Reichswehr

[ rahyks-vair; German rahykhs-veyr ]

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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Reichswehr¹

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

Example Sentences

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

From Literature

I mean the sons of the estancieros and the se�oritos who became officers under Segura while he had his Reichswehr experts running the army.

From Project Gutenberg

"Chancellor" Hitler and "Commander-in-Chief" von Ludendorff were within the War Office when the loyal Bavarian Reichswehr stormed the building, and after a short battle the "beer hall revolt" was crushed.

From Time Magazine Archive

"Chancellor" Hitler and "Commander-in-Chief" von Ludendorff were within the War Office when the loyal Bavarian Reichswehr stormed the building, and after a short battle the "beer hall revolt" was crushed.

From Time Magazine Archive

And the college's chief is no monocled martinet such as the late great General Hans von Seeckt, who built the Reichswehr after Versailles, but an infantryman who rose to major general's rank fighting on the Eastern Front.

From Time Magazine Archive