Germany does not seek survival

Wehrmacht officers and soldiers rushed in from the gate. They disarmed the police who were sleeping in the guard room next to the gate and turned on the lights in the hall. In an instant, gunshots broke out in the corridor. Several guards under Baron von Hirsch dared to fire back.

Unfortunately, one Wehrmacht soldier was injured, and the remaining officers and soldiers first hid in the courtyard. Then someone soon brought a machine gun in. The officers and soldiers set up the machine gun on the window of the official residence and fired fiercely inside. Baron von Hirsch's guards immediately fled.

Baron von Hirsch was hiding in the wine cellar of the mansion when he was finally found by the Wehrmacht. He was still in his pajamas. After he understood the situation, he flew into a rage and even cursed the Wehrmacht:

"Call Colonel Faust over here. I want to see him! Tell your general, where is Faust? I'm from His Royal Highness Crown Prince Rupprecht. Tell him to understand the situation. You idiots, how could you hit one of your own people? Make no mistake!"

The Wehrmacht didn't listen to this and just shot Baron von Hirsch with the butt of his rifle.

On Ludwigstraße, the sound of military boots clattering on the ground was heard. Baron von Hirsch was bleeding from the nose and was dizzy for a long time. Looking out the window, he heard more gunshots. A brief exchange of fire broke out between the Wehrmacht and the guards of other ministers' residences. There was also the sound of machine guns and the screams of someone unknown.

Baron von Hirsch then realized that something was wrong. The group of people who suddenly broke into Munich were neither the gentle parliamentarians like the Independent Party, nor the soldiers sent by Crown Prince Rupprecht to support the royalists, but a group of lawless "barbarians"!

In other words, it was a revolutionary army that truly came to overthrow the old ruling class in Germany.

Chapter 158: War on the Nobles

There were about 60,000 nobles in Germany, accounting for one thousandth of the total population. They had a lot of wealth not only in Germany but also in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. They had extensive connections and strong influence, and almost all of them were hostile to the revolution.

In Faust's view, the first thing to do after the establishment of the Republic is, of course, to systematically abolish the old German aristocracy system.

"All German citizens are equal before the law. In principle, men and women have the same civil rights and obligations. Public law privileges and inequalities based on birth or class are abolished. Titles of nobility are considered merely part of the family name and may no longer be granted. Titles may be granted only to express official positions and professions, not academic degrees..."

"The estates acquired by the nobility through inheritance must be re-registered with the revolutionary government and, after review, can be considered legal private property protected by the Republic..."

"All land not registered with the revolutionary government within the prescribed period will be confiscated by the National Economic and Socialization Committee..."

After the Munich Provisional Government controlled by Faust introduced the "Bavarian Law for the Abolition of Nobility Privileges and Disposal of Noble Property", all the provisions on property and inheritance in the original German Imperial laws that were biased towards the nobility were abolished.

During the Imperial period, local elections in the German states continued to use a three-class electoral system: male citizens over the age of 24 were divided into three classes based on their tax payments. The class with the highest tax payments had the smallest population, while the class with the lowest tax payments had the largest population. Each class then elected an equal number of electors. Therefore, the votes of the first two classes carried much greater weight than those of the third class.

Faust also immediately set about abolishing the nobles' electoral privileges. After the Wehrmacht entered Marienplatz, Faust told Chancellor Eisner:

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, considering the fairness of the future Constituent Assembly, our party believes that the three-tier electoral system should be abolished immediately and the principle of genuine universal and equal elections should be implemented."

Faust handed Eisner a "Bavarian Provisional Election Law" that he had drafted long ago. Eisner adjusted his glasses. He was now rapidly being sidelined by the National Socialist Party and had become a rubber stamp. He could only agree to all of Faust's requests again and again.

Chancellor Eisner tremblingly read out the provisions of the "Bavarian Provisional Election Law": "…People's representatives shall be elected by universal, equal, direct, and secret suffrage from citizens of German nationality who have resided in the region for at least one year, regardless of gender, in accordance with the principle of proportional representation…"

After reading it, Prime Minister Eisner could only say helplessly: "General, I have no objection to the new election law. This is also the position of the Independence Party."

