Triumph and Tragedy: Freikorps Army List by Christian Steimel.

All figures depicted in this article were painted and photographed by the
author and are from the Great War Miniatures figure range available from North Star Figures unless otherwise noted.

By Christian Steimel

Based on rules and concepts developed by Björn Reichel

Triumph & Tragedy is (c) 2007-2014 Björn Reichel

 Triumph and Tragedy: Freikorps Army List by Christian Steimel. All figures depicted in this article were painted and photographed by the
author and are from the Great War Miniatures figure range available from North Star Figures unless otherwise noted.

Introduction Netherlands, remained well-vested, and the demo-

cratic government, first formed by the Social Dem-
After the end of the Great War in November 1918, ocrats, was beset from the start from totalitarian and
great parts of Central Europe, specifically the Ger- authoritarian opponents of various political fla-
man and Austro-Hungarian Empires, became em- vours, ranging from the Communist party via mon-
broiled in civil unrest and border warfare. Left- archists to, ultimately, the national socialists who
wing revolutionary movements, inspired by the would prove to be the republic’s undoing.
Russian example of 1917, strove to establish Soviet
states, and nascent nation states sought to establish Internal Struggles
and increase their territories.
October 28, 1918: In Kiel, sailors of the German
A large part of the German Army had disbanded High Seas Fleet oppose an order to sail on what
after the post-armistice withdrawal to Germany; would amount to a suicide mission. Widespread
numerous units were considered unreliable, and mutiny in the naval ports in the North ensues.
many soldiers had simply gone home. The new
November 9, 1918: Pending the Armistice of No-
provisional Reichsregierung in Berlin had to resort
vember 11, Philipp Scheidemann proclaims a dem-
to using ad hoc formations of veteran volunteer
ocratic German republic, pre-empting Communist
troops to restore order and to quell Communist
leader Max Liebknecht’s proclamation of a German
uprisings which sprung up in several of the larger
and World Revolution by a mere two hours.
German cities, most notably Berlin, Munich, and
the Ruhr Area among others. December 23, 1918: The simmering conflict be-
tween the social-democratic government and the
These troops came to be called “Freikorps” (Free
soldiers and workers’ councils (known collectively
Corps) and, in a lot of cases, consisted of veteran
as “Spartacists”) erupts as the revolutionaries take
soldiers and officers, although several were estab-
control of various key points in Berlin. Regular
lished which consisted of citizens (since most male
army troops prove unreliable.
German adults had served in the various state ar-
mies, these had had basic training, but were obvi- January 9, 1919: Following demonstrations and
ously less powerful units than the “Frontkämpfer” rallies, the Communist party (KPD) calls for an all-
units composed of veterans of the Great War. out popular uprising.

This article aims to present basic army lists which January 10, 1919: Several Freikorps which had
are to serve as a guide if you wish to play a Frei- been assembled around Berlin move in and crush
korps or a revolutionary force, their opponents) the uprising in several days of fighting.
using the T&T wargame rules.
Early 1919: Revolutionary unrest spreads to much
For further information on the course of the internal of Germany, notably the Ruhr Area and then-
struggle, I recommend Osprey Elite 76: The Ger- Central Germany (now East Germany); fighting
man Freikorps 1918-1923 by C. Jurado and R. ensues in Halle (March 1), Magdeburg (April 10),
Bujeiro. This, of course, can only portray a small Dresden (April 14), Brunswick (April 18), and
part of the complex situation at the time, and if you Leipzig (May 11). In Berlin, an uprising supported
want to know more, especially beyond the military by the Volksmarine-Division (People’s Naval Divi-
part, I recommend Sebastian Haffners excellent, if sion) is crushed by March 13, the Freikorps using
not uncontroversial book Failure of a Revolution: heavy weapons including armoured cars and tanks.
Germany 1918-1923.
April 7, 1919: A Soviet Republic of Bavaria is
A Timeline of Events declared in Munich. Several Freikorps react with an
invasion of Bavaria from April 27, launching their
Despite the fact that the events of late 1918 and assault on Munich on May 1. After a two-day bat-
1919 established a republican democracy in Ger- tle, the leftist forces are conclusively defeated.
many, the fact that this was not a proper “revolu-
tion” must be stressed if one is to understand the The Fighting at the Borders
subsequent events. Much of the old elites, bar the
Kaiser and his family who went into exile in the

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 A Reich Divided

A T&T Guide to the German Revolution 1919-1920

From December 1918 to February 1919, Freikorps

fight in the East to curb Polish ambitions at increas-
ing their national territory. Despite some successes,
the Freikorps are stopped by Allied political inter-
vention. Fighting would again break out in 1921
over disputes in Upper Silesia.

