Council Communist Military Documents

Ruhr Red Army

The following collection is a result of persistent effort and a contribution to the history of the very less document German Council Communists and their organizations. In-between 1919-1922, when Council Communism was still a mass movement, its members were some of the most active and dedicated class fighters for the revolution in Germany and they possessed the resolve to go to every possible height to fulfil their mission. In the course of this prolonged struggle to achieve their dream of a German Council Republic, almost all of them were drawn into armed struggle against the bourgeois and its representatives in different organizations in one period of time or another. Some of these organizations were the Ruhr Red Army, Vogtland Red Army, League of Red Soldiers, Munich Red Army, Volksmarinedivision, Executive Committee of Revolutionary Workers, RKD [HI Neumann Gruppe], Combat Command for the Liberation of Gotha, Supreme Action Council of the KAPD, Plättner Gang,etc. etc.

The following collection is a contribution to bring out this often neglected side of armed struggle. A mix of documents from the KAPD, Ruhr Red Army and Police Reports, and spanning theoretical analyses, firsthand accounts, military structure, orders, relationships between different organizations, and tactical proposals, this compilation offers a lens on the radical efforts of Council Communists to pursue armed struggle against the bourgeois and its lackeys to usher into a Concrete Council Utopia and subsequently to bring out the beautiful madness of Communism.

It is also to be noted that this is just a very small part of the humungous amount of documents that were published back then. If I come across more then I'll subsequently update this page.

Author
Kommunistische Arbeiter-Partei Deutschlands (KAPD)
Ruhr Red Army
Submitted by Indo on March 31, 2025

From the KAPD:

  • Statutes for the Combat Organizations (KO) of the KAPD - Presented at the founding congress of the KAPD, this document talks about codes that the party's Combat Organizations or KOs must enact. These KOs served as the military units of the KAPD.
  • Guidelines for Reconnaissance, Liaison, Security, Support of Combat Organizations (KO) - A follow-up of the previous document regarding the statutes of the KOs. This text, which was also presented at the founding congress of the KAPD, talks about the necessary instructions that the KOs must follow to march towards victory.
  • To the Combat Leader of the Economic Association - A circular from the KAPD to its military commanders that talks about the preparations for the upcoming insurrection and the necessary guidelines for communication that they must establish.
  • Work Plan of the Illegal KO - Military circular of the KAPD "for the individual economic districts and locations at the onset of the action" describing the plan and structure of its military organizations.
  • Document from the Military Leadership of KAPD's Helbra Sub-District - A document published by the military leadership of KAPD's Helbra sub-district under the command of Schönfeld that lists out the rights of KAPD's military units in the upcoming insurrection and also a publishes a recruitment call for the German Red Army.
  • Revolutionary Preparatory Work and Military Organization - A letter of the KAPD from the Police Archives that talks about the preparatory work for its Red Army units and Military Organization.
  • Military Letter from the KAPD - A letter of the KAPD from the Police Archives that served as a coded directive from "Margot" to KAPD members, outlining clandestine communication protocols, operational signals, and resource reporting to sustain revolutionary work under impending persecution.
  • Military Letter from the KAPD - A letter of the KAPD from the Police Archives that is a secretive directive from Margot, urging frequent reporting, caution with sensitive materials, and the use of trusted informants for espionage.
  • Military Questionnaire from the KAPD - A letter of the KAPD from the Police Archives that served as a questionnaire, detailing instructions for local groups to gather intelligence on revolutionary fighters, industrial resources, military infrastructure, and enemy organizations while emphasizing espionage tactics and secrecy.
  • Military Circular on the March Action from Northern District of the KAPD - A circular from the headquarters of the Northern District of the KAPD to the subordinate local groups (as a result of a meeting on 19th June 1921 on military issues). This talks about the March Action that took place few months ago, draws lessons from it and recommends new guidelines that KAPD's surviving military units from follow in the future.
  • Statutes of the Military Organization (MO) of the KAPD - A circular from KAPD in June 1921 that lists out the regulations for its new Military Organization (MO) after the March Action. According to a police report from 25th April 1921, "the KAPD planned to become completely illegal, eliminate all unreliable elements, expand its intelligence service, and focus its main efforts on its Combat Organizations. The latter are to be primarily focused on sabotage and terror". So I'm assuming the new MO was established as a part of this process.

    From the Ruhr Red Army:

  • Declaration by the Red Ruhr Army, March 20, 1920 - One of many documents published by the Ruhr Red Army, in which it refutes claims of committing atrocities, accuses the Reichswehr of inhumane treatment of prisoners, and calls for public support in their revolutionary struggle against oppressive forces in the Ruhr region.
  • Declaration by the Red Ruhr Army, March 26, 1920 - Declaration by the Ruhr Red Army about their motive to continue the fight in contrast to the Bielefeld Resolution, the Bolshevik KPD's loyal opposition to the Ebert Government and and the Anarcho-Syndicalist FAUD's "wait-and-see" policy.
  • Notification by Kruschwitz, Director of Medical Services of the Red Army, Marl, March 28, 1920 - One of the many documents published by the Ruhr Red Army after the Bielefeld Resolution. This is a notification issued by Kruschwitz, the Director of Medical Services of the Red Army, in Marl on March 28, 1920, announcing the arming of the workers in the face of the upcoming attack from the SPD.
  • Call by the commander of the Red Army Gelsenkirchen, W. Krischak, Gelsenkirchen, March 28, 1920 - One of the many documents published by the Ruhr Red Army in the aftermath of the Bielefeld Resolution. Interestingly this documents mentions the criteria for the workers that wanted to enlist.
  • Order by the commander of the Red Army Unit I and II, Marl, March 28, 1920 - One of the many documents published by the Ruhr Red Army in the aftermath of the Bielefeld Resolution. This one in particular calls to confront the individuals (left-wing leaders of the SPD-USPD-KPD triumvirate who adhered to the Bielefeld Agreement) who were disarming the workers.
  • Call by the Central Council, March 28, 1920 - Document published by the [Essen?] Central Council of the Ruhr Red Army calling for a general strike after the ultimatum by the Reichswehr General Oskar von Watter.
  • Regulations for the Red Army Units West and East, April 1 [?], 1920 - Document by the Ruhr Red Army that lays out the principles that it's soldiers must adhere to in course of the fight against the Reichswehr. The full name of individual commanders are Karl Wohlgemuth, Felix Gräf and Gottfried Karusseit.
  • Confidential Order from the Commander-in-Chief of the Ruhr Red Army - A confidential order from the council communist August "Dudo" Müller, the Commander-in-Chief of the Ruhr Red Army [he was martyred on 1 April 1920 while fighting against the Reichswehr and Freikorps] after the Bielefeld Agreement, to the companies of the Red Army. This text also has the name of several unknown Council Communist Commanders of the Ruhr Red Army.
  • Order from the Commander-in-Chief of the Ruhr Red Army - An order from August Müller, outlining the combat leadership of Section I (or Section West) of the Ruhr Red Army.

    From the Police Reports:

  • Classification of the KAPD and KO - From the "State Archives of North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland Department", this document traces the relationship between the KAPD and its KOs (Combat Organizations). It also describes the military tasks of the KOs and BOs (Workplace Organizations).
  • The Secret Work of the KAPD in Rhineland-Westphalia - From the Archives, this police document was published with several other headings like "The Structure of the Organizations — Statutes", "Military Structure — The Weapon Question" and "Directorate: The Action". It examines the structure of KAPD's military units in Rhineland-Westphalia in accordance with Party's documents.

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