Faust smiled. "Because your party is too slow and inefficient, the National Socialists have no choice but to push you forward. Prime Minister, the revolutionary storm is in full swing. Anyone who cannot keep up with the revolutionary spark will be thrown down and shattered. I am here to save your Independence Party."

After the Wehrmacht entered Munich, Faust immediately forced Chancellor Eisner to reorganize the government. All ministers from the monarchy period and bureaucrats of aristocratic origin were put under preventive control.

All the aristocratic ministers of the five departments in Eisner's cabinet were arrested and replaced by National Socialists appointed by Faust.

In addition, in order to take over Munich's various public utilities, such as electricity, communications, railways and other industries, Faust also put forward a request that in addition to the cabinet, a National Economic Socialization Committee should be established, which would be composed of economic experts convened by the National Socialists, referring to the precedent of the Tyrolean Revolutionary Republic.

In the military field, a Defense Commissioner's Office was established, with Hitler as the director of the Munich Defense Commissioner's Office.

This agency was mainly responsible for communication between the Eisner Provisional Government and the Wehrmacht.

At the same time, Faust waved his hand and placed the Munich police department under the leadership of the Office of the Defense Commissioner.

From a legal perspective, Faust's drastic revolutionary policies should not be implemented until after the election of a national constitutional convention.

The Wehrmacht relied entirely on violence to implement the revolutionary policies favored by Faust. Not only did it fail to gain the support of the old aristocracy and the old bureaucrats, even the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers Committee, which represented the broad masses of the people in Munich, had been inexplicably horrified by the National Socialist Party and the Wehrmacht over the past two days.

The National Socialists already had a certain mass base in Tyrol, as they had been operating in the last year of the war, in cities such as Innsbruck and Kufstein. Before the revolution, the National Socialists had been deeply embedded in the local administrative agencies. After the Tyrol Uprising, they immediately took over the administrative agencies without causing too much unrest.

The situation in Munich was completely different. The National Socialist Party had no operating base here and relied entirely on the Wehrmacht to maintain the situation by force. The National Socialist Party's rule was still floating above the people.

Faust also knew that the National Socialist Party had no "roots" in Munich now. The Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Committee on the left and the old aristocrats and old bureaucrats on the right were temporarily frightened by the Wehrmacht, so they did not take any action. Once they came to their senses, whether on the left or the right, the storm would surge, and if they were not careful, the National Socialist Party might run aground in Munich.

"Chancellor Eisner, the National Socialist Party has reliable intelligence that Crown Prince Rupprecht of the Wittelsbach family is secretly organizing an underground royalist alliance. They are lurking throughout Bavaria, waiting for an opportunity to overthrow the revolutionary republic."

Faust did have important intelligence collected by the Stasi.

Crown Prince Rupprecht's actions were not kept strictly confidential. The Wehrmacht also captured some noble officers in the battle of Miesbach, and learned the royalists' plans from them.

Faust shoved all this intelligence onto Eisner's desk and said, "The Bavarian Revolutionary Republic is on the brink of life and death. To protect the revolution, the Wehrmacht must immediately seize control of all major Bavarian cities. Your Excellency, the Prime Minister, please grant this authorization immediately."

Prime Minister Eisner smiled bitterly. Faust really treated him as a rubber stamp and could do whatever he wanted!

Chancellor Eisner asked, "General Faust, what authorization do you require?"

Faust smiled. "Your Excellency, please don't call me General. We need the following authorizations: immediately appoint Rommel, commander of the 1st 'Greater Germany' Grenadier Division of the Red Wehrmacht, as the military commissioner of Augsburg; and Kesselring, commander of the 2nd 'Faust Guards' Grenadier Division, as the military commissioner of Regensburg..."

Faust put forward several demands at once, wanting to take control of the four major cities in Bavaria except Munich, namely Augsburg, Regensburg, Erding and Nuremberg, and have the National Socialists serve as military administrators of the cities.

