Germany does not seek survival

In the town, Colonel Epp was in a panic. It was only a long time later that he realized that the armed forces that attacked Miesbach were an army from Tyrol.

At first, Colonel Epp also thought that it was the Allies who invaded. Later, when he heard the enemy shouting the slogan "Tyrol", he suspected that it was the Austrian rebels. It was not until one of his subordinates reminded him that Colonel Epp remembered that this army was the revolutionary army that Faust had planned to revolt a few days ago.

"Werther Faust! What does he want? The Munich traitor!"

Colonel Epp rushed out of the Free Corps headquarters with a pistol in hand. The situation outside had completely changed. After Guderian's commandos occupied the Miesbach railway station, the Free Corps launched several counterattacks, but were all repelled by the Wehrmacht.

The Freedom Corps still hasn't figured out the enemy's position. We are all revolutionary soldiers, so what is the point of fighting each other?

Only Colonel Epp and those noble officers understood that the establishment of the Free Corps was to overthrow the Eisner Provisional Government in Munich. Faust's army broke in at this time, apparently with the authorization of Munich to suppress the Free Corps.

Thinking of this, many noble officers, regardless of their backgrounds, the forest earl, the court baron, and some knights, felt that the future of the Free Legion was bleak and there was no hope, so they immediately dropped their weapons and fled.

It didn't take long for Colonel Epp to find himself alone.

At this time, the Great German Division, which came by train from Tyrol, arrived at the Miesbach railway station one after another with cars full of soldiers.

After they got off the car, the situation was already decided. Colonel Epp knew that resistance was hopeless, so he quickly took off his uniform and ran away.

Colonel Epp was probably worried that his identity would be discovered by the revolutionary army on the road, so before leaving, he shaved off his William beard with a bayonet.

Because the Prussian-style Wilhelm beard has always been the standard for Junker officers, as long as you have this beard, your true identity will inevitably be suspected by those who are interested.

As the noble officers of the Miesbach Free Corps fled quickly, the Great German Division quickly took control of the situation in the entire city of Miesbach with almost no effort.

Guderian finally breathed a sigh of relief. The Wehrmacht's first battle after returning to Germany was finally a victory.

In the city of Miesbach, apart from the waiting hall of the train station, which was partially damaged, with a row of glass shattered in the gunfight and several mortar shells blowing through the walls, the rest of the city was not greatly affected by the fighting.

Even most of the barricades originally built by the Free Corps in the city remained in their original state, because apart from the initial exchange of fire with the Grossdeutschland Division at the train station, the soldiers of these Free Corps had not been able to engage in any battles worth mentioning.

The special train that Rommel was riding on was traveling at lightning speed and soon arrived at the Miesbach railway station along with the officers and soldiers of the Großdeutschland Division.

As soon as he got off the car, Rommel adjusted his uniform and told Guderian: "The Revolutionary Committee ordered that, except for two battalions to garrison Misbach, the remaining troops should march to Munich immediately without stopping."

Colonel Epp had not guessed that Faust and the Eisner provisional government of the Independent Party in Munich were not entirely on the same page.

The National Socialist Party had its own grand revolutionary strategy, and a crucial part of this strategy was to ensure that Munich was in the hands of a truly reliable revolutionary group.

The Independent Party and Eisner were too weak, and Faust did not believe that they could defend Munich in the upcoming flood.

As the night grew darker and it was already the evening of November 8, 1918, even more significant news reached Germany.

The German army on the Western Front has signed a formal armistice agreement with the Allies in the Compiègne Forest.

According to the terms of the Compiègne Forest Armistice Agreement, the German army needed to withdraw completely from the French, Belgian and Luxembourg territories occupied during the war within fifteen days. Then, within one month, the German army had to hand over the left bank of the Rhine, Germany's most important industrial area, to the Allied forces for stationing.

To avoid a German counterattack, the Allies went a step further and sent troops to occupy the right bank of the Rhine, namely the Ruhr area, as a bridgehead to control the Rhine.

All German troops still stationed in the territories of Austria-Hungary, Romania, Turkey before the war and those fighting in East Africa must immediately withdraw to the German borders of August 1, 1914 within one month.

All German troops stationed on pre-war Russian territory should also return to Germany when the Allies deem the time appropriate.

