Revolutionaries attempt to erect the dictatorship of the proletariat

The socialist provisional government that followed the overthrow of the monarchy in the November Revolution of 1918 tried to maintain a united front, integrating both those factions seeking an orderly transition to democracy and supporters of radical change. When moderates began to co-operate with the former imperial military, the radical left saw this as a betrayal of their goals and left the government. Allying with other radical groupings such as the Spartacus league, they formed the Communist Party of Germany (KPD).
Seeking to bring socialism to Germany, the KPD planned the overthrow of the provisional government in order to prevent elections to a new National Assembly. To this end they gathered arms, occupied buildings and set up barricades in the streets of Berlin. Regular troops combined with paramilitary Freikorps – former soldiers espousing a radical right-wing ideology – to suppress the uprising on behalf of the government. Fighting continued until 13 January, claiming many lives.