Yeah, the closest adversaries are Persia with 800 something and Japan with about that much. It's a modded ARMA scenario, and they all conquered the IC they have.
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So... we meet again, my old literary white whale. Shall l trade Achab's harpoon for a pen - or, more modernly, a keyboard - and see if I can squeeze some more oil from your entrails? There were some promising scenes that I wanted to write, after all.
Captain Ahab never had a Soixante-Quinze, if he had it would have been a much shorter book. And a much better one.
I am therefore confident that there is much more that you can squeeze from this white whale and I look forward to the results of your efforts.
Captain Ahab never had a Soixante-Quinze, if he had it would have been a much shorter book. And a much better one.
I am therefore confident that there is much more that you can squeeze from this white whale and I look forward to the results of your efforts.
I have just finished tinkering with the game editor, so there is hope for Achab at long last - if re-reading my poor prose to remember where I dropped the pen doesn't prompt me to renounce writing altogether.
Just don't do what I did and feel compelled to go back and fix all the things you now know you would have done better. It's a fools errand and just becomes another distraction from getting some new brand words written.
Sage advice, I guess. Although there are some cringeworthy passages that would undoubtedly earn me the eternal scorn of my old English teachers...
Oh well, the damage is done and (hopefully) not lethal. At least this trip to badly-written memory lane reminded me there still are two or three tweaks I need to do to edit the 1936 scenario before I can start the game and bring the world where I left it - perilously close to WW2!
Captain Ahab never had a Soixante-Quinze, if he had it would have been a much shorter book. And a much better one.
I am therefore confident that there is much more that you can squeeze from this white whale and I look forward to the results of your efforts.
Dammit PIp, I think you're right. There is still much I could churn out of this story. Oh well, I'mp going to inflict some more Crossfires into this innocent and unsuspecting world, and know that it will all be YOUR fault! If the first post I read from the new and improved forums hadn't been one lamenting I had dropped the quill in the middle of the story, then none of what's coming would have arrived !
And well, maybe I'll win a special prize for "Longest hiatus" or something.
Hurrah! My work here is done.
Well, now that you posted an update, I suppose I should do the same, shouldn't I?
I still have to find and upload two or three pictures, but I'll add another chapter tomorrow, about the Axis' order of battle and grand plans for the immediate future of Europe.
CHAPTER 117 – THE UNAFFORDABLE PEACE
Berlin, the Reichskanzelerei, April the 20th,1939
“One moment, bitte, Herr Oberst” said the SS sentry, refusing the special red pass that Hossbach had handed him. “I have to check today's list.”
“Of course, of course” said Hossbach, wiping off some sweat off his balding pate. His official car has arrived late because of an administrative mix-up, and the heavy traffic that marred Berlin's avenues at this hour had not allowed his chauffeur to make up for the lost time. In front of him, another SS soldier was checking the contents of his leather case. Hossbach glanced at his watched nervously, but there was nothing to be done - multiple security checks were a part of life when one, like Hossbach, had access to the Führer of the Greater German Reich. With a heavy sigh, the OKW Colonel forced him to stand still. There was no hurrying the process, and he knew form experience the SS-Leibstandarte soldiers who got guard duty at the Chancellery took their mission extremely seriously.
“Everything is in order Herr Oberst” finally said the head of the security detachment, with a sharp salute.
“Ach, gut” said Hossbach, relieved. “Tell me, have they begun?”
“Not yet, Herr Oberst” replied the SS-Scharführer with a thin smile as Hossbach got his pass and briefcase back. “We were told the Führer ate late.”
Thank God for birthday cream cakes, thought Hossbach, hurrying along the Chancellery's red-marbled corridors. At least I know where to go!
As one the OKW Central Planning Office's bright stars, Hossbach was indeed a familiar figure for most of the SS-Leibstandarte soldiers taking guard duty at the Chancellery. In the past two years, and particularly since the Czech affair, not a week passed without the Führer demanding a report from the OKW about the ongoing Lutfwaffe's ability to fight the British Bomber Command, the modernization of the Polish Army, or the capabilities of the new French carrier. And at least once a month, the briefing turned into a full inter-arms conference, where Hitler, Goering, Raeder and the OKW top brass discussed more strategic – and secret – issues. At first a mere number-cruncher on lease from an Infanterie Division to get some General Staff experience, Hossbach had soon been noted for his ability to deliver quick and intelligent analysis, and also for his photographic memory – a much useful talent to answer Hitler's many questions on the spot. These days, no conference or briefing was organized without him.
