• The German army was reduced to a maximum of 100, 000 men by the Treaty of Versailles, and compulsory military training was not allowed.
• Nonetheless, Hitler introduced conscription in 1935. He killed more than one bird with this stone:
  
  • He was breaking the Treaty of Versailles, something he had promised his followers he would do.
  • He was building up the army, making Germany strong again.
  • He was creating jobs, relieving unemployment.
    
    
• A peacetime army of 550, 000 men was created within two years through conscription.

Weapons

• Germany started rearming before 1935.
• Some of this happened in Germany in secret.
• Some of it was achieved by the clever use of third parties, where the actual weapons manufacture took place in neighbouring countries such as Austria.
• In 1935 Hitler publicly announced that Germany was going to rearm, and would be producing military equipment like guns and tanks in large quantities.
• An example:

Goring was an ace in the German air force in World War I. An ace was someone who had shot down a large number of enemy aircraft and survived. Famous aces were the Red Baron and Major Edward 'Mick' Mannock. Mannock shot down more than 70 enemy aircraft.

• Hitler got the opportunity to test the new weapons and the quality of his army in 1936, when civil war broke out in Spain. Hitler sent troops to support the nationalist General Franco, who overthrew the republican government.