THE BEER HALL PUTSCH
At about 8:30 in the evening on November 8, Hitler's personal bodyguard detachment arrived at the Bürgerbräu Keller to join the Storm Trooper units which were preparing to surround the beer hall. Inside the beer hall the Bavarian Prime Minister Gustav Kahr was addressing a meeting of around 3000 businessmen. Kahr was joined by some of the most senior men in Bavarian politics including, Seisser, Bavaria’s police chief, and Lossow, the local army commander. Hitler took the arrival of his personal bodyguard unit as the signal to begin the putsch. When he entered the beer hall he fired his pistol into the ceiling, interrupting Kahr's rally, and declared that the “national revolution” had begun. Surrounded by armed guards, Hitler pushed his way to the front and briefly addressed the crowd. He then ordered Lossow, Seisser and Kahr into another room where he tried to persuade them at gunpoint into backing his putsch. Believing he had secured their support, Hitler and the three Bavarian leaders returned to the main hall and addressed the crowd. Next the Storm Troopers took over the Army headquarters but consequently not the telegraph office. Later that day Kahr, released by Hitler called the police and army reinforcements. The next day, Hitler led around 2,000 Nazis members in a march to the Feldherrnhalle on the Ludwigsstrasse. Munich law enforcement clashed with the marchers as they reached the Odeonsplatz. The shootout left 14 Nazis and four police officers dead and put a final end to the putsch.