All German troops on the Western Front had to surrender all artillery and vehicles to the Allied forces.

The Bucharest Peace Treaty signed by Germany with Romania and the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty signed with the Soviet Union must also be invalidated.

When the news reached Germany, it did not immediately cause much stir, because at this time, the situation in Berlin was also on the verge of a full-scale revolution.

Chapter 156: Military Support for the Left

Late at night on November 8, 1918, the timer on the train had set the time to eleven o'clock at night. It was not long before the 9th, and the carriage was packed with Wehrmacht soldiers.

Because there were so many people, they were so crowded that they could hear each other's breathing.

The distance from Miesbach train station to Munich was very short. The officers and soldiers were only squeezed in the carriage for about half an hour before they heard a whistle, and then the train blew a long whistle. Rows of military carriages stopped, and the Wehrmacht troops got off the train in formation according to the instructions of their superiors. Next, they would follow the precedent of the Battle of Miesbach and the army would enter Munich in a combat march.

Munich's urban style, known as the "fin de siècle style" during this era, was full of the flavor of the last decade of the 19th century. Hitler disliked this style that was fanatically moving towards modernity. He preferred the neoclassicism of the early 19th century.

The days when Hitler wandered in Munich in the past were a time that the mustache man could not bear to look back on. Now, when he returned to Munich, Germany's modern art center, wearing a military coat and riding boots, his temperament was completely different from the tramp four years ago. He had become a solemn and dignified revolutionary.

Officers and soldiers of the National Defense Force got off the train one after another. The soldiers were fully equipped and the team was in good order. Some people even drove trucks down from the open-air carriages of the train.

Some trucks carried artillery and ammunition, while others were filled with Wehrmacht officers and soldiers. There were also a larger number of horse-drawn carriages, with dark black Westphalian horses, in groups of four or eight, pulling down gun carriages loaded with artillery of various calibers.

An artillery company of the Wehrmacht is currently equipped with eighty strong heavy draft horses, some of which are Belgian heavy draft horses and French Percherons captured from the Allies, and most of them are Rhineland heavy draft horses native to Germany.

This type of draft horse has strong legs and wide joints, and looks many times taller and stronger than the warhorses used in cavalry charges. However, the Rhineland heavy draft horse is actually a cold-blooded horse with a gentle temperament. Although it has a strong pulling power, it cannot run fast and can only pull the artillery carriage forward in small steps. Its strong physique is not used in charges, so it is only used as a draft horse.

The Wehrmacht's artillery horse-drawn carriages were divided into three types: two-horse-drawn, four-horse-drawn, and eight-horse-drawn carriages specifically used to tow 150mm heavy howitzers.

The eight-horse carriage was pulled by two Rhineland heavy draft horses in a row, with a total of four rows in front and back. When it was pulling the 150mm heavy gun, it looked like a small train.

Amid the noise of carriages and horses, Hitler suddenly heard many Wehrmacht soldiers snapping their shiny boots together, and the metal spurs colliding with each other made a loud noise.

The man with a mustache turned around and saw Faust riding a dark Hanoverian warhorse, slowly walking towards the crowd.

"Your Excellency! My Führer, the Wehrmacht is ready to attack Munich."

Hitler exuded a murderous aura, and it seemed that he did not have a good impression of the city of Munich. He looked anxious to break in, as if he was afraid that the Independent Party Provisional Government in the city would surrender without a fight.

Faust rode on a tall black horse. He still looked the same, with short golden-brown hair combed back into a neat hazelnut bun, a black eye patch on his left eye, and he was still wearing the German field-gray combat uniform with the colonel's insignia, and an open military coat over the uniform.

Munich was Hitler's sad place, but it was also Faust's hometown. Faust did not feel homesick. Instead, he jumped off his horse, smiled happily, pulled Hitler and several others, walked to the front of the train, and then picked up a telescope to look at the beautiful city on the horizon.

"Munich, long time no see! Munich, we are back!"

The last time Faust left Munich, he only had one Great German Battalion under his command. Today, Faust returned to Munich with four fully equipped Wehrmacht grenadier divisions, with strong soldiers and strict military discipline. This was the triumphant return of the king's army.

