Marinebrigade Ehrhardt
| Marinebrigade Ehrhardt | |
|---|---|
Marinebrigade Erhardt during the Kapp Putsch in Berlin, 1920
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| Active | Early 1919 – March 1920 |
| Country | Germany |
| Type | Freikorps |
| Size | 6,000 |
| Engagements |
German Revolution of 1918–19 |
| Disbanded | March 1920 |
| Commanders | |
| Commander | Hermann Ehrhardt |
German Revolution of 1918–19
First Silesian Uprising
The Marinebrigade Ehrhardt was a Free Corps (Freikorps) group of around 6,000 men formed by Captain (Korvettenkapitän) Hermann Ehrhardt in the aftermath of World War I, also known as II Marine Brigade or the Ehrhardt Brigade. It took part in the fighting for the cities of central Germany and the northwestern ports, in addition to participating in the Kapp Putsch.
The Brigade was formed from former Naval personnel in the area of Generalkommando des Garde-Korps (Berlin). It was commanded by the conservative Nationalist Hermann Ehrhardt and fought alongside the Freiw.Landesschützenkorps under General von Roeder in the retaking of Northwest German ports such as Bremen, Cuxhaven and Wilhelmshaven in early 1919. After the defeat of the northern communist forces the Brigade marched to the industrial cities of central Germany (along with the Freiw.Landesjägerkorps, I Marine Brigade, Freikorps Hülsen, Freikorps Görlitz and Freikorps von Oven) to defeat the local communist uprisings.
After the defeat of the uprisings, the Brigade went on to fight the Bavarian Soviet Republic during the spring of 1919. It made up only a small fraction of the total Freikorps forces, which totaled to around 30,000 men. At the end of April the Freikorps closed in on Munich. The Red Guards began arresting suspected "counterrevolutionaries" and on 29 April eight men, including the well-connected Prince Gustav of Thurn and Taxis, were executed as "right-wing spies". Soon after, on 3 May, the Freikorps attacked and defeated the communist volunteers after bitter street fights in which over 1,000 communists were killed. About 800 men and women were arrested and executed by the victorious Freikorps.
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