This overview provides historical perspectives on the Radical Conservatives playable faction in The Weimar Republic, as well as some insight as to how the faction functions in gameplay terms. For an overview on the NSDAP and KPD factions, be sure to check out my earlier posts on Inside GMT.

Introduction

The Radical Conservatives faction is, in reality, several factions – white collar workers, public servants, military and ex-military personel, noblemen, businessowners and politicians – united only by their fervent wish to dismantle democracy and return Germany to autocratic rule. To understand the nature of this heterogenous movement, abstracted into one faction for gameplay purposes, one should consider the fact that Germany, up until the 1918 Revolution, always had been ruled by noblemen warriors. This was true both before and after the unification of the Reich in 1871; by default, the ruling classes were land-owning nobility with deeply conservative, militaristic worldviews rooted in the middle ages and hardened by the numerous wars of the early modern era.  

For these old élites, the combined shocks of losing a world war and being dethroned by by democrats and socialists caused wounds that could not heal. The result was a bottomless hatred for the new Republic and the document that served as its most iconic representation, the Treaty of Versailles. There was also a radical revanchism that, fused with contemporary anti-semitic and anti-communist ideas (the most iconic conglomeration of which was the so called Dolchstoßlegende or “stab-in-the-back myth”) and the brutalization of a whole generation in the trenches, led to political violence almost on par with a civil war.

While participating in parliamentary politics, mainly through the DNVP (Deutschnationale Volkspartei), the explicit aim of the Radical Conservatives was always democracy’s end – an end that they, perhaps ironically, ultimately achieved by facilitating Hitler’s power seizure. 

Nodes of reaction

Like the other factions, the Radical Conservatives need to place influence cubes to gain control over Germany’s regions and major cities. The faction with the most influence in a space (region or city) has dominance there, which grants several bonuses but also parliamentary control in the case of an election. Needless to say, securing dominance in key spaces is a very important part of any winning strategy.

Each faction has its own variant of influence placement, reflecting historical circumstances and the asymmetrical nature of the game. The Radical Conservatives spread their influence through nodes called conservative cliques – local groupings of powerful and influential individuals actively working for the Radical Conservative cause. The number of cubes that the faction can place as an action and the reach of each conservative clique depends on the current reaction level and the number of Radical Conservative middle class sympathies.

The progress/reaction track abstractly simulates the general political sentiments within the country. A high progress level benefits the Democratic Coalition, but it also allows the reaction level to rise (reaction can not be higher than progress plus one) which benefits both the Radical Conservatives and the NSDAP. Not only does a higher reaction level make additional tools available for both these factions, it also allows the Radical Conservatives to place and remove more influence cubes. This reflects the fact that progression often entails reaction, something that was made very clear during the Weimar years.

The progress/reaction track runs on leverage – basically economic muscle with the ability to affect public opinion. Neither progress nor reaction can be raised above the current number of Coalition or Radical Conservative leverage on the track, respectively. The latter is always available, as the Conservatives enjoy constant support from wealthy and influential individuals within the top echelons of society. For the Coalition things are quite different, which will be discussed in the upcoming article detailing that particular faction.       

Harnessing the power of the Mittelstand

An important game currency in The Weimar Republic is middle class sympathies pawns. While the mass movements of the early 20th century competed aggressively for the proletariat’s attention, the hearts and minds of the Mittelstand became just as important a battleground in interbellum German politics. Many people from the middle classes initially supported democracy, but as their major concerns were stability and prosperity, a sense of failed expectations soon came to dominate their views on the government. The economic turbulence and widespread political violence of the Republic’s early years may have subsided during the “golden twenties”, but the situation never truly stabilized.

Another aspect of this issue was the fact that several manifestations of liberal democracy just didn’t appeal to all segments of German society. For many member of the middle classes, especially in rural areas and smaller cities where conservative values reigned supreme, “progress” became synonymous with big city decadence and a modern way of life that had spiraled out of control. Combined with the perceived threat of Soviet style socialism and the humiliation of the Great War, this meant that huge segments of the Mittelstand sought credible alternatives to what they viewed as a failed democratic experiment. Early on, the old élites’ push for a return to tradition, militarism and monarchy seemed like the most realistic option, but as the 1920s came to a close with another economic crisis – deeper than than ever before – the more radical and uncompromising promises of National Socialism became attractive to many who had previously considered it a vulgar fringe movement.

In game terms, middle class sympathies is represented by pawns that can be moved between the game board (mostly from the progress/reaction track) and each faction’s dedicated player mat. The fact that these pawns can not be moved directly between mats simulates the slow-moving flow of political sentiments; to “steal” another player’s pawn you will need two actions as a minimum. An important exception to this rule is the NSDAP ability to “steal” middle class sympathies directly from the Radical Conservatives, reflecting the two factions’ intimate and parasitical relationship as well as the historical development described above.

The in-game importance of middle class sympathies for both right-wing factions is hard to overstate as they both need them to win through sudden victory, but for the Radical Conservatives it is also important to secure enough pawns during their day-to-day operations. The number of middle class sympathies pawns on the Radical Conservative player mat dictates the number of spaces from a conservative clique that the faction is allowed to place influence. In other words, more pawns means longer reach. This is unique to the Radical Conservatives and gives them a potential edge – at least as long as they manage to appeal to the middle classes.