There were still many civilians ahead of the Wehrmacht. Some of them had fled the city with their families because they were afraid that the Munich Revolution would cause social unrest. Another group of people were revolutionary workers and peasants from towns around Munich. They all supported the revolution, and after hearing the news that a revolutionary government had been established in Munich, they rushed to Munich from the towns where they lived.

The Wehrmacht was surrounding Munich from three directions. At this time, Faust was not in a hurry to rush into the city. When the soldiers encountered civilians on the road, they followed the orders of the Revolutionary Committee and made way for the civilians.

Apart from Hitler, among the top leaders of the National Socialist Party, only Tito, Kesselring and Scherner remained in Tyrol, while the others followed Faust in the Northern Expedition.

The Wehrmacht mainly implemented a propaganda policy towards the people around Munich, telling them that the National Socialist Party’s armed forces were the same revolutionary armed forces as the Munich Provisional Government, and that they were strictly disciplined and would never cause any unrest.

At first, the civilians around were a little afraid of the army returning to Germany from the Italian front. Whether they supported the revolution or opposed it, they were worried that the troops withdrawing from the front would cause more terrible violent conflicts.

But as time went on, everyone discovered that the Wehrmacht had good discipline, and its officers and soldiers were not like the other defeated German troops. The troop structure was very complete, and the soldiers did not have a strong sense of hostility.

This army did not look like a defeated army whose order was gradually disintegrating after a great defeat. Instead, it looked more like the victorious German army in the early stages of the World War.

The rest of the German troops were modern armies after all, and their discipline was not as bad as that of bandits. However, during the great rout, their discipline melted rapidly like ice and snow under the morning sun. At this rate, if the collapse of the German army lasted any longer, even if they did not degenerate into a bandit army like the Russian White Army that burned, killed, and looted, they would not be very popular.

The young Wolfgang Pauli had not yet become a Nobel Prize winner at this time. He was still studying at the University of Munich. After the revolution broke out, he and his family fled Munich for fear of unrest. The family transported gold and silver valuables in a horse-drawn carriage, fearing that they would encounter the defeated German army with undisciplined soldiers on the road.

At first, the Pauli family was terrified when they encountered the large Wehrmacht force marching towards Munich.

Soon, Pauli gradually discovered that the discipline and organization of the Wehrmacht were the same as those of the German army in the early stages of the war, and no one on the other side would make things difficult for them.

Sometimes, it was the Pauli family's coachman who shouted at the Wehrmacht soldiers: "Make way, make way!"

Each time, the Wehrmacht officers and soldiers stumbled out of the way, and the army marched in an orderly line. No one made a noise or spoke loudly, and no one broke the marching column formation.

Pauli's pre-war political stance leaned towards individualism, and he was quite disgusted with Germany's militarist tradition. But at this time, he sincerely sighed: "It seems that some people in the German army still maintain the traditional good national character of the German nation. Look at them, they still like to march in step."

"In Henry V, Shakespeare, through the voice of Henry V, emphasizes that a true king's teacher should protect his people like a loving father."

Rommel followed behind Faust, and his words reminded Faust of an ancient Chinese saying: Women and children compete with the king's army for the right path.

However, if it were the modern battlefields of Asia, Africa and Latin America, an army of the level of four divisions of the Wehrmacht would actually be enough to dominate the world. But in Germany, the industrial center of Europe, such four divisions could only be said to have barely given Faust the capital to sit at the table in the chaos at the beginning of the revolution.

After the Battle of Miesbach, the Wehrmacht surrounded Munich at lightning speed. The Independent Party Provisional Government in the city was slow to react. Chancellor Eisner only reacted when the Wehrmacht drove along the Isar River to the Isar Gate Square on the east side of Munich. He hurriedly sent the Revolutionary Guards to the Isar Gate to set up barricades and roadblocks to prevent the Wehrmacht from entering the city.

The Isar Gate was the east gate of Munich during its medieval castle period. After the Wehrmacht passed through the Isar Gate, it was only a few kilometers away from key locations in Munich - the royal palace, the University of Munich, Marienplatz where the provisional government was located, and the Marshal's Hall where the Revolutionary Guard was stationed.

In a hurry, only a few hundred Revolutionary Guards rushed to the Isar Gate to set up roadblocks, but before they could build the barbed wire and sandbag roadblocks, they saw the much larger number of National Defense Forces approaching.

