c8: Kapp's Contribution

Under the pitch-black night sky over Germany’s capital, Berlin, a single, crisp gunshot echoed, shattering the momentary tranquility.

Police sirens wailed soon after. The resonant clang of boots on pavement came from all directions. The coup, long in the planning, had finally erupted in March of 1920.

“Which unit are you? State your designation! This is the Fifth District! One more step forward and we will open fire!” an officer shouted from behind a sandbag barricade.

“Drop your weapons immediately! This area is now under military control!” The men on the other side were just as blunt. One of them pulled out a pistol and waved it. Behind him, a swarm of fierce-looking soldiers from the old German Army, carrying rifles, charged forward.

“Bang!” A bullet slammed into the sandbag. The officer and soldiers behind it immediately threw out their weapons. “Oh God! Don’t shoot! We surrender!” The defenders inside clearly lacked the courage of the Great War. Their thinking was simple: To hell with loyalty! Dying by friendly fire would make me the world’s biggest fool. Anyone who doesn’t surrender is a son of a bitch!

At the entrance to the Reichstag building, soldiers lined up neatly in two rows, rifles in hand, standing at attention to welcome their commander: General Walther von Lüttwitz.

“God!” After a mournful sigh, Colonel Hauck, commander of the 103rd Infantry Regiment, slammed a telegram down on his desk in frustration. He looked helplessly at his subordinates. Standing in his office were Deputy Commander Broyles, the three battalion commanders—Vick of the 1st, Hans of the 2nd, and Bruder of the 3rd—and Captain Henk of the guard company.

Of course, in the back row stood Second Lieutenant Akado, who was temporarily attached to the 103rd Regiment. He had also just heard the news from Berlin. The old army had finally broken with the German government. The military was now in a very delicate position—General Walther von Lüttwitz had led a portion of the Berlin garrison to seize the capital and had sent a telegram to all army units across Germany, demanding their support.

Vick’s broad jaw had the distinct look of a Prussian soldier. He frowned in thought before speaking. “I believe we should remain silent. This business is somewhat strange. Although they have occupied Berlin, it’s best we see which way the wind blows first.”

“Is there any other way? At this point…” Hauck thought for a moment and was about to nod in agreement, but he was interrupted mid-sentence.

“Excuse me!” Akado raised his hand and said, “We should send a telegram immediately. We should tell everyone that we are unwilling to associate with the old army!”

“Second Lieutenant! Those are German soldiers too! It’s one thing if we don’t help them, but if we stab them in the back, we’ll be looked down upon by the other units!” The 3rd Battalion’s commander, Bruder, glanced back at Akado and said.

Akado looked at Colonel Hauck, then took a step forward and said loudly, “Looked down upon? What kind of reason is that?”

“Then why oppose them instead of supporting them? Can you explain?” Hauck asked, somewhat curious.

“Everyone has read the contents of this circular telegram, correct? They have absolutely no follow-up preparations. They haven’t even handled the things that should have been handled. I have no desire to be buried with people like this. I don’t know if any of you gentlemen have a death wish?” Akado replied to Hauck’s question with a smile and a shrug.

“What do you mean? Be more specific,” asked Deputy Commander Broyles, also intrigued by this line of reasoning. Among the officers in the room, two were aristocrats and four had attended university, so they were all rational men.

“They have no long-term plan. They haven’t formed a government organization to be controlled by the military, nor have they propped up a puppet to take power. All of Berlin has been thrown into chaos. If they can succeed like this, it would be truly bizarre,” Akado said, analyzing the entire event and pointing out its fatal flaws in a single sentence.

“So that’s the lack of follow-up preparation. But why did you say they haven’t handled what should have been handled by now?” the 2nd Battalion’s commander, Hans, asked impatiently.

Akado glanced at Hans and raised an eyebrow. “If I had planned this operation, I would have at least had President Ebert arrested and arranged an ‘accident’ to get rid of him. Even if the whole world knew I did it, without evidence, they would have to accept it. That way, no matter who put the new leader in power, he would have to be grateful for the operation, and the ones who carried it out wouldn’t be punished too severely in the end, correct?”

“Brilliant!” Hauck laughed and gave Akado a thumbs-up. “As you said, if you had planned this operation, we wouldn’t be so indecisive. We would just have to follow you and wait for news of victory.”