The marble gallery, resounding with the click of officers boots on this fateful dayDeciding he had just enough time to refresh himself before the conference – the Führer was known to comment upon moist handshakes and sweat-drenched officers – Hossbach walked briskly into the lavatory just as a younger officer went out.
“Oof!” said Hossbach, dropping his briefcase as he struggled to find back his balance.
“Watch it… Oh, Grüss Got” said the young man, snapping at attention.”Terribly sorry, Herr Oberst”
“At ease, at ease”, growled Hossbach, annoyed at himself. “You are part of the conference? I don't think I have met you before”, he added, taking a good look at the young officer. It was a tall Captain, with high cheekbones and a sharp nose that gave him a somewhat aquiline look. At the present moment, the bird of prey was red-faced, picking up the briefcase both men had dropped when they collided into each other.
“Yes, Herr Oberst. Hauptmann von Stauffenberg, sir, First Light Division – we are stationed in Prague at the moment. General Hoepner sent me here to represent him should questions about the integration of Czech forces in the Wehrmacht arise.”
“General Hoepner sent you to represent him at this conference?” said Hossbach, arching his eyebrows. “Then be proud, my young Stauffenberg, and thank your good fortune: you do not know yet, but today, you are going to take part to a really historic moment. Now, let's hurry to the conference room, Captain. Oh, and give me my briefcase, will you? Make sure it's mine – we would both be rather embarrassed, I think, if there was some mix-up”.
The Reich Chancellery, Hitler's office, April the 20th, 1939
Hitler's 400-square meter office
“… and for these accomplishments, mein Führer”, Generalfeldmarschal Keitel concluded, raising his glass, “I thank you, in the name of all the officers and soldiers of our reborn armed forces, and wish you a most happy 50th birthday. Heil Hitler!”
“Heil!” responded the audience, snapping to attention. Despite its grandiose proportions – to the astonished Stauffenberg it seemed bigger than a tennis court - the Führer's office was packed full of officers of every arm, service and SS bureau imahinable, and Stauffenberg took advantage of the commotion to elbow his way closer to the massive mahogany table that marked the separation between the high-ranking officials and the rest of the audience. After a few irritated looks, he finally reached a less crowded place where an Army Major welcomed him with a sarcastic smile.
“Better stay here, Captain”, said the Major gruffly, “before you step on the wrong toes. There are some high-ranking feet today.”
Stauffenbeg nodded. It was an undestatement, for, behind the table, all the bonzen seemed to be there: not only the top brass like Keitel, Brauchitsch and Raeder, but also some civilian bigwigs, like Josef Goebbels. That surprised Stauffenberg : had Hoepner said the diminutive Propaganda Minister usually attended military conferences? He couldn't remember. To Goebbels' right, Heinrich Himmler, the most-feared man in Germany, was wiping clean his spectacles - with a black piece of cloth with SS runes, Stauffenberg noted with some amusement – making a show of pretending not to hear Hermann Goering who was nervously muttering something to him. To Hitler's left, “Party Comrade Hess”, as was now the title usually given to the Deputy-Führer of the Reich, stood alone, seeming lost in thought.
“Impressive crowd, don't you think?” whispered the Major to Stauffenberg. “Major Helmuth Groscurth, Abwehr.”
“Captain von Stauffenberg, First Light Division” replied Stauffenberg, bowing his head. “I'm here to represent General Hoepner”
“Is that so? I think General Hoepner will regret having missed this conference”, said Groscurth.
“So I've been told” replied Stauffenberg, looking around for Hossbach. From the corner ofhis eye, he could see the colonel had managed to reach the table, and was trading a few words with Keitel.
"Gentlemen" said Hitler's adjutant. "Before our Führer opens this conference, one last precaution. If by any chance anyone present does not have today's special red pass, it is now time to leave the room. Thank you."
Escorted by two SS sentries, the waiters gathered the glasses and empty bottles of champagne and left, closing the doors behind them. As the heavy doors clicked shut, the room fell dead silent.
