Despite his government involvement at least till 22 February, it is thought that Merges, was the leader of a number of local insurrections during the turbulent early months of 1919, though details of his involvement are hard to pin down. Meanwhile revolution encouraged counter-revolution: a succession of "Freikorps" ("private armies") emerged, manned by (otherwise) unemployed former soldiers and organised by (otherwise) unemployed former generals, who had returned from the war disillusioned, powerfully nostalgic for the "good old days", and with a taste for violence. On 17 April 1919 General Georg Maercker appeared in Braunschweig with a large Freikorps unit in order to put down the general strike, which had been called by "extremist Spartakist elements" (almost certainly including August Merges) and was "causing chaos". Maercker was a pioneer of the post-war Freikorps movement and arrived with his reputation enhanced by his contribution to averting some soviet-style revolution in Berlin. It is only fair to add that one of Maercker's first public actions following his arrival in the "Socialist Republic of Braunschweig" involved nothing more brutish than holding a press conference. Fearing arrest, August Merges nevertheless went into hiding in Braunschweig, living "underground" (with his place of residence not registered at the city hall). At some point over the next few weeks he fled to Berlin.