Mediterranean hegemon

"What, the extremists launched an armed riot and occupied Munich, and also established a revolutionary government?" Faced with the report that rushed into the office, Hans von... Sickert put down the pen he was reviewing official documents and sighed, "Are the Bolsheviks making trouble again?"

At this moment, his mind was filled with memories of the November Revolution in Bavaria in 1919, which was suppressed only by the dispatch of regular troops.

But the answer was obviously somewhat unexpected: "Sir, it's not the Bolsheviks, this time it's the National Socialist Workers' Party."

"The National Socialists?" Sickert finally recalled. "Their leader is a Bohemian corporal?"

"That's right! Adolf Hitler, a former army corporal, is the leader of their party. Now he claims to be the Prime Minister of the Munich Provisional Government. With him is General Ludendorff."

"Ludendorff?" Sickert raised his brows, obviously a little surprised to hear this name again. "He was also involved? Is he the pseudo-Minister of Defense or Chief of General Staff?"

"No, neither...it's the chief advisor."

"A Bohemian corporal commanding a general? Don't you think this is ridiculous?"

"This is not ridiculous at all, sir. General Ludendorff only has historical prestige and reputation. No unit has sworn allegiance to him, and the main force of the Munich riots were all National Socialist Party members, including the notorious SA... ..." His staff shrugged, "Of course a corporal cannot command a general, but a corporal with thousands of subordinates can command an unarmed general with no soldiers! Besides, who knows if the general exists! To take advantage of the other person’s thoughts?”

Ludendorff's involvement in the Beer Hall Coup was obviously a tragedy. He originally thought that with his own prestige and influence, he would become the head of the government after the National Socialist Party uprising, but he never thought about it. Hitler only wanted to cooperate with him. Taking advantage of his reputation, he would not really hand over power to him. On the day of the riot, when Ludendorff persuaded the Munich police and gendarmes to lay down their weapons but were rejected by the other parties. In the end, it was Göring's commandos that solved the problem. Hitler told Ludendorff Dendorff also lost confidence in his authority.

He finally understood that with the nature of the Germans, a well-known general would be easier to gain support than a mediocre general, but if such a well-known general has retired, then I'm sorry, with discipline and obedience Sexually famous Germans will selectively ignore it - it is difficult for Germans to cultivate warlords with this kind of spirit. Just as the anti-democratic Weimar Defense Forces have always been loyal to the Weimar government and are full of the German understanding of "dedication to duty", The Austrian learned a vivid lesson here, so in the end he dismissed Ludendorff with a chief adviser.

"What are the police and gendarmes in Munich doing? They can't even deal with those Freikorps who only have broken guns and wooden sticks?"

"No, Your Excellency, you underestimated the scale of the Munich riots and the strength of the conspirators. They dispatched trucks, machine guns and infantry with live ammunition to destroy the defense lines built by the police and military police... Their firepower was very fierce, and the number of casualties on the scene exceeded 100, there was a river of blood at the door of the city hall..."

"Such a powerful capability? Machine guns? Where did the rioters get machine guns? Are the French causing trouble with us?" Sickert was worried. He deployed the main force of 100,000 Weimar Wehrmacht troops near the Ruhr area to prevent the current occupation of the Ruhr area. There was a conflict between the Franco-Belgian troops in the Seoul area and the people in the occupied areas. Unexpectedly, a fire broke out in the backyard, and chaos broke out in Munich first.

"Judging from the description, the machine guns are obviously French Hotchkiss, with more than five in number, but it is still unclear whether they are from the French..." the staff officer added, "The thugs also have a large number of submachine guns. They are all MP-18, and they are very lethal.”

While he was talking, Weimar German President Albert, a socialist, called and asked politely: "Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief, are you aware of the news of the rebellion in Munich?"

"We just received the intelligence and are learning the specific information in detail."

"I authorize you to put down the rebellion as soon as possible. At present, Germany cannot withstand another major setback. The official document will be sent to you in half an hour."

"I understand, Mr. President, I will send troops as soon as possible."

"Okay, how many rioters are there?" Sickert said, "The president has ordered a suppression, and I have to send troops."

"About 3-4 thousand people."

"Okay, immediately transfer a battalion from the Defense Force and appropriately strengthen the cavalry and machine gun troops, and then rush to Munich to counter the rebellion."

"No! Sir, I don't think one battalion can achieve our goal."

"No?" Sickert frowned, "Are you doubting the strength of the army? A reinforced battalion of more than 1,000 people can't deal with a ragtag group of only 3-4,000 people?"

"It is true that there were only 3-4 thousand rioters, but there are two significant follow-up situations that must be paid attention to: First, a large number of right-wing elements dissatisfied with the current regime went south to Munich, clamoring to take the lead in forming a Bavarian revolutionary regime with armed The membership of the National Socialist Party could soon swell to more than 10,000; secondly, after the National Socialist Party took control of Munich, they seized all police and gendarmerie equipment, opened the local arsenal, and obtained a lot of guns and ammunition, although they were all It is a light weapon, but its lethality cannot be underestimated... From a prudent point of view, it is always good to prepare more troops, otherwise it will cause unnecessary trouble if the casualties are too large. "

As for the so-called right-wing elements who are dissatisfied with the current regime, Seeckt knew who they were at a glance: the majority were nationalists who were strongly dissatisfied with the Weimar government's weak attitude during the Ruhr crisis and its fear of resistance. In addition, there were the middle class who were impoverished by the economic collapse. They cursed the Weimar government and said it should go to hell. Now that someone stood up to fight, they would of course give enthusiastic support.

"And..." Seeing the staff's hesitation, Seeckt realized that the other party still had something to say, so he said, "Speak up, what's so vague?"

"If you only send a reinforced battalion, will President Ebert think that you are not performing your mission well and are condoning the rioters in disguise? And then doubt the loyalty and reliability of the defense forces?"

Seeckt shook his head helplessly: "This is damn politics! Well, let the Berlin Garrison Regiment go to quell the rebellion."

"Will the garrison go together?"

"No need, we have to keep people to worry about the situation in Berlin. Who knows if there are other conspirators who will make trouble when their brains are hot?"

The Berlin Garrison Regiment is the predecessor of the Great German Division. Although it only has one regiment, its armed forces are extremely powerful. In addition to the strong support of the Weimar government and Seeckt's painstaking management, it is also related to the fact that the regiment is composed of elite troops that survived World War I. The ordinary soldiers of the regiment are majors of various troops during World War I. You can imagine how powerful their combat effectiveness is.

In addition to the Berlin Garrison, Seeckt's Defence Force Headquarters Garrison was also a capable force, consisting of a company of elite soldiers from each of the only seven divisions of the Defence Force, used to guard key agencies.

"After arriving in Munich, we will have three days to solve the problem, but don't kill people indiscriminately. The backbone of the conspirators must be brought to justice and publicly tried, otherwise there will be a steady stream of successors!"

"What about General Ludendorff?"

Seeckt sighed, and finally made up his mind: "Since he is not deeply involved and has no high-ranking position, just treat him as being deceived and let him leave on his own..."