German use of Thuggery

It seems that you cannot talk about German politics without encountering a private army of thugs. On one hand you have th Freikorps of the Weimar Republic. The Freikorps was made up mostly of military men who had been discharged but felt out of place in civilian life. They joined in order to be with people who understood them. For the most part, they were used as a paramilitary force to combat the rising communists. The SPD used them to put down the German Revolution, the Marxist Spartacist League, and the Bavarian Soviet Republic. With the rise of the German Workers Party, later renamed the National Socialist Workers Party, many former Freikorps joined and later became members of the Nazi party.
The Nazi party employed their own brand of thugs. The Sturmabteilung, the SA or Storm Troopers, were used in Hitler's rise to power. Though after the "Night of the Long Knives", they were superceded by the SS. Called "Brownshirts", the SA was used as the right arm of the party. Their specialty was intimidation. However, the SA's ambitions drew the ire of the regular army when they planned to replace them with the a strengthened SA. Hitler, in order to gain support of the regular army, made a plan to dispose of the SA. The SS arrested and executed all the leadership of the SA in one night. It was known as the "Night of the Long Knives".
Anyway, it is just interesting to see the use of thugs by both the SPD in the Weimar Republic and Hitler during the Third Reich. Most people like to point out the differences between the "Democratic" Weimar Republic and the "dictatorship" of the Third Reich. It just goes to show you that politics seems to go hand and hand whether you are the "good guys" or the "bad guys".

The Sailor's Revolt

I have to say that the thing that most caught my attention was the part played by the sailors' revolt. Now, don't get me wrong, I understand their plight. It was towards the end of the war and Germany had lost. Everyone knew that, except it seems the military leaders. The admirality had this, I would call it insane, notion that one big victory would turn the tide in the favor of Germany. They have the bright idea to send out their navy to battle the Royal Navy in the English channel. First off, it is suicide to think that the German navy could hold its own against the much better British Navy in their home territory. The revolt started in Wilhelmshaven. The German Fleet had anchored here awaiting its final orders for the coming battle. During October 29-30 the crews of three ships of the Third Navy refused to follow orders. They simply refused to lift anchor. Also, the crews of two battleships of the First Navy Squadron engaged in mutiny and sabotage of the ships systems. It was only when torpedo boats threatened to open fire did the crews step down and allowed themselves to be lead away without armed resistance. However, the sailors were somewhat successful. The Admiralty dropped plans of attack on account that the sailors actions were a hint that they could not be relied upon. From there it was straight down hill. The sailors met with representatives from the USPD and SPD. They formed a large mob and freed the arrested mutineers by force. From there, they went from town to town. It would seem that the sailors and their revolt played a major part in the general revolt by the German people in protest of the war and lead to the Weimar Republic and the abdication of the Kaiser.

Tirpitz - Just wanted a Navy

Tirpitz was an interesting military man. It seems that all he wanted was a navy and to be the Admiral of said navy. One could say that he saw the need for a navy but didn't want to ever use the navy. Now don't get me wrong. I see his reasoning for wanting a navy for Germany. First off, Germany was an expanding imperial power. They had obtained colonies around the world. A navy would have been a necessary thing needed to provide security for trading and supply lanes to those colonies. He also saw the power a strong navy could provide as a deterent to other great powers. As an Admiral, he was also a rather restrained military man. His plan only called for three new warships a year. At the rate a power like Britain built ships, this plan made perfect sense. A decent number of ships would be able to provide security at all times deemed necessary without undue stress on logistics. When one ship went in for repairs or overhauls, another would be available to take its place. Also, after five or so years, older ships would be considered obsolete and the new ships would be new designs meant to replace those obsolete ships. This plan is completely valid from a logistical and pragmatic standpoint. But as it turned out, Tirpitz caved in to the demands from the Naval league and upped the number of warships turned out per year from three to four. Another reason Tirpitz is considered unusual as a commander is his seeming lack of confidence in his beloved navy to fight. However, the point was made that he may have just been the most realistic one. He knew that Germany would never be able to match Britain on the sea. He was always pushing for more time to build up the navy, but in the end, I think that it wouldn't have mattered. For if you have five years to strengthen you navy, so does your enemy. It would have been better to attack when least expected and where least expected.