"Meine Herren" said Hitler. "Officers of the Reich, dear Party comrades. First, let me thank you for your many wishes, and offer some excuses for the particular security measures you were submitted to. For today is not an ordinary birthday for me - actually it is no ordinary day for Germany. This is why I wanted this conference to be held here, and be held today, instead of at the Bendlerblock or at Zossen. Let our enemies think this is just a social occasion, a little party to fete me. We have many things to celebrate today, of course, for I have accomplished much in this life, and particularly in the past six years. Remember where we were six years ago! Germany was on her knees, her people plagued by unemployment, her army forced into clandestinity, her power shackled by heinous treaties and wasted away by traitorous politicians. I suffered these indignities with you, I felt the agony of German patriots and rued the arrogance of our enemies. I saw all that, and I acted! Who could recognize yesterday's prostrate country in our now triumphant German Reich? Who could recognize the malnourished unemployed of the past in the strong, vibrant Volk of today? Who could recognize the meager and disheartened battalions of the Reichswehr in the powerful Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS troops that protect us? I had the power to change all that, I seized the power to make today's Germany not only possible, but a glorious reality, from Köln to Memel, and from Kiel to Prague!"
"Heil, mein Führer!" shouted Hess ecstatically, prompting the whole room to follow suit.
"I accomplished this miracle that is Germany", pursued Hitler, "because I vowed to fight to the death to bring the Reich I had envisioned to life, acting and living as if every day was my last. Naturally, the energy to accomplish great things comes easier to young leaders than to old men - consider Alexander, or Caesar, who carved up the world before they turned grey. In times of crisis as well as of opportunities, it is a fortunate nation indeed, that can rely on a young leader's energy and audacity. Yes, yesterday's Germany is but shade of its present self. But be not mistaken, Meine Herren : today's German Reich is itself a mere shade of what it can, must, and will become. Though much has been accomplished, much more still needs to be done. We are still surrounded by jealous enemies, who work against us and wish nothing but to bring Germany to her knees again. We are still denied the right to a vital space where all the German-speaking peoples could assert their birthright. We are still denied a just peace, as England still works against us on the seas, and France conspires against us in Eastern Europe. We cannot let their treacherous plans come to fruition in five, ten or twenty years, when our life-force is spent on peacetime pleasures, and our leaders are weakened by old age. Not when the future of the German Reich and its very existence are at stake. Now is not the time to grow complacent, to wallow in our successes, to get lulled by a false sense of security. No! Now is time to act, to strike while the Reich is younger, stronger than our enemies!"
Stauffenberg felt a jolt along his spine. In the audience, many stunned officers traded quick glances. As Hossbach promised, this was no ordinary conference.
“Did he...” Stauffenberg muttered. Hitler's words, resounding on the lavishly marbled room, had shaken him to the core.
“Yes” growled Groscurth. “Now hush.”
"There is but one way to act, to secure Germany's future, and that is to defeat - decisively - our enemies. We are at the apex of our power in Europe, yes, but soon our enemies will take notice and mobilize their forces against us. Already they are building up, eroding our current position. The coming European war is inevitable, gentlemen. It is thus imperative that you know the current strategic situation. Generalfeldmarchall Keitel.”
“Danke, Mein Führer” said Keitel, stepping to the table. Like everything in that office, it had been designed by Albert Speer, Hitler's favourite architect, to impress. “From a strictly military perspective, the Reich stands today at a crossroads. While our central position, as Europe's heartland, makes us vulnerable to some form of strategic encirclement, the repudiation of the Versailles diktat has allowed us to rebuild the tools to break such a circle. Thanks to the Führer's wisdom, German forces have reached the point where they are, as they should, the first and most powerful army in Europe. Like Sigmund's sword, the broken Reichswehr has been re-forged! Even at the current peacetime levels, the Heer totals a hundred and twelve divisions, half of them fully manned and operational. Of these immediately available divisions, twelve belong to the Panzerwaffe and are slated for quick, decisive strikes : seven armoured divisions and five motorized Panzergrenadier ones. Once the mobilization process begins, twenty additional, including two Panzerdivisionen, will be deployed – ten in the first week, and ten more within three weeks. The Czech Anschluss has allowed us to seize enough weapons to arm over thirty divisions, including two new Panzerdivisionen, and we will use that matériel as a stopgap until the Reich's factories – including our newly-acquired Czech ones – can produce standardized German designs. Our main difficulty will come from a relative scarcity of trained officers and non-commissioned officers, which means the last wave of mobilized units will need more time to train and reach the Heer's operational standards.”