The German word for military commissioner is the same as the word governor translated during the Republic of China period. It combines military and political power. The governor is not only the local military chief, but also the head of the city administration.

Munich is the hub of the railway and road network in the Bavaria region, which facilitates troop movements. After the Wehrmacht occupied Munich, it would be easy to control the entire Bavaria from here - or at least the central and southern parts of Bavaria.

Nuremberg in the north, closer to the border of Prussia, is not within Faust's consideration for the time being.

Among the major cities around Munich, the most important ones in Faust's opinion are Augsburg and Regensburg. These two cities control the Danube River flowing through Bavaria. Augsburg is the center of the southern German waterway transportation network, and Regensburg is the key node from the Danube River to Vienna.

So after the situation in Munich stabilized a little, Faust freed up his hands and immediately dispatched troops to control other key cities in Bavaria.

Erding is the gateway to Munich and the granary of Bavaria. There are also some free corps controlled by royalist officers in the local area. But just like the situation in Miesbach, the Erding Free Corps was newly formed, with few people and weapons, and a loose organization. It is simply unable to withstand the full force of the Wehrmacht's Tiger Division.

A large number of Wehrmacht troops gathered and transferred at the Munich train station. The next step was to control the entire southern half of Bavaria near Tyrol along the railway network.

Hitler was actually still a little worried. His defense commissioner's office had not yet been set up. When he heard that Faust had sent troops to occupy cities such as Augsburg and Regensburg, Hitler rushed over in a hurry.

"Sir, why are you dividing your forces now? We haven't completely taken control of Munich yet."

Hitler's face flushed, and he was very anxious: "The situation in Munich is still unclear. If our strength is weakened, if the royalists attempt a coup, you will be in great danger in Munich."

Faust, of course, has complete confidence in his personal safety, so this is not really a problem.

As for the situation in Munich, Faust said calmly, "The flames of the November Revolution are still raging. Now is the climax of the revolution. I'm not really worried that the royalists will be able to launch a counterattack at this time."

Faust pointed to the calendar on the table and told Hitler, "The General Staff has signed an armistice agreement with the Allies in the Forest of Compiègne. Next, I dare say that a decisive battle will break out between the royalists and the revolutionary camp in Berlin. This decisive battle will determine the fate of the German Empire and the German Republic."

"All the royalist attention will now be focused on Berlin. We should do the opposite and seize this limited time to do our utmost to expand the National Socialist liberated area."

"Now, there can be no hesitation."

Faust's judgment was simple. With the Tyrol Uprising, the Kiel Sailors' Rebellion, and the Munich Revolution, the revolutionary fire in Germany was intensifying. It was only a matter of time before a revolution broke out in Berlin.

The revolution in Berlin will be a decisive battle between the Republicans and the royalists.

Chapter 159 Eye of the Storm

The Republicans included not only the Independent Party and the Spartacus League, but even Ebert's Social Democratic Party tended to be Republican. Therefore, unless the Western Front troops sent tens of thousands of people back to Berlin for a bloody suppression, the royalists would undoubtedly be defeated.

In fact, it was impossible for the Western Front Army to transfer a large number of troops to provide support.

The Allies were not fools. They had just signed an armistice agreement with such strict terms that not only did it require the Western Front troops to surrender all heavy weapons, but it also required the Allies to directly send troops to occupy the Rhineland. How could they allow the Western Front troops to move freely, or even transfer troops back to Berlin?

At least before the Allies confirmed Germany's complete surrender, the Allied forces would definitely monitor the one million German troops on the Western Front for Faust during this period.

During this period in Germany, most political forces, including the royalists and republicans, actually had no soldiers available. At most, the royalists relied on some aristocratic officers to temporarily form a small-scale free corps, while the Republicans relied on the Social Democratic Party, the Independent Party and the Spartacus League, all of which had some militia forces such as workers' pickets.

These two types of armed forces were completely vulnerable in front of the four elite regular divisions of the National Socialist Party.

To be bolder, the four divisions in Faust's hands are likely to be the most powerful strategic corps in Germany at this moment.

