The Buildup to War
Chapter One
January 1936 - March 1939
The time leading up to what most now know as World War II was a very turbulent time compared to the tranquil, peaceful world we enjoy and know today. Germany had been subjected to harsh terms as a result of their loss in the Great War (or World War I). These turbulent times led to hyperinflation and destroyed Germany's economy.
Fortunately, a man named Adolf Hitler rose from the ashes. He and his National Socialism Party came to power in 1933 and adopted policies which would transform Germany into the preeminent power on the Earth, as it is today. Germany would undergo a strong industrial transformation in the late 1930s which would significantly strengthen the Third Reich's industrial base and improve its war-fighting ability in the 1940s. This book was not written to talk about politics and policies, however, so we will not delve too much into this topic.
Adolf Hitler was always enamored by so-called "wonder weapons". One particular weapon that fascinated him was the prospect of developing the atomic bomb. Immediately upon coming into office, he allocated significant funds into developing this potent weapon. Hitler believed that even if the Reich could not defeat the great powers of the Earth with a conventional ground army, he hoped that by developing modern weapons and employing daring tactics Germany could defeat and avenge the great powers that took it down in World War I. More importantly, he hoped that these weapons could be used to put down the Communists, who he believed were the scum of the Earth.
Another field of research which saw a lot of funds allocated to it in the late 1930s was the field of rocket research. German scientists saw the potential of developing unmanned planes (or missiles) which could deliver payloads to far away places without the need to risk human lives. A missile could be launched in Berlin and hit the Kremlin. The production of these missiles were still a long ways off, but their development can be traced back to the 1930s.
Nuclear and rocketry research was conducted south of Berlin in Jüterbog and Lübben.
The first provocative move the Reich made was in June 1936 when German forces reoccupied the demilitarized Rhineland. The Rhineland had been demilitarized as a result of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 and the reoccupying of these region by German military forces was a huge statement to the world that Germany would not be oppressed any longer!
German forces saw their first combat action since the Great War in 1936 when they assisted Franco in his bid to overthrow the communists in Spain. The Bolsheviks were crushed in Spain quickly as the German armed forces proved to be superior. This was a huge boon to the Heer and the Luftwaffe and strengthened their political positions respectively.
More importantly, Franco's rise in Spain gave rise to the ideology of fascism on the Iberian Peninsula, giving Europe its third fascist power along with Italy and, of course, the Reich itself.
Following the war in Spain, both the Heer and Lufwaffe were expanded and reorganized into a more efficient fighting force. Army Group A and Army Group B were formed. The infantry forces of the Heer were reorganized into three armies and the armored forces were organized into the 1st Panzer Army. The 1st Panzer Army saw significant upgrades in its fighting ability in the late 1930s as it was expanded from just nine brigades in 1936 to 45 brigades in 1939. These 45 brigades were organized into 15 divisions, which made up three corps.
New infantry divisions were also raised in the late 1930s. In all, by the outbreak of war in 1939, the Heer had raised over 300 war-fighting brigades.
In 1937, Germany proposed and signed the Anti-Comintern Pact. Below is a subsection stating the aims of the Pact.
"[It recognized] that the aim of the Communist International, known as the Comintern, is to disintegrate and subdue existing States by all the means at its command; convinced that the toleration of interference by the Communist International in the internal affairs of the nations not only endangers their internal peace and social well‑being, but is also a menace to the peace of the world desirous of co‑operating in the defense against Communist subversive activities."
The Anti-Comintern Pact would be signed by Yugoslavia, Spain, Argentina, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, Japan, among others, during the next few years.
In fact, Japan, Hungary, and Bulgaria would become full-fledged members of the Axis in 1939 prior to the outbreak of the war.
Following Japan's conquest of China, Japan's puppet states in Manchuria and China would also become signers of the Anti-Comintern Pact.
On January 5th, 1938, the nation of Austria was formally annexed into the German Reich via diplomatic means. Austria wanted to become part of Germany and Germany wanted Austria. It was a mutual agreement. The German populations of Austria celebrated in Vienna following this announcement as they became part of the growing German Reich. This acquisition gave Germany more manpower and industrial might, as well.
In March 1938, German-Japanese relations significantly improved with Germany's recognition of Manchukuo, Japan's puppet regime in Manchuria. Manchukuo was not recognized by any other world powers, so Germany's doing so went a long way towards softening feelings between the governments in Berlin and Tokyo. This would eventually result in an alliance between these two nations in 1939.
In July, Germany acquired the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia via the Treaty of Munich. The Sudetenland were areas along Czech borders, mainly inhabited by ethnic Germans. The agreement was negotiated at a conference held in Munich, Germany, among the major powers of Europe. Germany felt it necessary to annex these region following horrible atrocities committed against the German populations of the region by Czechs.
More importantly, the treaty showed how weak the democracies of Britain and France really were. They stood idly by while Nazi Germany flexed its muscles and the Fatherland grew in scope and power. Fortunately, we no longer have to deal with these troubled governmental systems in today's world.
In February 1939, Czechoslovakia as a nation ceased to exist with the First Vienna Award. Czechoslovakia was partitioned into three parts. Western Czechoslovakia was given to Germany. Central Czechoslovakia declared its independence and become the independent state of Slovakia. Eastern Czechoslovakia became part of Hungary, as it rightfully should have been.
In March, Memel was ceded to Germany by the Lithuanian government. Germany had demanded this rightful German city from Lithuania and had Wehrmacht troops along the German-Lithuanian border ready for war. Fortunately, the Lithuanian government realized that it was better off by simply surrendering Memel without a fight than facing the glorious forces of Germany in an all-out land war. Lithuania and Germany also signed a non-aggression pact in March.
The peaceful acquisition of Memel ended the pre-war period as Germany had seemingly acquired all of the territory it could before war would break out. Germany had been preparing itself for this possibility, however, and was ready to face whatever enemy might emerge.
One particularly troubling aspect of this period was Italy. Italy was greatly angered by Germany's annexation of Austria. Though both Italy and Germany were ideologically similar, they had been drifting apart in the late 1930s. There still seemed little prospects of war between these two nations, nevertheless.
That all changed in March 1939, when Hungary and Yugoslavia joined the Axis. Anti-German rebels in Yugoslavia scoffed at Yugoslavia's entrance into the Axis and immediately set to overthrow the government. These forces won out and on March 10th, the government of Yugoslavia fell into their hands. This dropped the ball into Germany's court. Would they sit idly by while an ally's government is toppled or would they declare war on Yugoslavia and liberate the rightful government?
In the end, Germany decided that the latter was best for Germany's continued success. On March 13th, Germany, Hungary, and Slovakia jointly declared war on Yugoslavia.
Unfortunately, these opened up a whole new can of worms.
Italy had signed a defensive alliance with Yugoslavia in 1938 as relations with Germany continued to go south. This alliance was kept in secrecy at the time, but Italy decided to honor their alliance with Yugoslavia with Germany's declaration of war. As a result, Italy declared war on Germany, Hungary, and Slovakia and the Third Reich was suddenly thrown into a large-scale war for which it was simply not prepared.
The war was on and there was little anyone could do to stop it at this point. Much like in the Great War, entangling alliances had once against given rise to another war, though this war would be the greatest the world had ever seen.
