Carrying Democracy's Torch- Weimar Germany

volksmarschall said:

It takes time to plot and successfully execute an invasion of Russia!

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But...I have to get through Poland first...

Also:


With the next scheduled election years away, the Coalition government that had been the leaders of the Republic for the last two years remained in power as 1936 dawned. The government was stable by Weimar standards, but it was by no means unified. Members of the DDP and SPD dominated the cabinet, with other factions left out. As a result, the liberal minded government was unpopular on both sides of the extremist spectrum. The communists considered the SPD to not be radical enough, and the far right wanted back into the government after giving the Weimar Coalition the boost it needed to triumph after Hindenburg's death.

As a result, compromises were made. The Zentrum were unable to place any of their own ministers on the cabinet¹, their promised positions taken by conservatives, to placate the Right. As such, the government was split between the liberal DDP and SPD, and the Conservative DVP. Both factions had their own goals, and they were not necessarily similar.


One of the few subjects the divided government agreed on was the need to continue the Reichsheer modernization programs. Chief amongst these programs were those put forth by Heinz Guderian, programs designed to motorize the German military. Mechanized warfare was the future, and the more mobile the better, according to the General and his supporters. The result, the so-called 'Blitzkrieg', was being developed in training grounds across the Reich.

These doctrines were far different from the French or British approach to Panzer warfare. The French primarily developed their armored vehicles for an infantry support role, right out of the Great War. Dedicated armored formations were rare, and spread widely to support the infantry heavy French Army. The British were similar, and different, at the same time. Instead of focusing on mobile warfare as Germany did, or on infantry support as the French did, they split their attention between Infantry Tanks, and so-called 'Cruiser' tanks. Neither were developed to their full potential as a result.

If the modernization programs continued apace, the Reichsheer would be fully capable of out-dueling the enemy.


These modernization programs appeared to have an interesting effect to the south of the Republic. Both Admiral Horthy in Hungary and King Peter in Yugoslavia were making efforts to join the Hamburg Pact. Ordinarily, this would be a good thing...as gaining support in the Balkans could counteract any movements in the area by Mussolini's Italy. The problem came from a simple fact, and one that effected both Hungary and Yugoslavia.

The Hamburg Pact had been founded with Bulgaria, Greece, and Romania. Of those, two of them were conflicts waiting to happen, were Hungary or Yugoslavia to also join. Romania was the bigger threat, as they had joined Germany's proposed alliance entirely because Horthy's Hungary was far-right wing and very likely to attempt to regain control over Transylvania.

Bulgaria was the other issue, this time with Yugoslavia. Tsar Boris had been convinced to join the Pact by promising Serbian Macedonia, in the event of a war with Yugoslavia. If the Yugoslavs were brought into the Hamburg Pact, Bulgaria may very well leave. While the larger Slavic state could arguably provide more in any hypothetical war than Bulgaria, it would throw years of diplomacy out the window.

As a result, while the motions were made to allow Hungary and Yugoslavia into the Pact, a lot of behind the scenes negotiation would be needed before either could be allowed in.


Far away from the Balkans, an event across the English Channel drew attention worldwide. George V, the last reigning Monarch of the Great War, had passed away after a long illness. While there were, understandably, harsh feelings in the Reich towards the Entente...the fact remained that George had been an important figure in world politics. It would be remiss of the Weimar leadership to not do anything for his funeral. As such, the Deutschland set sail for Britain, carrying a delegation for the funeral.

As was usual in politics, however, an advantage could be found to any situation. George's passing left his son Edward in power as Edward VIII. While not 'pro-German' in the strictest sense, the young King was far more favorable of the Reich than most other European leaders outside the Hamburg Pact. This was an advantageous situation for one reason in particular.


The Rhineland. If any aftereffect of Versailles had truly crippled the German state, it was the demilitarization of the Rhineland. This area was the industrial heartland of Germany, and had been for many years. Being unable to station troops in the area had done more harm to Germany than most anything else in the 'Slave Treaty'. Not least, because if the Rhineland remained unoccupied, it was a simple matter for French soldiers to just walk out of their Maginot forts and cripple Germany in the event of a war.

By the time the Reichsheer had mobilized, the French could be fifty kilometers into German territory. This was, rightfully, seen as intolerable. As a result, the Weimar Coalition moved troops into the Rhineland after King George's funeral. The move was considered opportunistic, even amongst some Germans, but it worked. The French protested the move heavily, but the British showed little interest in enforcing the Treaty, and as such, the unprepared French backed down.


These troops would be the forward defensive line in the event of a war with France...and they were the best the Reichsheer had to offer outside of Guderian's Panzer Divisions.

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[1] There is literally, one Zentrum (social liberal) leader, and he isn't available until well after 1945. As a result, I had to improvise and use DVP ministers in some cases. It works out, but it does kind of mess with the story.

Henry v. Keiper said:

This is one of those cases where the event triggers even with a change in government, right?

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If you mean Rhineland, yeah. Most German events are only tied to the country, not the Nazi Party ironically enough.

volksmarschall said:

The use of force to make France back down, very very German. Too bad for the French however.

In light of your AAR title, I otherwise completely forgot that besides marching on Moscow and bringing forth the death of the USSR early, I am intrigued how a 'democratic' Germany and the 'democratic' Allies will play out with one another. Certainly you must have fun with that, or throw us all for a loop!

