the term become mainstream, both within and outside Germany. According to historian Richard J. Evans: The continued use of the term 'German Empire', Deutsches Reich, by the Weimar Republic ... conjured up an image among educated Germans that resonated far beyond the institutional structures Bismarck created: the successor to the Roman Empire; the vision of God's Empire here on earth; the universality of its claim to suzerainty; and a more prosaic but no less powerful sense, the concept of a German state that would include all German speakers in central Europe—'one People, one Reich, one Leader', as the Nazi slogan was to put it. Flag and coat of arms The old black-red-gold tricolor was named as the national flag in the Weimar Constitution. It was abolished in 1935 after the Nazi Party seized the power. The coat of arms was initially based on the Reichsadler introduced by the Paulskirche Constitution of 1849, and announced in November 1911. In 1928, a new design by Karl-Tobias Schwab was adopted as national coat of arms, which was used until being replaced by Nazi's Reichsadler in 1935, and readopted by the Federal Republic of Germany in 1950. Armed forces After the dissolution of the army of the former German Empire, known as the Deutsches Heer (simply "German Army") or the Reichsheer ("Army of the Realm") in 1918; Germany's military forces consisted of irregular paramilitaries, namely the various right-wing Freikorps ("Free Corps") groups composed of veterans from the war. The Freikorps units were formally disbanded in 1920 (although continued to exist in underground groups), and on 1 January 1921, a new Reichswehr (figuratively; Defence of the realm) was created. The Treaty of Versailles limited the size of the Reichswehr to 100,000 soldiers (consisting of seven infantry divisions and three cavalry divisions), 10 armoured cars and a navy (the Reichsmarine) restricted to 36 ships in active service. No aircraft of any kind was allowed. The main advantage of this limitation, however, was that the Reichswehr could afford to pick the best recruits for service. However, with inefficient armour and no air support, the Reichswehr would have had limited combat abilities. Privates were mainly recruited from the countryside, as it was believed that young men from cities were prone to socialist behaviour, which would fray the loyalty of the privates to their conservative officers. Although technically in service of the republic, the army was predominantly officered by