Around Stauffenberg, there was a murmur of approval among Heer officers. The forced downsizing of the Reichswehr, after the Great War, they all knew, had aimed at precisely that : to hamper Germany's mobilization capacity for decades to come. The clandestine rearmament program begun by the Weimar Republik had somewhat reduced this handicap, as had the radical change of training methods, but even after four years of vigorous remilitarization the Third Reich was still striving to form a large enough officer cadre for its future units. Should war break out, Germany would then either have to prevail in the early months of the war, or play the long game to allow veterans and trained officers to whip up conscripts into an efficient fighting force.
“On the first day of the war”, Keitel continued, “our active forces will match the combined forces of the continental powers potentially arrayed against us : France, Italy, and Austria, as well as Poland. As these nations are not yet on war footing, we will have to strike fast, so as to knock some of them out of the conflict before they can fully mobilize. The OKW has devised a variety of plans to achieve such a result and throw our enemies on the defensive, thus ensuring our own mobilization program. This plan will largely depend on the close cooperation between Heer and Luftwaffe units, which will act as the sword and shield of the Reich. German superiority will thus be undisputed. With twelve squadrons of fighter and heavy fighters, we can dispute air superiority to any coalition of enemies. Our assault squadrons are also more numerous – sixteen squadrons, including five of Stuka dive bombers, stand ready to support our divisions and attack enemy targets. That represent more than the French and British forces put together with their lackeys. Moreover, airmen enjoy better planes, and better training. They are also battle-tested. Through a clever system of rotation, fifteen percent of our bombing crews and a ten percent of the fighter pilots did fight with Spanish Nationalists during the 1936 rebellion. That invaluable experience in modern warfare has not been lost! Already it has led to changes in the way the Luftwaffe trains, as well as to notable improvements of the planes' designs themselves. And as our enemies will discover, the Luftwaffe has also greatly improved air defence tactics and matériel, both in terms of mobile anti-aircraft units and in what regards the protection of strategic assets of the Reich against the RAF's heavy bomber command and its nascent French counterpart. Our divisions, our factories, our cities will operate under a steel umbrella. Truly, we can be thankful of Reichsmarschall Goering's energy and accomplishments.””
“Shouldn't the Reichsmarschall be speaking for the Luftwaffe?” inquired Stauffenberg, sotto voce.
“Indeed” murmured Groscurth. “He seems oddly subdued today”. Goering had welcomed Keitel's lavish praise with a quick, forced smile that to both men had looked more like a wince of pain. The third man of the Reich, usually known for his ferocious joviality and bigger-than-life antics, seemed pale and anxious, quite distant from the rest of the Bonzen. He barely reacted when Raeder brushed past him to present the naval situation.
“It is of course at sea that we have to face the greatest challenge”, said the Admiral through clenched jaws. “Even the rapid modernization of our Reichsmarine cannot, of course, allow us to challenge the Royal navy, if England chooses to intervene. Should Britain stay out of conflict, though, we have the means to engage the French navy on favorable terms. First – and this is the first time most of you will hear about it – we will receive this very summer two aircraft carriers. They are a clandestine, but essential part of our Z-Plan, built and completed in secret in the Leningrad shipyards as part of negotiations with the Soviets. Equipped with navalized versions of our Messerchmidt fighters and Stuka bombers, they will tremendously improve our ability to wage naval warfare and will also tie up enemy ships and planes which would otherwise be used offensively against us. Second, our naval shipyards – as well as friendly ones the Reich has commissioned – are working diligently to give us what we lacked in 1917 : a strong submarine force. As of today, we have a hundred and eight submarines, which will allow to maintain over thirty boats on combat missions in the Atlantic, with thirty more en route to or from combat areas and thirty more on repairs or training missions. As we will take the initiative of the conflict, that mean we'll be able to pre-position a larger percentile of our U-Boot as well as powerful surface raiders, which will maximize our offensive capabilities in the first weeks of operations. Needless to say, their first objective will be to attack commerce shipping, as neither France nor Britain can keep their war industry running without importing strategic materials and foodstuff from colonies or neutral countries. Their ability to do so will be greatly degraded by our raiders, and of course by the threat presented by the Japanese navy. Regardless of Japan's involvement in the war, the British and French navies will have to divert forces to protect their extensive colonies in Asia and try to deter the Imperial Japanese government from entering the conflict. This will help us greatly. In Europe itself, arrangements are being made to allow us to base and refuel submarines and raiders in various friendly or neutral countries. We will enjoy greater access to the Atlantic than ever, which will also force the French and British navies to stretch their fleets thin in their efforts to stem the tide of our submarine offensive.”
