Working on a deal

[Douglas Jr.]

Originally Posted by Ron Smith

In 1919 General Hans von Seekt a very charismatic and highly respected General managed to get control of the chaos. He began to dissolve the Freikorps units organizing them into a 100,000 man Reichswehr.

Later circa 1920-21 the Allied Commission mandated that it be reduced to 10,000 men. von Seekt complied by discharging all but the most experienced and battle hardened NCOs, known as "The Army of Sergeants".

In fact, between the Armistice in November, 1918 and the Treaty of Versailles, in June 28th, 1919, the Germans expected to preserve a larger force, something like a 500,000 strong army. However, the Treaty limited the Army to a 100,000 men force, and allowed 10,000 to the now called Reichsmarine (with only was able to retain four old pre-Dreadnought battleships and a few costal defense units). No Air Force was allowed, as well as tanks and submarines. Hence the decision to have a highly trained cadre in order to allow a fast rearmament in the near future (as happened after 1935).

In such scenario, the government turned to the Freikorps, as a unofficial and non governmental militias to help them to fight agains the Commies, the Poles, Czechs and Red Russians, during the border clashes that ocurred between 1918-1923.

But, as you said, some Freikorps units had their own political agenda and stagged a few coups attempts agains the fragile Weimar Repulic, such as the Kapp-Luttwitz Putsch in 1920 and the infamous nazi Beer Putsch in 1923.

Besides that, it is interesting to note that the Police units role during this timeframe is often overlooked. Although the size of the German Armed Forces was strictly controlled by the Allies, they didn't bother at all to set a limit to the Polizei units. By alocating WWI veterans and other volunteers to the police units, Germany kept another source for trained reserve of soldiers.

Osprey Publishing has a reasonable book about the Freikorps, that, although a fast reading, is both cheap and fully available: http://www.ospreypublishing.com/stor...9781841761848/


Regards,

Douglas

[Don M]

Ron, you may well be right but the Frw. seems more lightly struck than the 1. The depth of the 1 looks more like the unbuffed parts of the preceding characters.

I also just realized that the last part of the marking is R.a.1. and not Ra.1. Of course, I have no idea what either of them means.

[Ron Smith]

Douglas,

You are correct. I was depending on memory, and had too many numbers going through my head. At the time of the reduction mandated by the Allied Commission, the Provisional Reichswehr had approx. 400,000 personnel. By 1924 the official reported strength of the Reichswehr was 99,086. (Ref: "The Reichswehr and the German Republic 1919-1926" by Harold Gordon).

Thanks for the correction...

Ron

[Ron Smith]

Don,

I'm not certain of the translation for R.a. either. The only Freiwilligen unit that correlates is the one I posted. As I said, it could be an Austrian Freiwilligen unit also, and R.a. could have an altogether different translation.

I am convinced that Frw can only be "Freiwilligen".

Ron

[Dwight Gruber]

Originally Posted by Douglas Jr.

...Besides that, it is interesting to note that the Police units role during this timeframe is often overlooked. Although the size of the German Armed Forces was strictly controlled by the Allies, they didn't bother at all to set a limit to the Polizei units. By alocating WWI veterans and other volunteers to the police units, Germany kept another source for trained reserve of soldiers.

The police were limited to increases in proportion to their local population increase since 1913.

Of course they scammed ways around it.

--Dwight

[C.Brown]

I have examined this piece and there is no evidence of scrubbing any part of the marking; it appears to have been struck all at one. Proposed solution:
Grenadier Regiment 4, 1st Volunteer company Rastenburg, weapon number 1 within the company.
GR 4 was garrisoned at Rastenburg.
The first Fw. units were raised ca. 15 Nov 1918 and by 1920 were dissolved or absorbed into the Reichswehr. The marking was probably applied within that time span.
This probably an improvised marking following the pattern of regulation markings in the format regimental number, company/squadron/battery number, weapon number.
There are at least four post-WWI histories of GR 4 covering the WWI period, none of which I have. Perhaps there is some reference to the Fw. company or companies in one of them.

[Curly1]

Guess the deal never went thru for the OP.