The German army still had many garrison troops in the country. However, under the dual impact of defeat and revolution, the discipline of most of the garrison troops quickly collapsed. They either collapsed on their own or became criminal gangs composed of defeated soldiers and deserters. Only a small number of troops were reorganized into free corps by the royalists and into Red Guards and Revolutionary Guards by the Republicans.

The only reliable army was the imperial guards directly controlled by the imperial family and the royal families of various states.

But look at Ludwig III's guards, who surrendered without firing a shot during the Munich Revolution. If a real fight breaks out, the royal guards, which have always been composed mainly of children of aristocrats and have lived a life of luxury, may not have much combat effectiveness.

The number of royal guards was also small. During the war, the royal guards of each state, except Prussia and Bavaria, were less than the size of a division. The royal guards of Prussia and Bavaria only maintained a size of more than 10,000 people.

Now or never.

Now only the National Socialist Party has four reliable divisions of troops. If it does not seize the time to expand, it may take less than a few months for other political forces in Germany to slowly get back on track and reorganize regular troops.

The monarchists, the General Staff, the Social Democrats, the Independents, the Spartacist League, and other conservative parties like the Catholic Center Party...

Each of these political forces has a much stronger foundation than the National Socialist Party. Once they react, with Germany's extremely rich military resources, it is possible to reorganize a new army that is far more powerful than the Wehrmacht in a month or two.

Faust's judgment on the shortage of reliable troops in Germany was actually very accurate.

At the same time as the Wehrmacht occupied Munich, the German army on the Western Front had just signed the Armistice of Compiègne with the Allies. Hindenburg immediately requested that ten divisions be transferred from the Western Front back to Berlin to stabilize the situation.

Ludendorff was worried that such a large-scale troop deployment would arouse panic among the Allies and give them a reason to launch a new attack on Germany, so he strongly opposed it.

Hindenburg had no choice but to change his strategy and decided to transfer troops only from the garrisons in the Rhineland, Hanover and other places.

The old marshal tried every possible means to put together five divisions and send them back to Berlin to show support. However, a funny thing happened. Before these five divisions arrived in Berlin, they became demoralized and deserted many times due to various reasons.

When these five divisions really arrived in Berlin, the strong and calm William II in Berlin quickly sent people to count the troops. It would not have mattered if he had not counted them, but when he did, he found out that 40,000 troops of the five divisions had run away on the way from the Rhine to Berlin, and thousands more disappeared after getting off the train in Berlin.

In the end, the five divisions that Hindenburg transferred back to Berlin to put out the fire fell into the hands of William II, with only 500 soldiers left.

Therefore, under the great wave of Germany's defeat and revolution, all political forces temporarily returned to the same starting point of zero in terms of military affairs, but the National Socialist Party was still far ahead at the starting line.

of course.

In addition to the four divisions of the Wehrmacht, Germany also has other reliable troops.

In fact, both the royalists and the republicans still have a reliable army.

The reliable force of the royalists is the rapid force that Manstein had previously suggested Ludendorff to form. This rapid force is commanded by General Seeckt and is currently in Potsdam. All officers and soldiers are staunch royalists, with a total strength of two divisions.

The republicans' reliable troops were the mutinous sailors in Kiel.

After the Kiel Uprising, local sailors came to Berlin by train, and the marines among the sailors spontaneously formed a force calling themselves the "People's Navy Division", with a strength of more than 10,000 people.

This is almost all the remaining regular troops in Germany, except for the four Nazi divisions.

In addition, Albert's Social Democratic Party controlled a large number of union pickets and gang thugs, "Razor" Noske also led the Berlin police, and the Independent Party and the Spartacus League controlled Berlin's revolutionary unions.

These militias are numerous and numerous, but their combat effectiveness is still much weaker than that of the royalist Free Corps.

It is even more impossible to be compared with the National Defense Forces.

Faust was full of confidence. He had to expand the Nazi Party's base as much as possible before the dust settled in Berlin.

