French occupation of Frankfurt

French occupation of Frankfurt occurred from 6 April to 17 May 1920 as part of

the Allied occupation of the Rhineland. The principal city occupied was Frankfurt,
but the French also occupied Dieburg, Darmstadt, Hanau and Homburg. The
occupation was in response to the mobilisation of armed forces by the government
of Hermann Müller to suppress the Ruhr Uprising - which in turn was part of a
widespread strike movement which defeated the Kapp Putsch.

Contents
French economic concerns Tricolour flying over the Imperial
The Kapp Putsch Hotel, Opernplatz, in front of the Alte
The French justifcation for the occupation Oper, Frankfurt

Hauptwache incident
References

French economic concerns

On 20 January 1920 Alexandre Millerand succeeded Georges Clemenceau as Prime Minister of France. On 31 January he attended
the first meeting of the Conseil supérieur de la guerre since the armistice and enquired whether the French Army was capable of
occupying the Ruhr. Edmond Buat, the Chief of Staff of the French Army, replied this would only be possible with the mobilisation
of reserves.[1]

The Kapp Putsch

The Kapp Putsch was an attempted coup on 13 March 1920 by parts of the Reichswehr (military), the Freikorps and other
conservative, nationalist and monarchist factions. They aimed to undo the German Revolution of 1918–1919, overthrow the Weimar
Republic and establish a right-wing autocratic government in its place.

The French justifcation for the occupation

The French claimed that Articles 42 to 44 of the peace treaty of Versailles concerning the demilitarisation of the Rhineland had been
broken.[2] These had designated a neutral zone 50 kilometres deep on the left bank of the Rhine. In this area any construction of
fortifications or any military maneuvers were strictly forbidden, it being further specified that any breach would "be regarded as
committing a hostile act against the Powers signatory of the present reaty
T and as calculated to disturb the peace of the world."

Hauptwache incident
On 7 April, some Moroccan soldiers of the 3rd Moroccan Tirailleurs Regiment were stationed at the Hauptwache in the centre of
Frankfurt. Originally they were surrounded by a curious crowd. However the situation deteriorated and the troops opened fire with a
machine gun. This led to nine people being killed and twenty six wounded.[3] The following day, when newspaper publishing was
recommenced, the Mayor Georg Voigt, the Police Chief Ehler and the President of the Alternative Government, Cossman, issued a
call for calm.[4]
References
1. McDougall, Walter A. (2015). France's Rhineland Policy, 1914-1924:
The Last Bid for a Balance of Power in Europe(https://books.google.co.
uk/books?id=cIh9BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA111&lpg=PA111&dq=Frankfurt+8+
April+1920&source=bl&ots=suQ9t0_ZEr&sig=1v8IwwrjY vjjdEY6o5En2F
pTGgw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjo46mM-I_dAhUkB8AKHR1lBuMQ
6AEwDXoECAQQAQ#v=onepage&q=Frankfurt%208%20April%201920
&f=false). Princeton University Press.ISBN 9781400870219. Retrieved
28 August 2018. Photograph from L'Illustration, 1920.
2. "French march into Germany".The Times. 7 April 1920. p. 10. The morning of 7th April, before the
3. "Tote und Verletzte an der Frankfurter Hauptwache, 7. April 1920sen"(ht clash which took place early that
tp://lagis-hessen.de/de/subjects/browse/current/22/section/3/sn/edb)
. afternoon.
lagis-hessen.de (in German). Hessisches Landesamt für geschichtliche
Landeskunde. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
4. Gustave Babin (1920). "Aux Bord du Rhin".L'Illustration. 78 Année (17 April 1920, 4024): 229–233.

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