Freikorps Epp or Freikorps Ritter von Epp, also called the Bayerisches Schützenkorps was a paramilitary Freikorps of the Weimar Republic, which was raised in February 1919 by Franz Ritter von Epp to suppress the Bavarian Soviet Republic following the German revolution of 1918–1919. The unit was absorbed into the Reichswehr, the armed forces of the republic, and was later used to suppress the Ruhr Red Army during the Ruhr uprising. Notable members of the unit included Ernst Röhm, Rudolf Hess, Eduard Dietl, Hans Frank, Gregor Strasser and Otto Strasser.

Franz Ritter von Epp was a career officer of the Imperial German Army who fought in the Herero Wars, the Boxer Rebellion, and World War I. Epp was awarded the Military Order of Max Joseph for heroism displayed in 1916 and was ennobled with the title of Ritter by Wilhelm, German Crown Prince. By 1918, Epp was promoted to the rank of Oberst and commanded the Royal Bavarian Life Guards.

Following the 1918 Armistice, the German Empire was dissolved after the declaration of the Weimar Republic which plunged much of Germany into the German revolution of 1918–1919. During this time, many Freikorps were created to suppress the numerous revolutionary outbreaks, which included the Spartacist uprising and the Bavarian Soviet Republic among others. Freikorps were a way for the new republic to establish and maintain order during its early years. They also demonstrated the ineptitude of the provisional Reichswehr and its inability to maintain law and order.

Freikorps Epp was founded in February 1919 at Ohrdruf in Freistaat Sachsen-Gotha (today, part of Thuringia) at the behest of Gustav Noske, the soon-to-be Reichsminister of Defense, in order to suppress the Bavarian Soviet Republic. Freikorps Epp was organized between February and April 1919. On March 31, 1919 Epp had only 49 officers, 33 non-commissioned officers and 94 enlisted men, however, by April 23, 1919 this had increased to approximately 700 men. It was headquartered in Ulm as the Bavarian Rifle Corps (German: Bayerisches Schützenkorps). Freikorps Epp was organized in the spring of 1919 as follows:

On April 27, 1919 Freikorps Epp, along with the Freikorps Görlitz, Freikorps Lützow, Freikorps Werdenfels, Marinebrigade Ehrhardt, Freikorps Oberland, the Württembergische Sicherheitstruppen (Württemberg Security Forces) under the command of Erwin Rommel, and several Württemberg military units were deployed to the Bavarian Soviet Republic to attack Munich. The government troops had a total strength of approximately 20,000 men. On April 28, 1919 Freikorps Epp quickly occupied the cities of Freising, Erding, Wasserburg am Inn, and Gars am Inn. By May 1, Munich was encircled by the combined Freikorps and Reichswehr forces. The next day, Munich was completely occupied by both Freikorps and Weimar government forces.

During the fighting, it is estimated that Epp's Freikorps killed upward of 600 "communists" and "Spartacists", although many of these were likely civilians. During the occupation of Munich, Freikorps Epp was held responsible for the administration of Stadelheim Prison. While stationed at Stadelheim, Freikorps Epp extrajudicially killed Gustav Landauer, a notable German anarchist, along with massacring Kolping Societyapprentices in Giesing. Adolf Hitler witnessed the destruction of the Bavarian Soviet Republic firsthand while stationed in Munich, and was even hired by Epp as an informant to root out German Communists from the military.

In the summer of 1919, Freikorps Epp was disbanded and incorporated into the Reichswehr as Reichswehr-Brigade 21 München, and the unit was informally known as the Epp Brigade. Epp led the Epp Brigade from May 14, 1919 until September 30, 1920. Other units, including the Freikorps Oberland and Freikorps Bogendörfer, were also integrated into the brigade. The unit was restructured as follows:

On March 23, 1920, Epp's Brigade along with other Reichswehr units, including Freikorps Lichtschlag, Freikorps Aulock, and the Marine-Brigade von Loewenfeld were deployed to the Ruhr region of North Rhine-Westphalia in order to suppress the Ruhr uprising which was a direct result of the ongoing Kapp Putsch. On March 31, 1919 the Reichswehr and Epp Brigade encountered elements of the Ruhr Red Army near Herringen and the Radbod Mine in Bockum-Hövel. The Epp Brigade killed between 150 and 300 workers at the mine, many of which were likely civilians and had no part in the uprising. The Reichswehr only stopped at the Ruhr because the British Army of the Rhine threatened to occupy the Bergisches Land for violating the Treaty of Versailles.