Noske asked the commanders to defend the government buildings but was turned down. All but two of the officers (one of them was Reinhardt, "Chef der Heeresleitung") refused to follow an order to shoot at the rebel troops. Some suggested negotiations, others claimed that the troops would not understand an order to fire, some argued that the regular units would not be able to defeat the elite "Marinebrigade". Seeckt spoke about comradeship. His exact words were not recorded, but have been reported as: "troops do not fire on troops. So, you perhaps intend, Herr Minister, that a battle be fought before the "Brandenburger Tor" between troops that have fought side by side against a common enemy? When Reichswehr fires on Reichswehr all comradeship within the officers' corps will have vanished". Others have quoted Seeckt's words as the even more succinct: "Reichswehr does not fire on Reichswehr!"