From February 1919 to November 1919, large

numbers of Freikorps fought in the Baltic, original-
ly at the behest of Latvian Nationalist leader
Ulmanis; the Freikorps commander, General von
der Goltz, ultimately aimed at assembling a force to
strike at Leningrad and destroy the Bolshevik
Communist rule in Russia, turning the Baltic lands
into German colonies in the process. Unhindered at
first by the German government and the Allied
commissions, the Freikorps scored some early suc-
cesses, but were conclusively beaten by the end of
November.

The End of the Freikorps

Following the Treaty of Versailles, the Freikorps

were to be dissolved and some were integrated into
the new Reichswehr army. Given the conservative
to right-wing background of much of the Freikorps,
it is not surprising that this caused great resentment,
with several Freikorps, at various times, being en-
gaged against the Republic they had helped secure
in the early days, notably the Kapp-Putsch of
March 1920; this came at a critical time because it
coincided with the final subjugation of the “Red
Ruhr”, i.e. the left-controlled, vitally important
heavily industrialised Ruhr area, which was finally
achieved in early April 1920.

Following the Kapp putsch, the Freikorps only

played a minor role in western and central Germa-
ny, and were generally disbanded. Copplestone Castings „German Mercenary“ officer

They did, however, become one of the foundation

myths of the National Socialist movement.
Freikorps leaders were later to be found both in the
NSDAP as well as the Reichswehr and Wehrmacht
officer corps, the latter being at odds with the Nazi
Sturmabteilung (SA) whom they conceived as ill-
disciplined rabble and feared as a potential rival for
internal power until the summer of 1934, when
Hitler had the SA leadership culled to appease the
more valuable military establishment and eliminate
potential rivals.

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 Triumph and Tragedy: Freikorps Army List by Christian Steimel. All figures depicted in this article were painted and photographed by the
author and are from the Great War Miniatures figure range available from North Star Figures unless otherwise noted.

Freikorps Army List

A Freikorps force consists of a number of units The list attempts to create a balanced T&T force,
which come from the following categories: but the fact that the Freikorps were very well
equipped with infantry and heavy weapons makes
Characters – As with most T&T forces, you have a them a strong force. It might be appropriate to use
single Hero character to lead your force (and repre- point costs or another way to ensure their opponents
sent “you” on the tabletop). are compensated with extra troops or special op-
tions to make up for the Freikorps high quality.
Troops Sections – This is the majority of troops,
mainly consisting of riflemen, but also some special The unit restrictions printed in bold italics are pri-
units. marily to be used in games without an umpire. The
umpire/scenario may allow or call for special re-
Support Sections – As “Support”, you may choose
strictions or allowances.
from a variety of units to lend special capabilities to
your force. Your force MUST NOT include more
Support Sections than it does include Troops
Sections.

Freikorps Characters
This is a Hero, selected (and, if using points costs, The Hero may be given any combination of small
paid for) as per the T&T main rules. He represents arms and melee weapons, and may also use a sub-
the various Lieutenants, Captains or other officer machinegun or an “Artillerieluger” (counts as a
ranks commanding Freikorps in those days. carbine), but no heavy weapons like an LMG.

You may use any skill table, just follow the stand-
ard procedure.

Great War Miniatures infantryman in front of scratch-built A7V „Hedi“

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 A Reich Divided

A T&T Guide to the German Revolution 1919-1920

Freikorps Troops Sections

Freikorps Rifle Section place of his rifle and bayonet for+18 points, or opt to
use a pistol and knife/entrenching tool for no cost.
You may field any number of Rifle Sections in
your force. Citizen Militia Section

