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German Uniforms, Insignia & Equipment 1918-1923
Author: Charles Woolley
Publisher: Schiffer Books
Review by Steven Weakley
This is the first of two volumes from Schiffer Books that will cover the uniforms, insignia and equipment of the various military factions vying for control of Germany during the period of late 1918 through 1934 which ended with the ascension of Hitler to Germany’s total control. These factions consisted of the defeated Imperial Army, the Provisional Reichswehr, the Spartakus (Communist Revolutionary Army), the Red Volksmarine Division, the Freikorps, the Reichsmarine, the Stahlhelm, the S.A., the Hitler Youth and other para-military units.
In the immediate aftermath of World War I, Germany was being torn apart by the many factions who fought one another to gain control of the government after the signing of the Versailles Treaty and the dismantlement of the German Army. With the increasing success of the communist takeover of Russia, others with the same beliefs (the Spartakus Communist Revolutionary Army and the Red Volksmarine) within Germany saw this as an opportunity to completely makeover Germany based on the same principles as the newly created Soviet state. Others inside Germany (the Provisional Reichswehr, the Freikorps, the Reichsmarine, the Stahlhelm, and later the S.A. and Hitler Youth) fought to prevent the bolshevization of the country and massive street fighting in various parts of Germany took place during the immediate aftermath of the war.
In 1919, general elections were held with the moderates winning an 80% majority of the vote and with it the establishment of the Weimar Republic and a new German constitution. The new president of Germany, Friedrich Ebert, in order to ensure that his newly formed government maintained control over the country, cut a deal with the new head of the German Army, General Wilhelm Groener, that the government would not attempt to reform the army so long as the army swore to protect the state. This would be more or less the state of things in Germany over the next 14 years with fighting still going on between the left and right wing factions. By 1934, the communists had been beaten and the Nazi’s were in power and the various right wing paramilitary organizations had been incorporated almost entirely into Hitler’s S.A.
Also at this time, the restructuring of the Imperial German Army was taking place as called for by the Treaty of Versailles. The treaty allowed for an army of only 100,000 men and no offensive weapons of any sort. This restriction on the German Army was in turn used by the Germans to more or less create a 100,000 member officer corps which would lead German forces in the next war.
By the beginning of 1919, the Reichswehr although still utilizing both the 1910 and 1915 pattern uniforms began to receive newly designed uniforms while the various Freikorps units were issued leftover wartime ment and uniforms. Unlike the professional army with their official uniform regulations, the many volunteer Freikorps units created a multitude of collar, sleeve and breast badges to distinguish themselves. As these types of creations were relatively short-lived, there is not a wealth of printed material on their design, materials, colors, etc. with the majority of what is known coming from photographic sources of the insignia being worn in the field so subsequently, surviving examples are rather rare.
Unlike other Schiffer books which are typically divided into various chapters with text describing that particular chapter, this book is above all a picture book, loaded with 184 pages of some of the most amazing pictures from post World War 1 Germany. Since all of these various factions were fighting for control of Germany, practically all of the photos were taken in the streets of the various cities during the street fighting. While some of the street scenes are posed, many are of the combatants either manning barricades, standing beside all types of makeshift armored cars, captured armored cars from Russia, Britain, Austria, artillery pieces, at least one German A7V, two captured British Mark IV tanks and even a British Whippet tank, all pressed into service by both sides for their battles. Although this book does not have a lot of text as far as reading goes, the images have extensive captions describing the images, weapons, uniforms, vehicles and various unit insignia.
Also included within are about a dozen Moritz Ruhl and Uniformkunde color plates created at the time to document the postwar Reichswehr showing their uniforms, collar and shoulder insignia, hat cockades, sword portepees, etc. Another interesting thing about this book is the many photos of members of these various groups who will later become infamous as leaders under the Third Reich. This is a great book about a little known era of German history and will make a great reference book of figure and vignette ideas.
Author: Charles Woolley
Publisher: Schiffer Books
Review by Steven Weakley
This is the first of two volumes from Schiffer Books that will cover the uniforms, insignia and equipment of the various military factions vying for control of Germany during the period of late 1918 through 1934 which ended with the ascension of Hitler to Germany’s total control. These factions consisted of the defeated Imperial Army, the Provisional Reichswehr, the Spartakus (Communist Revolutionary Army), the Red Volksmarine Division, the Freikorps, the Reichsmarine, the Stahlhelm, the S.A., the Hitler Youth and other para-military units.
In the immediate aftermath of World War I, Germany was being torn apart by the many factions who fought one another to gain control of the government after the signing of the Versailles Treaty and the dismantlement of the German Army. With the increasing success of the communist takeover of Russia, others with the same beliefs (the Spartakus Communist Revolutionary Army and the Red Volksmarine) within Germany saw this as an opportunity to completely makeover Germany based on the same principles as the newly created Soviet state. Others inside Germany (the Provisional Reichswehr, the Freikorps, the Reichsmarine, the Stahlhelm, and later the S.A. and Hitler Youth) fought to prevent the bolshevization of the country and massive street fighting in various parts of Germany took place during the immediate aftermath of the war.
In 1919, general elections were held with the moderates winning an 80% majority of the vote and with it the establishment of the Weimar Republic and a new German constitution. The new president of Germany, Friedrich Ebert, in order to ensure that his newly formed government maintained control over the country, cut a deal with the new head of the German Army, General Wilhelm Groener, that the government would not attempt to reform the army so long as the army swore to protect the state. This would be more or less the state of things in Germany over the next 14 years with fighting still going on between the left and right wing factions. By 1934, the communists had been beaten and the Nazi’s were in power and the various right wing paramilitary organizations had been incorporated almost entirely into Hitler’s S.A.
Also at this time, the restructuring of the Imperial German Army was taking place as called for by the Treaty of Versailles. The treaty allowed for an army of only 100,000 men and no offensive weapons of any sort. This restriction on the German Army was in turn used by the Germans to more or less create a 100,000 member officer corps which would lead German forces in the next war.
By the beginning of 1919, the Reichswehr although still utilizing both the 1910 and 1915 pattern uniforms began to receive newly designed uniforms while the various Freikorps units were issued leftover wartime ment and uniforms. Unlike the professional army with their official uniform regulations, the many volunteer Freikorps units created a multitude of collar, sleeve and breast badges to distinguish themselves. As these types of creations were relatively short-lived, there is not a wealth of printed material on their design, materials, colors, etc. with the majority of what is known coming from photographic sources of the insignia being worn in the field so subsequently, surviving examples are rather rare.
Unlike other Schiffer books which are typically divided into various chapters with text describing that particular chapter, this book is above all a picture book, loaded with 184 pages of some of the most amazing pictures from post World War 1 Germany. Since all of these various factions were fighting for control of Germany, practically all of the photos were taken in the streets of the various cities during the street fighting. While some of the street scenes are posed, many are of the combatants either manning barricades, standing beside all types of makeshift armored cars, captured armored cars from Russia, Britain, Austria, artillery pieces, at least one German A7V, two captured British Mark IV tanks and even a British Whippet tank, all pressed into service by both sides for their battles. Although this book does not have a lot of text as far as reading goes, the images have extensive captions describing the images, weapons, uniforms, vehicles and various unit insignia.
Also included within are about a dozen Moritz Ruhl and Uniformkunde color plates created at the time to document the postwar Reichswehr showing their uniforms, collar and shoulder insignia, hat cockades, sword portepees, etc. Another interesting thing about this book is the many photos of members of these various groups who will later become infamous as leaders under the Third Reich. This is a great book about a little known era of German history and will make a great reference book of figure and vignette ideas.
