The Second Reich, the current Weimar Republic, and even the unborn Third Reich all shared one thing in common: they were ruled by military men.
If countries like Britain, the United States, and others were controlled by powerful capitalists and international conglomerates, then Germany was a nation disguised as an army. In this country, everything served the military, and the privileges of the armed forces exceeded even those of domestic capitalists.
This distinction explained why, during World War I and World War II, the United States, Britain, and other nations fought so desperately against Germany, even at the cost of massive casualties. For international capitalists, the fact that the British Empire—"the empire on which the sun never sets"—and the United States could endure losses was irrelevant. Capital had no borders. Wealthy elites could simply move their assets, retreat to the United States, and continue to exert influence from afar.
But once Germany achieved victory, the dynamic would shift entirely. The army would take precedence over capitalist interests—a scenario the international financiers could not tolerate. For this reason, like the red woolly bear to communists, Germany remained a target in the eyes of global capitalists: a nation that must be watched, contained, and suppressed.
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Immediately after receiving Field Marshal Hindenburg's orders, the German military moved into action. Although the army had just undergone large-scale disarmament, it still numbered over 100,000. Around Hamburg alone, 400,000 German troops were stationed. Historically, pressure from the Allies forced the army's final reduction in 1920 to just 100,000 men in the newly designated Weimar Defense Army.
To quell unrest in Bavaria, Hindenburg appointed General Seckert as commander-in-chief of the operation. Seckert immediately dispatched a train south, recognizing the urgency of the situation. He contacted a cavalry unit of the Third Army, stationed in Nuremberg for repairs, ordering them to move into Bavaria without delay.
Seckert understood that the cavalry unit was understrength and ill-equipped to fully suppress unrest. That was not his goal. The mission was to make the German army's presence felt in Bavaria as quickly as possible—to shake the confidence of local royalists and of General Ruprecht himself.
Born in 1866, Seckert likely had no knowledge of blitzkrieg tactics, but his approach mirrored the principles of rapid, decisive action that later generations would call a blitzkrieg. The difference was that he commanded a slow cavalry unit rather than mechanized armor. If he had possessed the proper tools, history might have credited him with inventing the tactic, rather than Guderian.
Mainz, observing the old generals at work, was deeply impressed. The veterans of the Prussian era were far from ordinary soldiers; they were a force of discipline and efficiency.
"Colonel Mainz," Seckert instructed, "your task is to lead the 1st Guards Corps to the German-Austrian border and take control of the town of Rosenheim."
Mainz's brow furrowed as he considered the location. Something about it felt off.
"General, what do you mean?" he asked, sensing there was more to the assignment.
Seckert's gaze held a weighty message. Mainz understood immediately. In August 1919, the only issue that could involve Austria was the German-Austrian question.
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At the end of October 1918, ethnic regions of the Austro-Hungarian Empire declared independence, effectively dissolving the dual monarchy. On November 3, Austria-Hungary and the Allies reached a cease-fire, and by November 11, the war officially ended with the expulsion of Emperor Karl I and the collapse of Austria's monarchy.
The disintegration of Austria-Hungary caused turmoil across the region. The principle of national self-determination, promoted by the United States, encouraged rising independence movements. Many ethnic groups sought alignment with their "mother country."
Austria, historically connected to Germany, now saw an opportunity. Had Prussia not defeated them centuries before, they might have established the German Empire themselves. With Austria-Hungary dissolved, German-speaking populations in Austria began expressing willingness to join the Weimar Republic.
In October 1918, even before the war formally ended, German-speaking deputies of the Austro-Hungarian Parliament convened in Vienna and proclaimed the German-speaking regions as "German Austria." Upon the formation of the Weimar Republic, these groups openly expressed their desire to integrate into the new German state.
The Entente powers immediately opposed this. They feared that allowing Austria to join Germany would strengthen Germany and undermine the postwar plan to weaken it through the Treaty of Versailles. Despite Austria's small size—about 11 million people and 120,000 square kilometers—its integration would restore some of Germany's wartime losses and significantly increase the cohesion of the Weimar Republic.
Unwilling to permit this, the Allies intervened. They demanded that Austria not merge with Germany and ordered the name "German Austria" be canceled. To further weaken Austria, the Entente planned to partition parts of its territory to Italy and other new states, including the valuable Sudetenland.