JF Ptak Science Books  Quick Post

This is for issue #4523, August, 1929 of the Illustrirte Zeitung (Leipzig), “Der Rustungsstand der Machte fur den Landkrieg”, which showed the comparative strengths of leading nations against that of Germany.  As seen in the detail, in 1929 Germany was still abiding by the Treaty of Versailles, which was the peace treaty ending WWI and signed in 1919. The 440-clause treaty spent the first two dozen or so clauses discussing the creation of President Wilson’s League of Nations, while the rest was a distribution of punishment and reparations against/on Germany.  The German military as directed by Versailles was limited to 100,000 soldiers, and had 1926 machine guns, and 2886 cannons.  as stipulated Germany could have no tanks and no air force, and was limited to six ships and no subs, and had to keep the Rhineland free of all armed forces.  This would all be completely changed by 1934, when the Nazis were already well on the way to having a competitive (and modern) fighting force which counted 4.5 million troops.  It would only get worse.