Page 279 - Il 1919. Un’Italia vittoriosa e provata in un’Europa in trasformazione. Problematiche e prospettive - Atti 11-12 novembre 2019

IV Sessione - L’Italia a Versailles. Aspetti di politica internazionale 277

quirements rose to such heights that a reduction of personnel became unavoid-
able. Since the State Military Office had pushed for larger recruitment numbers
as late as November 1918, this new development signified a complete change of
course for its strategic guidelines within only a couple of weeks and finally, re-
cruitment was stopped in December 1918. New maximum personnel strengths
were issued, units were ordered to change their locations and resignation bounties
were supposed to speed up voluntary resignations of Volkswehr soldiers. However,
all these measures were slow to have any effect so that by 31 March 1919 the
headcount still totalled more than 49,000 men. By May 1919 there finally was a
higher number of discharges and it is interesting to note that instead of reducing
20
the number of battalions only their total strengths were lowered. For the sake
of completeness, it has to be mentioned that despite prioritisation of infantry
other service branches were represented in the Volkswehr as well. Often, they
owed their existence not to military necessities but to the single factor of appro-
priate specialist soldiers being locally available for collective recruitment. For lack
of riding horses there were only two battalions of cavalry in Graz and Klagenfurt,
of artillery there were three battalions and several independent batteries of field
guns, howitzers, and mountain guns, with a total of 156 artillery pieces but almost
no draft horses. Furthermore, four technical battalions and several independent
telephone platoons were in existence. Strangely enough, there was a Volkswehr
naval battalion as well as four naval companies in Upper Austria, Styria, and
Carinthia, all of them serving in the infantry role except for one Volkswehr mo-
torboat detachment in Vienna. Initially, the air force component of the Volkswehr
had been quite strong in numbers, as the six available airfields provided several
squadrons of airplanes, one airship battalion as well as five air observer compa-
nies and one barrage balloon company. 21
Due to the difficult financial situation and the ongoing negotiations in Paris
since May, it became apparent in May/June that it was materially and politically
impossible to implement the Volkswehr or compulsory military service with militia
system. Reduction of personnel produced a total strength of 41,300 men by early
May 1919 and 27,600 men (still in 101 battalions) by October, when the clauses
of the Treaty of Saint Germain were already known. The final dissolution of the
Volkswehr took place by way of the National Defence Act of 18 March 1920.

20 Glaubauf, Die Volkswehr 1918 – 1920, p. 142-143
21 Steinböck, Entstehung und Verwendung der Volkswehr, p. 182-184