Faust did not order the Wehrmacht to open fire directly, but first arranged the numerous artillery pieces pulled by horse-drawn carriages into a horizontal formation and aimed at the Isar Gate in the east city of Munich. After intimidating the hundreds of Revolutionary Guards, thousands of Wehrmacht officers and soldiers immediately approached cautiously in the form of a commando infiltration formation and disarmed the Revolutionary Guards of the Munich Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Committee.

The Revolutionary Guards were weak in strength and had poor organization and discipline. They were completely unable to withstand the thundering attack of the 40,000 Wehrmacht troops. The two sides hardly exchanged fire, and the Munich Revolutionary Guards responsible for defending the Isar Gate were all disarmed.

A Revolutionary Guard soldier with a red cloth tied around his arm shouted, "Who are you? Where are you from?" as he was surrounded by several IDF officers and soldiers and forced to hand over his gun.

Faust, who led the troops into the city, rode on his horse and showed the red armband of the National Socialist Party on his arm: "We are the National Socialist Party, your revolutionary comrades, comrades workers and soldiers, please make way. The Red Wehrmacht is the left-wing masses coming to support the Munich Revolution."

"Show our flag."

Behind Faust, the Wehrmacht soldiers held up a red flag with the Wehrmacht's Northern Expedition slogan written on it:

The army supports the left!

Chapter 157 National-Independence Coalition Government

The wave of the Red Army supporting the left soon poured into the city of Munich like a flood. The officials of the provisional government were all unable to resist. Chancellor Eisner was now sweating profusely in panic. He had heard of Faust and knew that Faust was the most famous war hero in the German army, but he had never heard of the National Socialist Party and the Red Army.

After passing through the Isar Gate, the Wehrmacht first advanced along the Isar Riverbank towards the city center, quickly taking over a roadblock set up by the Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Committee. They then divided their forces and stationed themselves at Ludwigstraße, Munich University, the Bavarian Palace, and Theresienwiese.

Until the end, Faust brought a regiment of troops, thousands of soldiers, and directly surrounded Prime Minister Eisner's temporary government office in Marienplatz.

Faust was not in a hurry to disarm Eisner and his gang. He gave the Provisional Government enough time and asked Eisner to send a telegram to Berlin first, and then call Kautsky, Liebknecht, Ms. Luxemburg and others to find out everything.

Faust only sent Hitler as a messenger, with only a company of soldiers, into the city hall.

Hitler handed the "Letter from the National Socialist Party and the Red Army to the People of Munich" which Faust had prepared long ago to Chancellor Eisner.

Prime Minister Eisner was sweating profusely. He looked at the dense "Greyhounds" outside the window of the city hall while flipping through the National Socialist Party announcement in his hand. He dropped the announcement to the ground several times out of nervousness.

Hitler helped Chancellor Eisner pick up the notice and said, "Mr. Chancellor Eisner, please contact the Central Committee of your Independent Party as soon as possible. Mr. Kautsky will tell you what to do."

Prime Minister Eisner had to bow his head under the eaves. He now recognized the reality and knew that the Munich Revolutionary Guard was no match for this powerful army that came from heaven.

"You...what's your name?"

"Captain Adolf Hitler, I am a member of the Supreme Revolutionary Committee of the National Socialist Party and Chairman of the Cheka Committee. You can call me Captain Hitler or Chairman Hitler."

Hitler's tone was quite arrogant, and when he said the words "Chairman Hitler", he was full of complacency.

Chancellor Eisner put on his glasses shakily and read Faust's proclamation again carefully: "I, I, Chairman Hitler, may I call Mr. Kautsky now?"

"Please."

Chancellor Eisner frantically dialed the number to Berlin. He had already sent a telegram to the central party headquarters of the Independent Party, so when the call was connected, Kautsky on the other end of the line was not panicked.

"Mr. Kautsky, Munich has been taken over by General Faust and his army... a force called the Red Wehrmacht... Sir, what is going on?"

"Faust! It's the National Socialist Party, right? How many soldiers do you estimate the National Socialist Party has?"

"A great many, Mr. Kautsky. The Red Army has a very large number of troops and a great deal of heavy weaponry. Their propaganda claims that there are four divisions, and that seems to be true."