“Finally”, resumed Keitel, “the Reich will not fight alone in Europe. We have allies in the Baltic, who will support our operations. Hungary and Slovakia also stand ready to join the fight, which will allow us to align thirteen more divisions and give us access to much-needed resources for our war factories. Other nations – including some that will surprise you – will keep us supplied with oil and other vital, strategic resources. At this very moment, our diplomats work diligently to ensure more nations across the globe will support us when the time comes.”
“And it will come soon!” exclaimed Hitler, slamming his fist on the table. “Meine Herren! In six months, we will be at war.”
In the sudden silence, Stauffenberg heard his own, oppressed breath.
Berlin, a luxurious apartment on the Kurfurstendamm, April the 20th, 1939
The small group had arrived one by one over the past. As a precautionary measure, some had changed cars or made a few detours to lose a possible Gestapo tail in the crowded U-Bahn stations. None of these strange pilgrims lived at the apartment where they met, of course. It was officially the property of a Frau Brünner, a respected Party widow whose husband had died in the Beerhall Putsch – except that no Frau Brünner existed, and that the real owner was the Abwehr, which used the comfortable apartment to debrief the agents it had managed to recruit among the personnel of the nearby Western embassies. It was a rather dour group of elderly gentlemen who usually met here: old-fashioned Prussian Junkers, retired generals and businessmen, as well as active general staff officers. The only exception was a matronly woman whose main job was to keep the Brünner story alive for the neighbours, and to clean the place of every incriminating evidence after each meeting. The mood tonight was particularly sombre, for, as soon as he had arrived, Helmut Groscurth had revealed the terrible news : next fall, there would be another war.
“So”, Beck said after Groscurth finished his report, “It is now imminent. You were right after all, Hjalmar.”
“There was no escaping it” confirmed Schacht with a heavy sigh. “The MEFO bills that have fuelled the 'German miracle' of the past five years are about to completely destroy the Reich's economy. My deadly legacy.”
“How could that be possible?” asked Groscurth, shaking his head. “How could a war be about to break out because of some accountant's trick?”
“Because the accountant has gone mad” said Schacht. “By themselves, the MEFO bills were just what you said, an accountant's trick to pay for expensive projects discreetly, and to complement the government's 'real' money. That was useful : the Reich could build more Autobähnen, more steel factories, more ships and bridges and, of course, more weapons, without exhausting the country's reserves of currency.”
“And it was also a useful way”, added Beck, “to pay for our rearmament program without alarming foreign powers too much, as the MEFO bills were not part of the Reich's budget but, officially, some business venture. France and Great Britain could see us rearming, of course, but they couldn't determine how much or how fast, because our budgetary documents only showed a fraction of our real expenses.”
“But rearming costs money, real money” said the Major, “so where did it come from?”
“From all other the Reich” explained Shacht. “Millions of Germans bought the MEFO bills with real money. To them, MEFO is a steel-making company, issuing bonds that could be repayed – with interests of course – over a course of six months, or that could be prolonged for six more months. Given the demand for steel, countless families thought it would be a good investment and bought MEFO bills with their life savings. Banks proposed MEFO bills to small investors, stockbrokers, and many firms as well. After all, who could resist the prospect of making good money on the market, when things finally look so good for Germany? Pay a hundred Reichsmarks now, or a thousand, with a guarantee to get your money back, with interest, later. Well, that 'later' is now, or, to be more precise, it will be this winter.”