Putsches and usurpation – the paths to victory

As already mentioned, Radical Conservative sudden victory requires middle class sympathies pawns – four of them to be exact, unless the faction has supremacy (strongest militant presence) in Berlin, at which point they only need three pawns. This of course reflects the fact that controlling key urban areas is crucial in any coup d’état.

The Radical Conservative variant of violent power seizure is called a Putsch, and becomes an option once they have spent enough of their economic influence. This might sound pretty simple, and in fact the Radical Conservatives do have an easier time making their sudden victory counter available than the other factions (representing the readiness of certain right-wing groups to take to arms). But, as history shows, having the option to instigate a Putsch does not necessarily mean that the Putsch will be successful. There were several attempts at power grabs during the early 1920s, most famous of which probably was the so called “Kapp Putsch” of 1920. While Wolfgang Kapp and his allies did manage to seize control of Berlin and oust the government from the capital, it failed to secure the support of public servants and the political infratructure they operated.

So, in game terms, the Radical Conservatives had supremacy in Berlin and opted to use ther Putsch counter without having enough Middle Class Sympathies. Or perhaps someone snatched a pawn or two from them in the interval between the placement of the Putsch counter and the sudden victory phase?

While violent political struggle was par for the course in the Weimar Republic, the parliamentary system still functioned throughout most of its lifespan. If Putsch attempts are too hard to pull off, there is always the option to win a general election instead (the very idea might seem repugnant to a Conservative that is truly Radical, but as most boardgamers know, beggars can’t be choosers).

Elections are held at irregular intervals during the game. Each era has its own deck of event cards, and each deck contains a number of election cards that can not be discarded or held, which means that they will be played at some point. Winning elections is all about dominating enough spaces through influence cubes to have the highest political value. Regional election winners gain parliamentary control over regions and cities which grants several benefits locally, while the general election winner also wins the game (the exception being the Democratic Coalition, who just stays in power).

When it comes to parliamentary victory, the Radical Conservatives have a unique trick up its sleeve. Any faction with momentum (basically, initiative with a few twists), may opt to transfer up to half of their political value to any one opponent during an election. This generally means throwing your support behind the Coalition to prevent an opponent from winning, but the Radical Conservatives can also use this mechanic to actually win the game. If the NSDAP faction wins a general election and at least half of their political value was transfered from the Radical Conservatives, the Radical Conservatives usurp the NSDAP victory and win the game in their stead. In other words, they manage to realize their ambitions of using “that Austrian corporal” for their own ends – ambitions that, as we know too well, failed historically and led to disastrous ends during the decline of the actual Weimar Republic.

Anti-communism and white terror: the Freikorps

In the tumultous political landscape of early 1920s Germany, ideological differences often resulted in violence. In response to the the 1918 revolution and the subsequent upsurge of radical leftism throughout the country, many right-wing and reactionary sympathizers formed irregular militia units that took up arms in what they perceived as a righteous defense of the Fatherland. Commonly rerered to as Freikorps (“free corps”), a term stemming from the 19th century but given a new meaning in Weimar Germany, these groups often consisted of hardened veterans recently returned from the trenches. As such, they were no strangers to harsh measures. The brutality of the Freikorps soon became infamous, which lent them a psychological edge in their frequent confrontations with Communist and Socialist sympathizers. Their military training and experience, combined with the ruthlessness of irregular conflict driven by politically fueled hatred, made for escalating violence that sometimes bordered on civil war.

A controversial aspect of this state of affairs was the fact that the democratic government, partly consisting of Social Democrats, actively employed Freikorps units to suppress various Communist uprisings. SPD defense minister Gustav Noske was instrumental in applying this “bloodhound” tactics which naturally served to further alienate the radical left from its reformist former brethren. In The Weimar Republic, this situation is represented by two types of Freikorps units: those controlled by the Coalition, and those controlled by the Radical Conservatives. The former can be flipped, potentially making them go rogue and join the latter. Since there is no way of knowing which units will stay loyal and which will go rogue, the Coalition player can never count on their units remaining under their control.

Another aspect of Weimar political violence was the outright terror methods employed by several right-wing groups against political opponents and perceived traitors to the nations. The most active of these groups was perhaps the Bavaria-based Organisation Consul, who was involved in several murders of prominent politicans. In game terms, this type of organized violence is represented by the assassinations counters, which remove opponent influence and also block the targeted factions from placing influence cubes until the counter is removed from the space. Both the Radical Conservatives and the NSDAP have access to these counters, making them a versatile but double-edged sword – if one of the right-wing factions is targeted, the one doing the dirty work is affected as well. This is because, as mentioned above, the relationship between Hitler and the old élites is always a “frenemy” one of interdependence as well as bitter rivalry. In the end, there can be only one winner in The Weimar Republic.

Hopefully this overview has provided some insight as to how the Radical Conservative faction functions, as well as to the factions historical role in the Weimar Republic and its relationship to the other factions. The next and final TWR faction spotlight post will deal with the Democratic Coalition.

---

Previous The Weimar Republic Faction Spotlight Articles