The Freikorps Lichtschlag was formed on 14 December 1918 and saw action in the Ruhr and western Germany.
It was used to form Reichswehr-Brigade 31 in June 1919.

A memorial in memory of the fallen of this Freikorps unit was inaugurated 25 June 1934 in Dorsten, it carried the inscription:

Den Freikorps Lichtschlag/Loewenfeld, Februar 1919 - März 1920. Unsern Befreiern aus Spartakistengewalt. Mit Adolf Hitler im zweiten Jahr des dritten Reiches 1934. Euch was vehüllt. Nun ists am Tag. Ihr schlugt den ersten Hammerschlag.

It was thrown into the river by British soldiers after the war. It was salvaged in 1949 and used as a memorial for prisoners of war.

Commanders

Hauptmann Otto Lichtschlag

Formed in the area of

Generalkommando VII. Armeekorps Münster (Provinz Westfalen, Lippe)

Manpower strength

2.530

Notable members

SS-Brigadeführer Georg Asmus
SS-Standartenführer Rudolf Beiber
SS-Brigadeführer Karl Dellenbusch
SS-Brigadeführer Anton Diermann
SS-Gruppenführer Helmut Friedrichs
SS-Gruppenführer Richard Glücks
SS-Obergruppenführer Anton Kleinheisterkamp
SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS Matthias Kleinheisterkamp
(the ranks are the highest ranks reached in the Third Reich era)

Insignia

Sleeve badge with a shield featuring a rampant horse, the shield surrounded by a wreath.

Mounted troops of Freikorps Lichtschlag


Soldiers of Freikorps Lichtschlag

Sources used

Nigel Jones - The birth of the Nazis: How the Freikorps blazed a trail for Hitler
Georg Tessin - Deutsche Verbände und Truppen 1918-1939
Robert Thomas & Stefan Pochanke - Handbuch zur geschichte der Deutschen Freikorps
Robert G. L. Waite - Vanguard of Nazism: The Free Corps Movement in Postwar Germany 1918-1923
Charles Woolley - German Uniforms, Insignia & Equipment 1918-1923

Reference material on this unit

- None known at this time -