Wehrmacht
World War I ended with the armistice (ceasefire) of 11 November 1918. The armed forces were called Friedensheer (peace army) in January 1919. In March 1919, the national assemby passed a law founding a 420,000 strong preliminary army as Vorläufige Reichswehr. The terms of the Treaty of Versailles were announced in May and, in June, Germany was forced to sign the contract. Among other terms, the army was limited to one hundred thousand men with fifteen thousand more in the navy. Tanks and heavy artillery were forbidden and the air force was dissolved. A new post-war military (the Reichswehr) was established on 23 March 1921.