He stood up, walked over to Akado, and patted him on the shoulder. “However, from a soldier’s standpoint, your methods are a bit too ruthless. I still hope you’ll have less of that harshness in the future.”

After saying this, he walked over to Deputy Commander Broyles. “Find the regimental staff officer and relay my orders. Send a telegram stating that the 103rd Regiment does not support General Walther von Lüttwitz. We stand firmly with the German people.”

The next day, General Walther von Lüttwitz, following some bizarre advice from one of his aides, found an obscure, unremarkable civil servant from among the resigned officials of the German Ministry of Agriculture. That very day, he appointed this man, named Wolfgang Kapp, as the new Chancellor of Germany.

Although condemnations poured in from all over the country, this hastily formed central government actually began to function. On the third day, a promotion order concerning a certain second lieutenant arrived in Hamburg, an order that was both baffling and amusing.

Yes, Colonel Kluge of the 105th Regiment had submitted his commendation report for Akado to the Ebert-led government in Berlin before he left. However, due to the distance between the two cities, the report was still on its way to the German Army High Command in Berlin when Ebert fled to the suburbs.

But someone did receive this report: General Walther von Lüttwitz. He was already overwhelmed by the mutiny of the new army, but he still decided to approve the reports that had accumulated from various regions over the past few days. It was his way of currying favor with the real power-holders in the military and their subordinates.

You see, not everyone has a sharp mind—and General Walther von Lüttwitz was one such not-so-sharp general. It was obvious to everyone that his political gamble was not favored, yet he was determined to prove his outstanding “ability” to win everyone over… Well, I don’t need to say more for you to know how miserable his next few days would be.

However, Akado was one of the few beneficiaries of this chaotic coup. The commendation report about him was reviewed and approved. On the third day of the putsch, Akado received his promotion orders.

He was promoted two ranks in an extraordinary exception, becoming a Captain in the army. If General Walther von Lüttwitz had known that the kid he had promoted was one of the first to oppose him, he probably would have died of anger on the spot.

At the same time as Akado’s promotion, a nationwide general strike by workers began. Because the newly formed Kapp government was not recognized by the general public and was not widely trusted by the military, just five days after the Kapp Putsch, General Walther von Lüttwitz and Wolfgang Kapp were driven out of the presidential palace and became prisoners of the newly arrived Reichswehr.

President Ebert returned to power, order was restored in Germany, and the strike naturally ended after its victory.

History ultimately did not fail the German people’s desire for strength. After playing a little joke on everyone with Kapp, a seasoned and dynamic general was appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of the German Army.

Three months later, the 54-year-old Major General Hans von Seeckt was appointed in this time of crisis, taking over the German Army to become its new Commander-in-Chief. Due to the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles, the German Navy was limited to 15,000 men, so it could be said that Major General von Seeckt was essentially the supreme leader of all German armed forces.

General Walther von Lüttwitz had only occupied the Commander-in-Chief’s chair for five days before he was replaced by this man named Seeckt—a tall, slender, typical Prussian soldier with a monocle perched on his cheekbone. Major General von Seeckt was no obscure figure. He had already distinguished himself in the First World War. As a General Staff officer, he had organized the German breakthrough of the Russian lines at Gorlice on the Eastern Front in 1915, a remarkable military achievement. For this, he received Germany’s highest military award of the war, the Pour le Mérite.

He had once been loaned to the Ottoman Empire to serve as its Minister of War and was one of the German military representatives during the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. He was extremely patient and possessed great diplomatic talent. He was also well-read and experienced, able to speak English, French, and German, and was as adept at music and art as he was at military tactics—a legendary straight-A student, a scholar, or, one might say, a favored child of God whom others could only envy.

The reason for describing him in such detail is to pay tribute to that bygone history. General von Seeckt took the first step in the resurgence of German military power, yet he is far less famous than the German generals who fought the Second World War.

But enough idle talk, let’s get back to the main story.

The newly appointed Seeckt did not waste much time. He arrived at his office that same day. He skillfully stacked a thick pile of documents on the top right corner of his desk, tapped his fingers rhythmically on the edge of the table, and looked at his young assistant. He then gave his first order as Commander-in-Chief of the German Army: “Order: Promote Captain Akado Rudolph, officer of the Gas Prevention Team of the 103rd Regiment of the new Reichswehr garrisoned in Hamburg, to the rank of Army Major. He is to report to the Army High Command in Berlin immediately.”