The first is Erding, the gateway to Munich. The noble officer who seized power there was Count Arco, who was also a subordinate of Crown Prince Prurecht. Immediately after the Munich Revolution, he was sent back to Erding to organize the Free Corps. In name, he was loyal to the provisional government, but in fact he was ready to counterattack at any time and welcome back the royal family.

Count Arco is a truly prominent family in Bavaria. His family has been a vassal of the Wittelsbach dynasty for hundreds of years and will naturally not tolerate the existence of the Republic.

The fiefdom of Count Alco's family for generations is in Elding. His family has been operating here for not just one or two hundred years, but at least four hundred years, more than a dozen generations. As soon as Count Alco returned to Elding from the front line, he immediately took command of the Free Corps from the local Independence Party government.

The next step was to place his trusted confidants in positions. Within two days, Count Alco transformed the Eldin Free Corps into a royalist army.

The only problem was that time was limited, and the Eldin Free Corps could barely muster more than a thousand soldiers.

Elding is a big city, and Count Arco's troops quickly obtained a large number of heavy weapons. His Free Corps had MP18 submachine guns, MG08 machine guns, and more than ten 105mm artillery pieces. As long as Count Arco was given enough time, it would not be difficult to raise a division with these weapons.

Unfortunately, the most precious resource in the November Revolution of 1918 was time.

"Woo--Woo--"

The long train whistle sounded, and several camouflaged military trains had already driven along the railway tracks to the suburbs of Erding.

Trucks rolled along the cement road, their gray hoods filled with fully armed National Defense Army officers and soldiers.

Guderian used courtesy before force. Before the Wehrmacht began its attack on Erding, Guderian made a special phone call to the Erding City Hall and told the Independence Party government officials in Erding:

"We are the revolutionary army, under the orders of the Munich Provisional Government, to take over Erding. All members of the Independent Party are friends of our army. Please do not resist to avoid misunderstandings."

The person who answered the phone was Count Alco, who had already seized power. He was dumbfounded and for a moment couldn't understand where this revolutionary army came from.

Count Alco hurried to the storage room to get his gun, but after searching for a long time, he couldn't find it. At this time, the Wehrmacht had already rushed in with great force, and Count Alco soon heard dense footsteps coming from the corridor.

After four hundred years of noble family history, our poor Count Arco had to hide in the filing cabinet in the storage room in desperation. The filing cabinet was too narrow, and his fat belly pushed the iron door open, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't close it.

In an instant, a large number of Wehrmacht officers and soldiers rushed in. Count Arco was held at bayonet point by more than twenty bayonets. Guderian stepped forward, saluted, and then politely asked, "Excuse me, are you the mayor of Erding, a member of the Independence Party?"

Count Arco rolled his eyes and hastily said that he was the real one. But a soldier of the Free Corps who had been disarmed by the National Defense Forces jumped up in surprise and said, "Aren't you the son of the Alcovale family?"

Seeing this, Guderian made a "tsk" sound, walked forward, and knocked Count Arco unconscious with the handle of his pistol.

"It must be a big fish. Let's catch it first. Maybe there's a ransom."

The situation was the same in other cities in southern Bavaria, mainly Augsburg and Regensburg. The Wehrmacht was lightly armed and attacked the city at lightning speed. The local royalist Free Corps had no time to react and struggle before they were disarmed by the Wehrmacht at the speed of light.

Around the morning of November 9, the Wehrmacht had liberated the cities of Erding, Augsburg and Regensburg and occupied all of Bavaria's territory on the south bank of the Danube.

The revolutionary situation was very good, everything was going smoothly, and all the National Socialists were in a good mood. They all felt that following Faust and obeying Faust's command was now the right choice.

Faust's prestige was already very high because he was a war hero, and in recent days it has been increasing day by day due to the successive successes of the Tyrol Uprising, the Battle of Trento and the takeover of Munich.

Unconsciously, more and more people in the National Socialist Party were influenced by Hitler and began to change from Faust's comrades to Faust's admirers.

Also on November 9, 1918, with the signing of the Armistice of Compiègne, various contradictions within Germany were concentrated in Berlin, and the situation reached the brink of a critical cliff.