Colonels putsch
| Colonels putsch | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Kirenian-Weranian War | |||||||
 Brigadegeneral Walther von Dörnberg and Oberst Joachim Wurzbacher prior to the coup | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Werania |
Weranic Generals | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Maximilian III Franz Rössler |
Walther von Dörnberg Joachim Wurzbacher | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| |Government-loyal armed force | Counter force armed force | ||||||
The Colonels Putsch (Weranic: Oberst Putsch) sometimes named the Kirenia Putsch was a failed coup d'état in Werania near the end of the Kirenian-Weranian War. It was conducted by a group of hardline generals opposed to the government of Franz Rössler's proposal to negotiate with the Kirenian government regarding a conditional surrender, with the leaders of the putsch Walther von Dörnberg and Joachim Wurzbacher believing only the imposition of a military government could ensure the continued prosecution of the war.
The putschists intended to tale power by taking over the Bundestag, the Chancellery and the imperial palace ousting the government and forcing monarch Maximilian III to appoint von Dörnberg Chancellor and Wurzbacher Chief of Staff, ensuring the war would be continued to be fought.
From the beginning however the coup was poorly planned, with no Generaloberst being privy to the plan. Whilst the military were able to take the Chancellery forces assigned to the imperial palace refused to move against the monarch, leading to Maximilian III to go on the radio to denounce the coup and order the army to resist the coup. Army units subsequently rebelled against putschist officers whilst civil resistance - notably in the form of a general strike - led to the coup to dissipate when in attempted to dissolve the Bundestag. Von Dörnberg was arrested whilst Wurzbacher committed suicide - the government of Franz Rössler also fell due to its inability to stop the putsch.
The putsch galvanised anti-war sentiment in Werania with many believing that the extremism of the anti-communist factions in the military to be more dangerous than the advancing Kirenian armies. The failure of the putsch led to the Rayenne Treaty and the end of the war and would ultimately provide the impetus for Weranian decolonisation.