After World War I, the German Army was restricted to 100,000 men, so there were a great number of Imperial German Army soldiers suddenly de-mobilized. Many of these men were hardened into a Frontgemeinschaft, a front-line community. It was a spirit of camaraderie that was formed due to the length and horrors of trench warfare of World War I. These paramilitary groups filled a need for many of these soldiers who suddenly lost their "family"—the army.