'm not sure who would worry the Polish governmebt more, junkers and Nazi, democrats or communists. Ditto with France and Belgium in the west.
The hopes of the Moscow line in Berlin was destroyed by the creation of the DAP - commissars from either aisle are not experiencing much support anymore.
Was gender transition surgery a thing in the '30s? I hadn't thought that the procedures had been invented yet. Good on them for it, regardless.
I'm curious just how much this is an expansion of the civil war versus this being over enthusiastic comrades having enough of their cowardly superiors. Have the communists actually declared war on the republic, or do they still believe that at the end of the day they're still part of the republic and that they'll be peacefully (or mostly peacefully) reforming after the war? It seems like the latter is much more the case in Bavaria while the former is the case in the navy and the situation in East Prussia is too much in the air for anything other than survival to be a concern.
Germany, and more specifically Berlin was the trans capital of the world during the 20s and 30s (well, until the Nazis took hold, ofc). Several successful surgeries during that period did occur. Erich Muhsam in OTL had been in favor of gay rights since even before WW1. Though he did distance himself away from a pamphlet he released on it, some speculate he was closeted himself. *shrugs*
The communists and anarchists don't have any sort of central leadership - thus they can't really declare war on the Weimar Republic. Though, as you state, most still want to live under the Republic's helm. The Bavarian Council Republic was simply replacing the old Bavarian government - calls for independence haven't really been heeded to. All new governments have been at the local level - and amongst the various organizations, they do see the use of the Republic. Chancellor Wels himself was a more leftist member of the SPD - having called a general strike in 1920 to kick out the not-so-socdem-socdem leadership. Though, it all really depends on the area and such. East Prussia's deal is basically "I need to survive plz" as you stated. The peasant's councils only arose due to the situation they found themselves in. Munich is on the "live under Weimar" ideal as stated, though the successionist tendecies are there, but no very influential. What's more influential is Muhsam's idea of several autonomous republics within a Council Confederation he proposed back in the days of the revolution of 1918-19. The sailors are the most radical bunch, but that's just the effect of the really reactionary high command they had. The old Navy Chief - Erich Raeder - had participated in 3 monarchist conspiracies before taking office in 28, and the High Command was still more conservative than the army. Hammerstein-Equord was a conservative, but was loyal to the Weimar democracy and was disinterested in any coups. So of course, the navy - already a hotbed of revolutionary activity, is not going to particularly respect the reactionary High Command.
This is looking increasingly chaotic and I wonder how much military effectiveness is being affected by all those meetings and purges.
Also from the notes there is a socialist/Communist element until at least 36 in some areas and the reference to a Syndicalist Institute of Kiel in 1961 suggests it could be lasting far longer.
I wonder how assorted neighbours are taking all those developments? In the south has Mussolini offered any support to the fascists - presumably with assorted strings. In the east I'm not sure who would worry the Polish governmebt more, junkers and Nazi, democrats or communists. Ditto with France and Belgium in the west.
With the birth of the councils, there is a morale boost, having elected one's fellows to superior positions. This is really only for the army, as the navy is taking a, uh, offbreak for the time being. This goes back the "not necessarily revolutionary" and "total revolutionary" divide. The navy hasn't had large sections of the officer corps killed off in battle. With the purges, there is a similar army-navy split. Taking out reactionaries in the army and replacing them with others - even if they are unpopular appointments, they're still better than having Nazis. The navy, as previously stated, had a way more reactionary High Command, and starts striking socialists, which really does start taking quite the toll.
And yes, anarchist, socialist, and communist elements will kick around for a while - when the footmen of the military starts supporting councils, along with tons of municipal governments switching over to revolutionary activity, it will not disappear in a flash.
Poland and the Czechs will play an important role soon enough, but I rather not spoil much. Though, the Junket-Nazi alliance will influence policy soon enough. Belgium and France look warily on, but as we'll see some point in the future the French will see some opportunity. But in terms of Mussolini - this war is truly international. Besides the influx of socialist volunteers, the fascists will field their own support - again, we'll see soon.