"Oh my god, four divisions."

Kautsky in Berlin was shocked and his eyes widened. He knew that Faust had a deep foundation in the German army and could get a lot of support at his command, but he didn't expect that Faust had already raised four divisions of revolutionary army after only a few days of the revolution.

And according to Eisner, these four divisions were well-organized and elite, which showed that the National Socialist Party had done a lot of military work.

Prime Minister Eisner asked, "Does the central government have any solutions?"

Kautsky's gritted teeth came from the other end of the line: "Don't worry, don't clash with Faust's troops. He's not our comrade, but he's a friend of the Independents. Don't fight Faust! Has Faust made any demands?"

Chancellor Eisner looked up at Hitler in his military uniform and said into the phone, "Okay, I understand. We will not engage in a firefight with the Red Wehrmacht. General Faust demands that his troops fully enter Munich..."

Chancellor Eisner picked up the proclamation in his hand and said, "The proclamation also states that the Wehrmacht demands the immediate establishment of a Bavarian Revolutionary Republic, and that the revolutionary policies of the National Socialist Party must be implemented throughout the territory of the revolutionary republic..."

“What is the revolutionary policy of the National Socialist Party?”

"Mr. Kautsky, don't you also know that the proclamation contains demands for the cancellation of all war debts, the confiscation of all noble estates not timely registered with the revolutionary republic, the takeover of all public services of strategic interest to the revolutionary republic, and much more besides."

"This is also our revolutionary stance. We can agree with it, Mr. Eisner. The Independent Party can agree with Faustian revolutionary policies."

With the approval of Kautsky and the Central Committee of the Independent Party, Chancellor Eisner had no choice but to hang up the phone and tell Hitler: "I want to meet with your General Faust. Please tell the general that the Provisional Government is willing to cooperate with your Wehrmacht."

After Eisner surrendered, Faust quickly led his guards into the city hall and shook hands with Eisner. He said, "Chancellor Eisner, you are a wise man. I will not hide it from you. The National Socialist Party is not satisfied with the current status of the Independent Party's provisional government. The revolutionary policies you are promoting are too conservative and completely fail to meet the real needs of the German people. That is why I intend to take the helm myself."

Eisner smiled bitterly: "General Faust, does my title of Prime Minister still count now?"

Eisner was somewhat helpless, but Faust comforted him, saying, "I suggest that the Munich Provisional Government be reorganized immediately into a coalition government of the National Socialists and the Independents. I will not target you, Mr. Eisner. The National Socialists are the rebels, and we only want to exclude the monarchists from their ranks."

Eisner closed his eyes, sat down dejectedly on the chair, and nodded slowly. He was at the mercy of others. Eisner now understood that the curtain of troubled times had been raised. Without soldiers, no party would be of any use!

Faust still gave Eisner enough face. After the Wehrmacht entered Munich, it did not take action against the Bavarian Independent Party members. However, Faust would not let go of the nobles who were deeply rooted in Bavaria.

Eisner honestly handed over the list of officials of the provisional government. Except for members of the Independent Party, the Social Democratic Party and the Spartacus League, the rest of the personnel were all royalists.

Among the eight cabinet departments under the provisional government, the heads of five departments were still royalist ministers. The Wehrmacht followed the list handed over by Eisner and Rommel commanded the troops to rush to the locations of these ministers.

In the heavy snow, the Wehrmacht successively took control of the ministers of five Bavarian ministries: the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Economy, and the Ministry of Agriculture.

Hitler brought two Cheka action battalions and stationed them in the Munich Police Station. At first, the people in the Munich Police Station wanted to resist, but soon Hitler brought more than a dozen trucks full of Wehrmacht soldiers and surrounded the Munich Police Station.

After a short while, Baron von Tauschette, the chief of the Munich police department, who came from a noble family, had no choice but to raise his hands and hand over the police station to Hitler.

The Wehrmacht quickly blocked the Hirsch Mansion on Ludwig Street. The owner of this luxurious mansion was Baron von Hirsch, a famous Jewish businessman in Munich. He was the money bag of the Wittelsbach family during the monarchy. After the Munich Revolution, Baron von Hirsch managed to become the Minister of Finance of the Provisional Government.