Reichswehr

American  

[rahyks-vair, rahykhs-veyr] / ˈraɪks vɛər, ˈraɪxsˌveɪr /

noun

1. the 100,000-man army Germany was permitted to maintain under the Versailles Treaty after World War I: the limit was secretly exceeded.

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Etymology

Origin of Reichswehr

< German, equivalent to Reich realm, empire ( see Reich) + -s genitive ending + Wehr defense, weapon

Example Sentences

In 1922 he was called to the Reichswehr Ministry in Berlin, got his majority in 1925, his first regimental command in 1928.

From Time Magazine Archive

General Hans von Seeckt almost alone built the German Reichswehr up in the years following the Armistice into the most efficient small army in the world.

From Time Magazine Archive

In 1937 he returned to Germany, learned to speak excellent German, grew a mustache like Hitler's, took the Nazi "leadership-training" course, became a Reichswehr parachutist.

From Time Magazine Archive

Back from the Normandy beachhead poured 15,000 prisoners wearing the Reichswehr green.

From Time Magazine Archive

Volkheimer goes inside and returns with a colonel in field uniform: the Reichswehr coat and high belt and tall black boots.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr