Weltkriegschaft

[Atlantic Friend]

I still wonder why somebody would carry a book into battle, there are more vital things than a book when entering battle. Maybe a ration of food or something on the lines like that.

Ah, but men, even men-at-arms, need more than food and bullets to function. The book might not be vital during the battle itself but it can be a much-needed distraction afterwards - not to mention a good source of toilet paper if the supply lines are badly late !

[Deus]

Ah, but men, even men-at-arms, need more than food and bullets to function. The book might not be vital during the battle itself but it can be a much-needed distraction afterwards - not to mention a good source of toilet paper if the supply lines are badly late !

Agreed, but when fighting for your life a rucksack full of books isnt really helping...

[Ironhewer]

The rise of literacy and lessening of printing costs meant that books were easily availible and in large quantities. Remember, most combat infantrymen only spend a relatively small period of time in acutal combat at any time, even when at the "front." When you're not shooting or getting shot at, it's actually pretty boring. Besides, maybe it serves the same purpose as many Bibles did during the war, put it in your pocket over your heart and cross your fingers . . .

[Commander-DK]

As to my justification for the 25-day mobilization (I am not the type to utterly "fudge" such things), about a third of Heeresgruppe A consists of Western forces already mobilized prior to the reoccupation of the Rhineland, another ~third is the OKH standing divisions (already at a higher state of mobilization), and the remaining ~third (9 divisions) were already standing by 1935, but historically lagged in equipment and weaponry as Hitler's crash rearmament program was not yet complete. During the invasion of Belgium, six of these divisions are with VIII Armeekorps and three are with XII Armeekorps. In sum, Germany was less ready and mobilized than in 1940, but so were the Belgians!

I have a humble suggestion: It seems to me that you have a lot of the storyline carefully planned out and reasonably explained in advance but you don't write it all in the episodes - only when questioned about apparent inconsistencies. Why not use the arguments you have already prepared in the story? That way you won't have us questioning the storyline and it will be more believable?

Example: instead of having to write the text above, you could have put it into the story as e.g. part of an argument between two officers about whether or not the Heer is ready for war. It would suspend our disbelief and add a nice touch of detail to the AAR.

Just my two cents worth.

:-) Jesper

[diziziz]

In my opinion, TheHyphenated1 should spend all his free time writing this AAR.

[dublish]

In my opinion, TheHyphenated1 should spend all his free time writing this AAR.

I wish he would, but I believe the quality of work would suffer if he has not time to gather his thoughts.

[TheHyphenated1]

Commander_DK - I very much appreciate your continued comments and support! I will do my best with regard to your suggestion -- unfortunately, the competing demand that I have to balance is brevity. We are thirty-six days and twenty installments into the story, and have only advanced twenty-six days of AAR-time . Your point is quite fair, though, and I'll keep in mind any and all situations where it is possible to incorporate such material without bogging things down If something isn't clear though, absolutely feel free to ask about it!

trekaddict, Deus, Atlantic Friend, Ironhewer - Certain books do have combat utility -- as thrown as weapons! I sure wouldn't want to get hit on the head with War and Peace .

diziziz - Thanks! If I'm not careful, it will take over all my free time...

dublish - I vow not to let that happen, sir!


Next installment late tonight, internet connection willing!

[TheHyphenated1]

Chapter I: The Hammerblow

Part XIX

February 3, 1936

In the Marshals’ Room of the Royal Palace of Brussels, Field Marshal von Blomberg took his seat on one side of a long ornately inlaid table. His very presence in the Belgian capital came as a complete shock to the aging War Minister. “In truth,” he had confided to his private diary that morning, “the affair seemed doomed from the start. That Hitler’s plan -- so rash and feverish in its conception, so rushed and unreasonable in its timetable -- has met with anything but bloody stalemate astounds me.”

The campaign had indeed been astounding. Hitler’s Hammerblow, as the War Ministry staffers had nicknamed Operation Hammerschlag, had managed to achieve the total strategic and tactical surprise that it had aimed for.

Garrisons even 50 kilometers from the border had been taken unawares and overrun without a shot. Other fortifications were seriously undermanned, and captured easily before reinforcements could arrive. Even the field divisions had been forced to fall back almost to Brussels itself before being able to mount a coordinated defense. There were, however, pockets of spirited resistance and a few able commanders whose actions had bought precious hours for the army to mobilize.

Elements of the 7ème Division D’Infanterie in Malmedy had staunchly defended the town for six days, forcing von Bock’s VIII Armeekorps to divert its advance farther to the north. The port commander at Zeebrugge had managed to destroy the dock facilities of Belgium’s main Channel port with only six hours of notice that German forces were approaching. A single squad of Belgians near Namur had held a narrow footbridge for twelve hours, inflicting serious German losses.

But the ultimate outcome of the campaign was undeniable: Heeresgruppe A had annihilated any resistance that Belgium managed to organize, and the three armies had raced deep into the country at near-overland speed. In the face of this massive onslaught, Bastogne had fallen on January twenty-sixth, followed by Antwerp and Liége on the twenty-eighth, Namur on the twenty-ninth, Mons and Ghent on the first of February and finally Brussels early on the morning of February third as I Panzerarmee rolled into the capital. By now, 150,000 Belgian prisoners of war choked the holding areas that had been hastily thrown up to accommodate them.


German occupation of Belgium by February 3rd, 1936.


Even Göring’s Luftwaffe had proven itself effective, destroying most of the tiny Aeronautique Militaire before it could get off the ground. In reconnaissance, too, the Luftwaffe had proven itself an invaluable asset -- German commanders had been able to react to Belgian movements more quickly and with better information than in any previous conflict in history.

Perhaps the greatest surprise of all came in the spectacular capture of Fort Eben-Emael. Having received his baton only upon the reoccupation of the Rhineland, von Blomberg had been extremely skeptical of the daring operation from the outset, but the Führer had been so convinced of his own military genius that he had insisted upon his pet glider assault idea. The War Minister was not sure whether to ascribe the mission’s ultimate success to the ingenuity and fighting prowess of the German Soldier or to some genuine talent in Germany’s leader. Surprisingly, Hitler had avoided taking personal credit for the operation, instead heaping praise upon the unit of assault pioneers that had taken the fortress.

With this in mind, on the first day of war the Führer had authorized a bevy of new or reinstituted decorations and combat awards. He had reissued the Iron Cross, now to be awarded in three progressive classes. Above the Iron Cross 1st Class was the German Cross, awarded in Gold and Silver. Finally, he had personally designed a higher version of the new 1936 Iron Cross -- The Order of the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross -- a neck order to be awarded as a superlative distinction for leadership and heroism.

These medals he lavished upon the heroes of Eben-Emael -- to Oberst Kurt Student and Major Bruno Bräuer he awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross. To Oberleutnant Braudel and Unteroffizier Rendel he awarded the German Cross in Gold. All other members of the assault force earned the Iron Cross 1st Class.

For his part, von Blomberg took particular satisfaction in the modest human cost of the invasion. The night before the start of the war, he had estimated in his diary that, “A swift victory will likely amount to roughly 30,000 dead, while a stalemate might cost closer to 100,000 lives.” Reality was much kinder. According to the latest OKH count, casualties totaled 5,220 killed in action, 12,933 wounded and 17 missing. The Luftwaffe had lost 39 planes, mostly to antiaircraft fire and mishaps. Armored losses totaled 92 tanks and 181 other vehicles, though most of these occurred through accidents or breakdown and would be reparable.

Meanwhile, the Allies had squabbled over the proper response until it was too late. According to The Times, Westminster had been deeply divided, but Stanley Baldwin’s government had staunchly opposed sending an expeditionary force to the Continent. The French, Canaris had warned on January twenty-ninth, had briefly considered entering the war before mobilization, but by the time the French general staff met with President Lebrun, the German Army already controlled the entire length of the Belgian border. The coup de main had been accomplished precisely as Hitler had laid out.


German Army soldiers parade through Antwerp, January 26th.

Now, the Belgian delegation entered the Marshals’ Room to sign the instrument of surrender. It was to be a harsh peace indeed. Continental Belgium was to be administered as three separate dependent administrative regions, or Reichsgaue -- Greater Brussels, Flanders-Antwerp and Wallonia-Liége. The overseas Belgian Empire would be administered “in trust” by the German Reich. King Leopold III was to a go into exile in Léopoldville -- the Führer had felt it prudent to leave the lone colonial capital under Belgian control so as to discourage Leopold from setting up a government-in-exile in London and stirring up trouble there. Finally, Belgium’s military was to be disarmed and its prisoners of war released pending satisfactory disarmament.

King Leopold now assumed a seat opposite von Blomberg. He wore his ceremonial dress uniform -- bemedaled white jacket with shoulder braids, pale blue sash and white gloves. To the War Minister, the man seemed hardly concerned. The same could not be said of Foreign Minister Paul-Henri Spaak and Prime Minister Paul van Zeeland. Though dressed in formal suits and maintaining an air of stoicism, their movements betrayed a shocking sense of vulnerability. Their task -- signing away the independence of their nation and people -- was simply shattering.

The Belgians awaited the arrival of the surrender instrument silently -- in the very room in which King William I of The Netherlands once held court -- caught up in the utter collapse of their nation as the portraits of their forebears looked down impassively from the honey-colored walls. The likeness of former Grandmaster of the Teutonic Order, Arch-Duke Maximilian of Austria, seemed to observe the proceedings from his frame with approval. The War Minister tried to imagine his own feelings had the scene been reversed. It was unthinkable.

An adjutant arrived with copies of the treaty. An official photographer snapped away avidly as von Blomberg, General von Rundstedt and Foreign Minister von Neurath applied their signatures to the documents on behalf of Germany. The adjutant gathered the signed copies efficiently and passed them to the Belgian delegation.

The three men applied their signatures, King Leopold completing his own with a flourish and passing the document back to the adjutant. The few German witnesses shook hands with one another and exchanged congratulations. Leopold rose to his feet. “Here is my country.”

The three Germans stood as well. von Blomberg held out his hand to the defeated king. He did not take it, but turned, and led van Zeeland and Spaak out of the room without another word.

The War Minister made his way to the large curtained window and looked out into the sky. Hundreds of planes flew over Brussels in formation. Germany was victorious in war for the first time in sixty-five years.

His satisfaction was soon obscured by worry. The Hammerblow had merely whet the Führer’s appetite for conquest.

[Atlantic Friend]

Great Britain has been awfully silent on this one - isn't the British King supposed to guarantee Belgium's independence ?

And it is downright annexation, or will Rexists and Flemish Nazi sympathizers manage the country( or the two countries, possibly) as Berlin's puppets ?

[Kurt_Steiner]

The silence of the United Kingdom was, somehow, expected. The attitude of France -so slow, so... harmless-, is quite... odd.

[Atlantic Friend]

The silence of the United Kingdom was, somehow, expected. The attitude of France -so slow, so... harmless-, is quite... odd.

If Gamelin (or a like-minded officer) still presides over the French military, then it is no surprise ! "Oh, yes, we could cross the Rhine now, but let's mobilize fully before we send even a measly battalion out there"

[Deus]

Hmm. Yes, I hope that you will cover the Allied action and responce in your next update in more detailed manor. It would help with the story's overall direction in my opinion.

Otherwise, I must say you manage to keep a high standard of writing. I am very glad for that. It is very refreshing to read something that is written very well. I may not always agree with your assessment of the situation in hand, but I do enjoy your story.

[Ironhewer]

Ah, methinks the seeds of Germany's destruction have just been sown . . .

[dublish]

Ah, methinks the seeds of Germany's destruction have just been sown . . .

That's an... interesting appraisal of the situation. I rather think the Ten Day War will go down in history as a stunning military accomplishment, even given the preponderence of men and equipment available to the Germans.

I wonder what will happen next though. The French are impotent now that the Maginot Line has been entirely outflanked, the British under Baldwin have been outplayed diplomatically, but outright annexation of Belgium is going to jumpstart opposition to Germany.

What's Mussolini's take on this? IIRC, Italy at this point was cozying up with Austria and Hungary and they were all rather opposed to German expansion to the southeast, but what do they think of the war in Belgium?

And where will Germany turn next? Anschluss with Austria or retaking the Sudetenland seem like the only options that don't involve war, but with early German aggression, a historical Munich conference is nothing more than a pipe dream. And Austria hasn't been properly buttered up- it's still aligned with Italy, which won't appeal for German support of its foreign ventures for months, at the very least.

[TheHyphenated1]

Atlantic Friend (1) - Well, Britain has been caught up since January 21 with the whole whoopla over George V's death. Their eye was taken somewhat "off the ball" by this. Rather fortuitous, then, that the jumpoff date was pushed back by five days. All we know now is that it shall be administered as three Reichsgaue. Neither hitler nor Frick have made any further decision. At this point, though, the Flemish and REX movements are still coalescing and nowhere near their 1940 strength.


Kurt_Steiner, Atlantic Friend (2) - Atlantic Friend put it well. On the other hand, in fairness to France, they could be said to have had at the very greatest 25 days of warning that German aggression was stepping up. In 1940, they had several years of warning and had already been at war for eight months before the Blitzkrieg, and still reacted lethargically.

(For anyone who follows modern alternative history, the comparative suddenness of German aggression here is analagous to the much-discussed "Fulda Gap" attack in which the 1980s Soviet Union would have forfeited proper preparation for the total surprise of ordering an all-out attack into West Germany from a standing start.)


Deus - One more installment left in this chapter. Chapter II concerns the Allied response heavily . Thank you, I'm glad you enjoy it. And luckily, unlike our friends in Nazi Germany, I do not insist upon slavish agreement .


Ironhewer, dublish - Only time will tell, as to the first point. Let's just say that for now, Hitler is gambling that more or less outright annexation will still not provoke war. We shall soon see how right or wrong he is. Mussolini is, at this point, preparing for his little Ethiopian adventure rather intently. As for Germany's next turn, that will be covered shortly .

[Commander-DK]

Mussolini is, at this point, preparing for his little Ethiopian adventure rather intently.

Historically, Italy was at war since October 1935 in Africa, why aren't they in this story?

I would like to hear (read) what old boy Stalin thinks of this aggressive German move. After all, in 1935 he signed a mutual defence pact with France...?

Might this annexation of Belgium prompt Stalin to rush his industrialisation programme - or make him too afraid to purge his officers?

All sorts of consequences are just waiting to hit crazy Adolf!

:-) Jesper

[SeleucidRex]

wow, that was fast . Fall behind for a few days and the whole thing's over. shame they couldn't hold on longer.

[TheHyphenated1]

Commander-DK - Italy is already at war with Ethiopia. I realize I worded that badly . The adventure to which I am referring is the Duce's own -- more on that soon . Stalin shall start stirring late next chapter. And you're right, consequences yet unimagined are taking shape.

SeleucidRex - Yes, sorry it worked out that way. The fact is, the fighting itself was awfully anticlimactic.

[TheHyphenated1]

Chapter I: The Hammerblow

Part XX

February 4, 1936

The Kroll Opera House was packed to capacity for Adolf Hitler’s special speech to the Reichstag. Blocks of brown NSDAP uniforms, mouse gray officers’ uniforms and civilian suits marked the locations of the many Party functionaries, general staffers, Reichstag representatives and cabinet members lucky enough to be favored with seats. Over Goebbels’ objections, the Führer had insisted upon inviting much of the international corps of journalists in Berlin -- they now jostled with one another for the best positions from which to hear him.

Cristoph Scholl sat in the middle of the orchestra, unabashedly awed by the spectacle. Six massive red banners hung, several stories tall, from the ceiling behind the rostrum. At the center of each, a black swastika was set upon a white circle, leaving little doubt as to the Party’s place in the Third Reich. Directly behind the position from which the Führer would speak, an immense gilded Reichsadler spread its fifteen meter wingspan. An honor guard of black-uniformed Leibstandarte-SS soldiers stood at attention in a line stretching from wall to wall.

The crowd’s noise fell to a soft buzz. Necks craned towards the front of the hall. No introduction or fanfare was forthcoming. Scholl adjusted his armband anxiously.


The audience in the Kroll Opera House, awaiting Hitler’s arrival.


At last, the rear doors were thrown open, and the triumphant Führer and a small entourage made their way up the aisle toward the rostrum to thunderous applause. Those sitting adjacent to the aisle extended their arms in the Nazi salute, forming a tunnel through which he passed. Hitler wore a simple gray suit, preferring not to play up his role as Party Leader or Warlord.

The Führer spent several minutes trying to quiet the crowd, which rose to its feet in jubilant ovation. From the rostrum, he motioned for them to sit. The Krolloper became utterly silent. After letting the tension build for several seconds, he began.

“I have summoned you to this meeting on the occasion of a historic moment in the life of the great German Nation.

“I have done so, firstly, because I consider it imperative to give our people and the world the true account of the momentous events of the past month. Secondly, because I wish to express my gratitude to our magnificent soldiers, and thirdly, with the intention of appealing before the world to the wisdom and reason which can ensure peace.

“With regard to an accounting of the facts, I shall relate them.

“On New Year’s Eve of last year, I spent the holiday in a quiet way in the mountains that overlook the land of my birth. There was a speech that I was to give the next morning, however, and I departed for the train that would carry me to this city in order to give it. By chance occurrence, I was not in my usual car, which entered the town of Berchtesgaden before me.

“Upon entering the town, the car was ambushed by criminal assassins who wished to harm me. In that, these men failed. I was able to see more clearly than ever before the destiny to which I am guided, and the services which I must yet perform for our people.

“Yet in this attack, four loyal Germans were murdered, including a true friend and Party hero -- Martin Bormann. The police searched diligently for those conspirators that were not killed during the attack. Soon, I learned that this plot, this crime, had been orchestrated by an insane academic with a political agenda against me personally.”

Hitler paused. Scholl observed that this speech lacked the usual impassioned tones and wild gesticulations which marked the Führer’s oratory. His tone was instead supremely rational, that of a teacher counseling his young charges.

“Of course, no one would take such news well -- having a lunatic out to kill oneself is never a cheering prospect --” The crowd laughed heartily on cue. “-- but I believed that I must be willing to take such risks in the course of my duties to the German People. Yet soon I learned a far more troubling truth.”

Hitler shook his head gravely.

“Two weeks after the attack, this lunatic was arrested by the Swiss authorities. Three other men were arrested with him, including two agents of the Belgian intelligence services. Hearing this, I was as stunned as any man would be. I earnestly did not want to believe it, but the facts spoke for themselves. The Belgian government had aided, trained and armed these men. This was not the idea of some crazy man to kill me personally. No! This was a nation -- or rather, its irresponsible leaders -- seeking the collapse of the Reich itself.

“I say that is an act of war. The Daily Telegraph feels that this was not an act of war. If a man is attacked on the street, whether or not passersby notice that he is being attacked and whether or not they choose to believe it does not matter to him. He knows only that it is his natural right to defend himself against his assailants as best he can.

“I admit to you freely that I feared the consequences of another war more than anyone in this room. I consulted with our intelligence services in the hope of finding a way to act only against the Belgian government, but there was not. Their grip on their people and armed forces was too great, for they had deluded them with propaganda against Germany and against peace itself. In the days before the conflict, I continued to search for a way to avert bloodshed, but my hopes were disappointed.

“I had ordered our soldiers to the border to secure Germany’s frontier against Belgium. On the twenty-fifth of January, I learned that the Belgian government was preparing further attacks against the German People. I could not let this happen. I personally sent a telegram to Brussels, asking that the government enter into negotiations with Germany to resolve the crisis, but no reply was ever received. Germany’s entreaties to Britain and to France and to the League of Nations to intervene were also unsuccessful. The Reich was left to defend itself alone.

“With great sadness I was forced to order the Wehrmacht into Belgium in order to depose its outlaw government. It is a testament to the fortitude of the individual soldier and the German People from which he comes, that victory was achieved so speedily.

“This brings me to my second point. The valor of our armed forces has shown an example that will live on for all time among the greatest campaigns in history -- Tannenberg, Waterloo, Hannibal in the Apennines. To these names is now added Brussels!

“The enemy blocked and threatened our forces with the mighty fortress of Eben-Emael, manned by more than a thousand soldiers. It was called impregnable in Paris, London and Washington. Even in Berlin! Yet it was captured in a single day by eighty-one daring soldiers through the use of an altogether new method of attack.”

Curiosity and puzzlement flashed across the faces of the audience, but Hitler did not elaborate.


Hitler’s uncharacteristic quiet reasonableness struck a chord with his audience.


“Again and again on the road to Brussels, the German Soldier displayed his courage and skill. Again and again, he drove back the Belgian armies, until the capital laid open before him. So many acts of heroism occurred that I could not account them all to you today, but History shall record each and every one.

“Yesterday in Brussels, representatives from both nations signed a treaty that has restored peace to Europe. I shall summarize for you the terms. First, the old Belgian government shall retire to Africa, allowing to begin the long task of rehabilitating the freedom of the Belgian people, for whom even at this very hour I retain a great affection. Germany shall assist in the administration of Belgian territory until this process is complete. Second, Germany shall rule the majority of Belgium’s colonial possessions in trust for her people until their hour of renewal. Third, Belgium’s military shall be disarmed so as to prevent these terrible events from repeating themselves. For this reason, the Wehrmacht shall continue to protect Belgian territory from all hostile forces and influences.

“With peace established, I am brought to my third appeal, and my most important. I do not doubt that the recently-concluded war has caused some individuals outside Germany to question our actions and motivation. Some, I am sure, think that we have disturbed the balance of power in Europe. These men say that Germany, with her modest military, is somehow threatening to all the combined powers of the world. Now, they threaten Germany with war, and brandish their swords, eager to plunge Europe into another long and devastating war.

“I say to these persons today: Germany pledges to disarm herself completely, down to the last shell, if our neighbors are willing to do the same. I appeal to them that if peace is their true intention, let them disarm themselves for the sake of the world!

“Why should they keep their thousands of guns merely to ‘defend’ against a disarmed Germany? I put that question now to them. Will France and Britain take honest steps to further the world peace of which they speak? Or will it be at last exposed that their true aim is not defense but subjugation?

“The final part of my appeal is to the common sense of all the peoples of the world. You will no doubt be told by the would-be warmongers that our offer of peace is a false one.

“Consider this: I make this desperate appeal for peace in the hour of triumph. I come before the Great Powers not as the vanquished begging favors but as the victor speaking in the name of reason.

“There is no reason why, having just triumphed in war, we should uselessly seek another one. Rather, there is every reason for nations that feel threatened by Germany’s prosperity to attempt to stir up war to their own advantage. But, people of the world, such a war would bring about untold human loss and material devastation. The people of France and of Britain do not wish to see such catastrophe. Neither do the German People!

“When the propagandists tell you otherwise, consider all the things that I have said today, and the facts which I have related. Ask yourself: ‘Is this more consistent with the actions of a nation intending peace or intending war?’ Then, ask yourself whether the response from the Great Powers portends peace or war. From this, you shall know the truth of the situation.

“Then, let History judge each of us upon whether we acted with wisdom and reason in this crisis, or out of aggression and self-interest. I know that it will be the former course which guides Germany!”

As one, those in attendance surged to their feet with deafening cheers. They began to chant: “Peace for Germany!” with rising joy. From his seat, Scholl could see that the foreign journalists looked genuinely impressed as well.

As the Führer made his way back through the exultant audience, Scholl felt himself give way to the spirit of the crowd. If war came again, it would be the sole doing of the warmongers. If not, he realized, today had been the beginning of a new era of the world.

[trekaddict]

A reasonable Hitler...