A Freikorps Rifle Section consists of 5 to 10 Sol- “Einwohnerwehren” (inhabitants’ or citizen mili-

diers, each equipped with a rifle and bayonet. tia) units were usually formed to support Freikorps
units by taking over policing and guard duties, and
The unit quality may be Trained or Veteran. less frequently used for “frontline” combat.
Trained soldiers cost 13 points, Veteran soldiers
cost 14 points per model. You may field any number of Citizen Militia Sec-
tions.
Weapon Upgrades:
A Citizen Militia Section consists of 6 to 12 figures
 Each soldier may be given a single hand grenade for of Raw Quality. These may be armed with any
+10 points. You may opt to equip none, one, some combination of shotguns (11 points per model),
or all soldiers in the unit with hand grenades. rifles (10 points per model) and carbines (9 points
 Up to one soldier may replace his rifle and bayonet
per model).
with a submachinegun for +15 points.
 Up to one soldier may replace his rifle and bayonet
Leader Upgrade:
with a Light Machine Gun and a pistol for +35
points.  You may upgrade one figure to a leader for +20
points. A leader may be given a submachinegun for
Leader Upgrade: a further +20 points, or use a pistol for no extra cost.

 You may upgrade one figure to a leader for +20

Freikorps Cavalry Section
points. A leader may be given a submachinegun for
a further +18 points, or use a pistol for no extra cost.
You may field any number of Cavalry Sections in
your force.
Freikorps Assault Section
A Freikorps Cavalry Section consists of 6-12
You may field one Assault Section for each Rifle
mounted soldiers, which may be of Trained or
Section in your force.
Veteran Quality. All figures are armed with lances
A Freikorps Assault Section consists of 5 to 10 and carbines. Trained cavalrymen cost 20 points
Soldiers, each equipped with a rifle, a bayonet and each, Veterans cost 22.
two hand grenades.
Leader Upgrade:
The unit quality may be Trained or Veteran.
 You may upgrade one figure to a leader for +20
Trained soldiers cost 30 points apiece, Veteran
points. The leader may swap his carbine and lance
soldiers cost 35 points per model. for a pistol and cavalry sabre at no cost.

Weapon Upgrades:

 Up to HALF of the soldiers may replace their rifle

and bayonet with a submachinegun for +15 points.
 Up to one soldier may replace his rifle and bayonet
with a Light Machine Gun and a pistol for +35
points.

Leader Upgrade:

 You may upgrade one figure to a leader for +20

points. A leader may be given a submachinegun in
Great War Miniatures infantry

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 A Reich Divided

A T&T Guide to the German Revolution 1919-1920

Freikorps Support Sections

Freikorps Heavy Weapon Section Freikorps Artillery Section

You may field any number of Freikorps Heavy Your force may include a single artillery piece (or
Weapons Sections, provided their total number more if the scenario or umpire allows for it).
does not exceed the number of Troops sections in
the force. An artillery section consists of 5 soldiers of Trained
or Veteran quality, each armed with pistols, and
A Freikorps Heavy Weapon Section consists of 5 their piece, which should be a field gun (77mm
troopers of Trained or Veteran quality and one of FK96 n.A.).
the following weapons, for a total section cost as
listed (including all other weapons): The basic points cost for the unit is 150 if Trained,
or 160 if Veteran.
 Heavy Machinegun (usually MG08); 100 points
Trained/110 points Veteran Weapons Upgrades:
 Light Mortar (Granatenwerfer M1916), 100 points
Trained/110 points Veteran  You may equip the unit with rifles (actually, these
 Mortar (7,6cm Minenwerfer) 120 points would be carbines, but the performance of the 98
Trained/130 points Veteran carbine was so close to the 98 rifle that I don’t con-
 Flamethrower (two-man, burst-capable version): sider it useful to treat them differently). The unit
90 points Trained/100 points Veteran may NOT fire rifles in a turn in which they fire their
field piece.
Two figures crew the heavy weapon (and carry
pistols). The remaining three figures are equipped Leader Upgrade:
with rifles and bayonets.
 You may upgrade one figure to a leader for +20
points. A leader may be given a submachinegun for
Leader Upgrade:
a further +20 points, or use a pistol for no extra cost.
 You may upgrade one of the non-crew figures to a
Transport Upgrade:
leader for +20 points. A leader may be given a sub-
machinegun for a further +20 points, or use a pistol
 If you have a suitable model, you may field a horse-
for no extra cost.
drawn limber at no cost to draw the gun and carry
the crew. If the umpire or your opponent agrees, you
may use a truck to draw the gun for +40 points in-
stead, but those where rather rare at the time.