“So they work like a normal loan, like some business stock, almost?”
“Yes. Except that the MEFO company does not exist, and that you unknowingly invested your money in the government of the Reich.”
Groscurth mulled about that for a moment. A soldier first and foremost, despite his rather unconventional work at the Abwehr, he felt out of his depth in the intricacies of this financial affair.
“But what have these bills to do with war? Since MEFO really is the government, why can't the Reichsbank pay them back, or the government postpone payment, if a general conflagration is in the balance?”
“Can't you see?” said Schacht, walking to the window. “Because we cannot, my young friend”
Down below, it was a normal evening on the Kurfurstendamm. The Berliner elite who was fortunate and wealthy enough to live on the prestigious avenue blithely went about its business. Women were hurrying home with their latest purchases in neat little parcels, chauffeurs were holding the door for austere businessmen going out, young couples were taking a leisurely stroll. In every hôtel particulier, people were dining and wining their friends, preparing for an opera soirée, or making plans for the summer. Schacht hoped they would enjoy their holidays, for it would certainly be their last peacetime summer for quite some time. In a few months, the young men would be mobilized, boarding trains bound for some god-forsaken barracks – or marching to the front.
“I still do not understand, Dr Schacht” insisted Groscurth. “Why ? Why can't we just pay those bills, cancel them, and forget about that war business?”
Major Helmuth Groscurth, about to discover that cooking the books can kill millions
“There are two reasons we cannot do that” finally replied Schacht. “The first one is that MEFO investors were promised comfortable interest: over five percent for the first acquisition, so people would favour them over usual government bonds, and consistently higher rates every six months, so the investors would keep the bills in their portfolio rather than demand repayment. As I told you, a good chunk of the MEFO program has been used for the rearmament program. Since tanks and battleships produce no commercial benefit on their own, the Reichsbank would be hard pressed to pay the promised interest for these bills.”
“Then… “ hesitated Groscurth, “why can't we stop the whole thing? Repay the initial investment, and close down the program?”
“Because, as I said, the accountant got mad. The MEFO bills were supposed to boost our financial assets in a proportion of one third, no more. When I resigned my charge as President of the Reichsbank, last year, their cumulative value had already grown over one half of our financial reserves. And my sources tell me that this summer, they will represent double that amount.”
“But that means...”
“Yes, Major” sighed Schacht. “That means the Reich has simply not enough money in its coffers to repay the MEFO debt. And everybody will realise that next winter, when at the end of the last extension period MEFO investors go to the banks and demand to cash in their oh-so profitable investment, and the Reichsbank starts reneging. Next winter, ordinary Germans as well as large firms will understand that their MEFO portfolio is worth less than the paper the bills were printed on, and that their money is gone for good. Do you imagine what it will do to our economy – and to the regime? But if there is war, of course, it will be different: the mobilisation will largely postpone repayment demands – and of course, we can always hope the success of German armies against our enemies will grant us access to their own coffers, so we can keep our economy afloat.”
“Du lieber Gott” whispered Groscurth. At forty-one, he all too clearly remembered the bank runs of 1923 and 1930 that had precipitated the whole country into chaos and poverty.
“So you understand now why war is inevitable” said Beck. “As it happens, it has become the cheaper option. The Reich simply cannot afford another semester of peace.”
***********
Game effects :
War looms of the horizon! I did not want to get a sneak peek at the Axis OOB in my ATL, so what is described here corresponds to what Germany and its allies can deploy in the vanilla 1939 scenario. The only additions are the German carriers and additional submarines, which represent the Reich's partnership with Dutch and Soviet shipyards.
Writer's notes :
Colonel Hossbach is known in OTL for the infamous 'Hossbach memorandum', minutes of a 1937military conference during which Hitler stated his intention of attacking France and Britain no matter what, so the Reich could have free rein in Europe. In this ATL, I chose to have the good colonel play a more direct role: as an OKW staffer, he will be one of the bright officers charged of planning the coming war. As the European situation in this ATL is a lot more complicated for Germany (with a stronger France, a hostile Italy, a long border with potentially hostile Austria), I think I'll devote an update to the OKW planning, and we'll have to see what the French war plan is as well.
