Kingdom of the Rhine

The Kingdom of the Rhine (Rheinsreich or Rheinskonigreich), also known by Imperial German politicians as Flussrebellensreich ("Kingdom of the River Rebels") and by American historians as the "Republic of Koblenz", was a short-lived sovereign state that encompassed three major cities along the Rhine river from November 1912 to September 1914. The United States and the United Kingdom were the only polities to recognize the Kingdom of the Rhine as a legitimate nation.

Formation
In July 1911, thousands of armed civilians and former Imperial soldiers revolted against the German Empire in the cities of Koblenz, Mannheim, and Karlsruhe as well as their surrounding regions. Each of these revolts succeeded, and city-states were subsequently established. In April of 1912, a meeting was held by the leaders of each revolt, who agreed to merge their assets into one polity. This first polity was known as the "Second Rhine League" (in reference to the League of the Rhine which existed throughout the late 17th century), though on November of the same year the League was renamed the "Kingdom of the Rhine". Walter Hesdalla, who served as the Chancellor of the Second Rhine League since its formation, was elected King of the Rhine only hours after the renaming.

History
Within their first weeks since formation, the Rhenish Army was formed and immediately spiked in numbers to over 15,000 active soldiers as well as hundreds of local militiamen. This large army, coupled with the Kingdom's U.S support, made German strategists hesitant to attack these revolted cities for over a year. In January 1913, a German force of over 5,000 soldiers supplemented by tanks and at least 500 Italian mercenaries besieged Koblenz. After four days of constant fighting that saw more than 1,500 casualties, German control was restored to Koblenz. Mannheim and Karlsruhe were besieged a week later, though Rhenish forces were stronger in these areas than they were in Koblenz. While the Germans made slow progress in their attack on Karlsruhe, the Rhenish rebels were able to completely prevent the Germans from penetrating Mannheim's defenses for over three months. Karlsruhe eventually fell under German occupation and Rhenish forces in Mannheim were quickly reduced to a straggling guerrilla movement. A German victory was declared at Mannheim on April 1913, though elements of the Rhenish Army continued to occupy small villages throughout the countryside for over a year. With the onset of World War I, German strategists shifted their focus from the Rhenish resistance, allowing them to thrive in some isolated areas. On August 18, 1914, 20,000 German soldiers were deployed on a campaign to root out and destroy the Kingdom's remnants, and the last village under the Rhenish Army's control was liberated on September 5, 1914. Walter Hesdalla, who went into hiding after commanding the defense at Mannheim, was discovered only two days later in a secret estate. On September 24 ,1914, Hesdalla was publicly executed by firing squad at the village that had been liberated only nineteen days earlier by some of the same German soldiers that fought there. Rhenish soldiers who managed to escape capture fought in other armies as mercenaries or volunteers; at least 180 former members of the Rhenish Army, who hid from German authorities for over three years (some participated in organized crime), reemerged to join the American Expeditionary Forces during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in 1918. Some of these volunteers were deployed on espionage missions in which they were disguised as German soldiers.

Throughout the course of the Rhenish rebellion, at least 8,600 German soldiers and 5,070 Rhenish rebels were killed. The largest battle of the rebellion was fought at Mannheim, which saw the rebellion's highest casualty rate and the debut of several prototype German bombers and artillery pieces.

Controversy
Many German politicians claimed that the Rhenish rebellion was secretly instigated and funded by the United States. While American politicians were quick to deny this accusation, they showed public support for the rebellion. An Imperial German spy later revealed that the U.S Air Force supplied around 1,000 M1903 Springfield rifles and an undisclosed quantity of prototype fragmentation grenades to the Rhenish Army.