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A T&T Guide to the German Revolution 1919-1920

Author’s Note: Freikorps Armoured Units

Your force may include a single armoured unit in total. This encompasses Armoured Cars, Tanks and Armoured
Trains (which are not included in this list since they should really be a scenario-only thing). If you wish to play a
specific scenario that calls for more than one armoured unit (such as the Berlin fighting in 1919 which featured
several “Beutetank” (captured tanks) MkIV and the two “Hedi” A7V variants), this is, of course, possible, but
for one-off games, I strongly suggest keeping to the one-unit limit.

Freikorps Armoured Car The Mk IV “Beutetanks” are “Heavy Tanks” for

movement purposes (i.e. move a maximum of 2D6”
Several Freikorps used armoured cars, especially
or “Speed Level 2”, and add +1 to skill checks for
in the fighting in Eastern Europe, where they were
difficult terrain).
more useful than the few, lumbering tanks.
 Pending further research, you may choose either a
Your force may include a single one of the
male or female version of the Mk IV, the “male” be-
following armoured car types: Krupp-Daimler ing armed with two light guns (artillery, small tem-
Geschützwagen, Ehrhardt (M1915/1917), Daimler plate) and two LMGs, the “female” sporting four
ZVR, Izhorsky-Fiat, Austin 1st, 2nd or 3rd series. LMGs in the side sponsons.

Short profiles are given below. The A7V “Hedi” is not a proper A7V tank, but
rather a post-war conversion of an A7V
All Armoured Cars come with a Trained Crew, “Geländewagen” cargo carrier.
armed with pistols (cost included below).
 It moves as a heavy tank, but must re-roll successful
Model Type Speed Armament Crew Pts. terrain checks if in soft terrain or if crossing a trench
KDGW Open- 3D6/3 1 Field 5 245
topped Gun, or ditch. If starting and ending its movement on a
AC 1 LMG road, it may add 1” to its movement distance.
Ehrhardt Enclosed 3D6/3 3 HMGs 5 250  Its armour is soft steel, not armour plate; therefore,
AC
it uses the “Enclosed Armoured Car” damage table
Daimler Enclosed 3D6/3 3 HMGs 7 260
ZVR AC instead of the “Tank” table.
Izhorsky- Enclosed 3D6/3 2 HMGs 5 200  It is armed with four heavy machine guns in the
Fiat AC corner casemates, each with a 90° arc of fire as de-
Austin Enclosed 3D6/3 2 HMGs 5 200
fined by the walls of the casemate (for ease of play).
1,2,3 AC

Freikorps Tank Freikorps Air Support

Tanks were only rarely used, almost exclusively in Your force may include a single airplane, bought as
street-fighting in Berlin and Leipzig. This was usual using the guidelines in the main rules. Those
mainly due to their complicated logistics, and their were exceedingly rare, though, and should probably
limited use in field battles unless fielded in num- be regulated by an umpire, although having a “fly-
bers; on the urban battlefields, despite the apparent ing ace” sub-character could be a fine addition to
drawbacks, their machine guns in particular could some scenarios.
be devastating, their slow speed was less of a
drawback, and their psychological impact was
tremendous.

Your force may include a single tank, which must

be a captured MkIV Male, a captured MkIV Fe-
male, or an A7V “Hedi”. All tanks include a
Trained crew (number indicated below), armed
with pistols.

Model Type Speed Armament Crew Pts.

Mk IV Heavy 2D6/2 2 Light Guns, 2 8 300
Tank LMGs or 4 LMGs
A7V Heavy 2D6/2 4 HMGs 12 400
“Hedi” Tank*

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 A Reich Divided

A T&T Guide to the German Revolution 1919-1920

German Revolutionary Forces List

This army list allows you to create a Revolutionary Force, which would, in all likelihood, be a “leftist”, popular
movement, aiming to establish a Soviet state, usually after the Russian, or Bolshevik fashion

The revolutionary forces were, in the main, composed of militia units. Considering equipment, they did have
access to small arms aplenty, and infantry heavy weapons such as heavy MGs were available, too. Heavier
weapons such as artillery and AFVs were rarer, but not unheard of.