Claus von Stauffenberg I will not present further, he's like the poster boy of German resistance to Hitler. Like many officers (even critical ones), Stauffenberg initially approved the Reich's foreign and domestic policy (including the persecution of Jews), and it took some time (and the constant descent into Nazi horror) for him to actively turn against the regime. The young captain we see here is not yet politically active (and maybe won't be altogether), but he is a man to watch nonetheless since he works for General Hoepner, a quite outspoken critic of Hitler. Hoepner in OTL as in this ATL is stationed in Prague, which has been occupied barely a month before, and is therefore a useful man to know if one wants to keep appraised of the situation in the newly-acquired Reich Protectorate.
Helmuth Groscurth is a lesser-known resistance figure. He led the Second bureau of the Abwehr, specialised in sabotage and fifth-column operations. Needless to say, with exiled Italian Fascists, Spanish Falangistas, Austrian Nazis and French ultra-rightists proliferating in the Third Reich, the Abwehr II will have a busy war. In OTL Groscurth was assigned as head of the liaison office between the Abwehr and the OKH – which allowed him to detect and recruit fellow-minded officers. Major Groscurth also served as a liaison between Canaris and various circles of conservative opponents to Hitler.
The clandestine meeting described here represent a take on the Kreisau circle (or one of its conservative counterparts), of which the OTL Stauffenberg eventually became a member. A few dozens of chapters back (the dinosaurs roamed the Earth and I still had hair) we have seen members of the same group meeting at the Tiergarten.
The MEFO scheme is largely historical fact – except that I am not sure of the total value of the bills that were emitted nor of the interest rates that applied. For the total amount of MEFO bills emitted was never known for sure. What is known is that in 1939 the value of the bills totalled 12 billion Reichsmarks, compared to 19 billion in government bonds. Having a soft spot for financial wrongdoings, I chose to make the 'MEFO menace' a grave menace to the German economy, forcing the regime to make dramatic decisions.
All pictures are Bundesarchiv material.
Attachments
Wasn't it Hitler who said to Goering about the Danzig affair that he had gambled all or nothing all his life?
By this time, there's not a chance that Stauffenberg may turn anti-Hitler. For that, he needs to go to Russia first and see what happens there.
Certainly. He can only be of interest for the Kreisau group because of his close association to Hoepner. Also, I think it would be harder for German resistance groups to prosper in this TL as Germany's situation is a tad more perilous than in OTL. Well, for the time being at least.
And I couldn't resist the temptation of putting young Stauffie and his briefcase in a conference room with Hitler.
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A suitably dramatic return with confirmation war is coming. I'm delighted to see you've still got the knack for getting the plot across without resorting to the "As you know, your father, the king" school of dialogue. Any story that has the Raw Material/MEFO Bill crunch as (one of) the things pushing Germany to war always warms my heart, so I did enjoy seeing that included.
I still think the carriers are a barking mad idea for Germany, particularly one that is facing an Italian-French (and other bits) alliance, but I must confess it's been a while since I re-read this so there was undoubtedly a reason for them at the time. Maybe not a good reason, but it is Nazi Germany so good reasons were in short supply.
I still think the carriers are a barking mad idea for Germany, particularly one that is facing an Italian-French (and other bits) alliance, but I must confess it's been a while since I re-read this so there was undoubtedly a reason for them at the time. Maybe not a good reason, but it is Nazi Germany so good reasons were in short supply.
I'm not sure I could do that in the next update on German War Plans, but I must say it is tempting to start a chapter just like that!
"As you know, your Fuhrer, the Reichschancellor, has instructed us to prepare plans for the upcoming war..."
For some reason I think I'll stick with my idea of bitter inter-Oberkommando rivalry (although there is some appeal in having General Halder put on his pince-nez and start telling younger officers "as you know..." )
You could easily do both. Halder could do an "As you know.." speech as a way of patronising his rivals in the OKW and pointing out all the flaws in their plans.
If you decide it just doesn't fit then fair enough, I just hope it turns up somewhere in the future, it is too marvellous an image to just disappear.
Alright, I swear I'll give you Halder in full "As you know" mode.
Just not now.I'm toiling through the next update - it should be Zossen, Zossen and Zossen again. And then we'll have an election.