Revolutionary Characters
Hero Commissar

Your force may contain a regular “Hero” figure, In place of a normal hero, a predominantly Com-
representing a prominent revolutionary who has munist force may include a “Commissar Special
been chosen to lead on the battlefield of the class Hero”. This hero always has the “Preacher” skill
struggle. This hero is chosen and paid for as per the and must roll once on the following table, applying
normal rules found in the main rulebook. the result indicated:

He may be armed with any type of small arms, but  1, roll up a drawback;
may not carry heavy weapons.  2-5, nothing happens;
 6, roll for a second skill from a randomly
determined table.
He may be armed with any type of small arms, but
may not carry heavy weapons.

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A T&T Guide to the German Revolution 1919-1920

Revolutionary Troops
Workers’ Militia Unit Revolutionary Soldiers’ Unit

Forming improvised revolutionary units, the work- In the beginning of the revolution, several naval
ers were supposed to be the “Spearhead of the and army units joined the revolutionaries, most
Proletariat”. Unless they could capture armouries or famously the “Volksmarinedivision” (People’s
depots, their equipment would be limited to various Naval Division), which would fight in the Spartacus
small arms. Uprising in Berlin in 1919.

Your force may contain any number of Workers’ Your force may contain one unit of Revolutionary
Militia Units. Soldiers for every two units of Workers’ Militia
(i.e. 1/3 of your Troops choices may be Soldiers).
A Workers’ Militia Unit is an IRREGULAR unit of
8 to 16 figures. A Revolutionary Soldiers unit is a REGULAR unit
of 5-10 figures. Half of these units may upgrade a
Militia Units may NOT have leaders unless speci- figure to Leader status for +20 points (i.e. the first
fied by the umpire or by scenario conditions. Soldiers unit may contain a leader, then the third,
then the fifth).
Militia Units are of Raw Quality. Every other Mili-
tia Unit in a force (i.e. 50% of your Militia units) Revolutionary Soldiers are of Trained Quality. Up
may be of Trained Quality. to ONE unit may be of Veteran Quality. Trained
Soldiers cost 13 points per figure, Veteran Soldiers
Raw Militia Units cost 4 points per figure, Trained
cost 15 points per figure.
cost 6 points, plus the cost of their weapons as
follows: rifle +6 points, shotgun +7 points, pistol Revolutionary Soldiers are equipped with rifles and
+4 points; all figures may be freely equipped with bayonets.
melee weapons such as clubs and knives, for no
extra cost per model.

Ambush Special Rule:

If fighting on “home ground”, such as workers’

residential areas or industrial plants, up to one third
of the force may be placed using the Ambush rule
found in the Main Rulebook. This is determined on
a unit basis, rounding down fractions, e.g. a force of
six units may place up to two units in ambush, a
force of four units may place a single unit in am-
bush. Note that any unit may be placed in ambush,
not just Workers’ Militia units.

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 A Reich Divided

A T&T Guide to the German Revolution 1919-1920

Revolutionary Support
Machine Gun Group

Your force may include up to two Machine Gun

Groups (IN TOTAL).

A Machine Gun Group consists of 5 figures

equipped with a Heavy Machine Gun. All Machine
Gun Group are of Trained Quality.

Three figures in the unit crew the HMG. Two oth-

ers are armed with rifles and serve as ammunition
carriers (although they may fire their rifles while
the HMG shoots, and may be removed as casualties
before the gun crew as per the normal shooting
rules).

A basic 5-man Machine Gun Group costs 90 points

including their weapons.

Artillery Unit

IN ADDITION to the above Machine Gun Group,

your force may include a single field gun (FK 96
neue Art) or mortar (Minenwerfer 7.6cm).

This gun is crewed by 5 figures of Trained Quality.

A field gun costs 130 points including the crew

(armed with pistols). A mortar costs 110 points
including the crew (armed with pistols).

Revolutionary Armoured Car

Your force may include a single Improvised Ar-

moured Car. Depending on the scenario, the um-
pire may allow for more or other types of ar-
moured cars.

The armoured car is purchased (and possibly con-

structed) as per the main rules. For example, a sim-
ple improvised armoured car, with a single heavy
machine gun and 3 Trained crew, would cost 133
points.

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 A Reich Divided

A T&T Guide to the German Revolution 1919-1920

This page contains sample cards for fielding a Freikorps force in Triumph &
Tragedy. You may print and/or photocopy this page for your personal use.

Triumph & Tragedy is (c)2007-2014 Björn Reichel

& Tischrabauken Productions.

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