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It isn't a German AAR if we don't make the French back down at least once

I do have plans for how the Allies and Dem!Germans will play off each other. Its certainly more work than your average AAR, but fun nonetheless.

red_KLG said:

True.

There is too much effort in the storyline and the context of the AAR with Skywalker raising the bar very high !!! If Germany is to share Poland with the USSR in a Molotov-Dehler I would expect a decent justification ! Perhaps he could take some inspiration from Hoi2/DH series of events when a Democratic GER appears.

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Funny you should mention DH considering this is what inspired the AAR in the first place. Specifically the Democratic Germany sub-mod. I do have plans for Poland and such, it would be remiss of me to not plan things out

Baltasar said:

... got so carried away with reading that I forgot to post...

Excellent AAR

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Glad you like it!

JHTA said:

That AAR looks very intresting.

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Thanks!

What Ikar said. The Austrians did want to unify with Germany, and really, if Hitler hadn't gone and declared war on half the world it might still be Greater Germany today.

As for Poland/the Military...well, it is true that I'm not building as strong a force as Nazi Germany would have for RP purposes, but the Poles would still be fairly easy to beat, I think.

EDIT: I'm moving back into a dorm for school tomorrow, but I should be able to get the next update Sunday. If all goes well.

Whelp...having internet issues. Namely, I can only connect to a glitchy wifi network that's being taken down soon. I'm getting my laptop in to get looked at tomorrow, but until then I won't have reliable enough internet to post.

So hello another delay.

While the staring contest over the Rhineland drew international attention onto the recovering German nation, it was quickly overshadowed by another event. The 1936 Summer Olympics, an event that had been planned before the recent events on the French border, were a chance for the German people to show how they were recovering from the 'shame' of the Great War. The Weimar government, its recovering economy providing more than adequate funds, was going all out for these games.

The Olympic stadium in Berlin was extravagant, designed in part to awe the foreign fans of the games. In that regard, it more than did its job. Of course, the stadium was just one part of a much larger event. Berlin was covered in the Weimar tricolor, German citizens showing that they were proud of their nation. Any foreign visitors, especially those from the 'western' democracies, would see a German state that was proud to be a Republic. The truth was more mixed, as the largest party outside the Coalition remained the monarchistic DNVP.

Germany's internal issues were covered over in the festivities of the Olympics though, so that only the glory of the Republic showed. It helped that the Reich was the greatest scorer at the Olympics, followed most closely by the Americans, namely the impressive Jesse Owens.


Unfortunately, one friend of Germany attended the Olympics in a greatly reduced state. Edward VIII, perhaps the most friendly leader to the German Reich, had been forced to abdicate his throne. His infatuation with an American divorcee was too scandalous for the British nobility, and the King had been under immense pressure to either abdicate or end the relationship. It was quite the scandal, for those who paid attention to such events.

Most nobles and monarchies the world over frowned heavily on the relationship, and were those pressuring Edward to end it. The King seemed to, genuinely, love Wallis however. Because of this, he chose abdication instead of ending his relationship. While the German ambassador delivered a letter of support form the Chancellor for the new Duke of Windsor, it was still a harsh blow to Anglo-German relations.

George VI, the new British King, was not anti-German. He, however, was not as friendly as Edward had been. Ties with France were reinforced, while ties with Germany began to atrophy. Relations remained friendly, due in large part to the Coalition being very much not extremist, it was still a blow.


Between the Olympics and the abdication of Edward, few were paying much attention to the German military. A force that was continuing its efforts to modernize, wherever it could with its budget somewhat limited by the SPD-heavy governments focus on civil works. Limited or not, the Reichswehr was making noticeable progress, compared to its state during Hindenburg's Presidency and before. This was, perhaps, most noticeable in the skies above Germany.

For the longest time, the German sky contained only civil air traffic. Airliners and Zeppelins, neither remotely military in nature. However, now a new sight crisscrossed the skies over newly constructed airfields. Smaller, more agile aircraft with crosses on their tails. This was the new Luftwaffe, a very direct violation of the Treaty of Versailles, but one that was important for German security.

At the time of the Summer Olympics, the Luftwaffe was a force still in its infancy. Several groups of aircraft, Luftflottes were spread over Germany, training and developing new tactics. Luftflotte II, based in Berlin, was just one of these. Made up of Arado Ar 68 fighters and Junkers Ju 86 bombers, it was already outdated however. The biplane fighter would be more than useless against the rumored Hurricane of Britain, or the Curtis planes being imported by France.

Because of this, both Messerschmidt and Focke-Wulf were being approached to develop new fighters, while Junkers, Dornier, and Heinkel competed with their respective bomber designs--the Ju 88, Do 17, and He 111 respectively.


The Reichsmarine was easier to work with. While its newly reformed submarine arm was every bit as much a violation of Versailles as the Luftwaffe, it was minor enough that this hardly mattered. Only Admiral Karl Donitz heavily supported the submarines, and the Weimar leadership were lukewarm at best when it came to the vessels. It was very well remembered that unrestricted submarine warfare, of the type Donitz advocated, that had been the pretext America used to enter the Great War. Germany had no desire to fight the American giant again, and as such the submarines received little funding or development compared to other arms of the Navy.

What was receiving funding was the surface fleet. Divided into two main forces, the Raumflotte and Atlantikflotte, the surface fleet was being steadily reinforced as more ships came off the slips. The former received the newer vessels since, as its name suggested, it was the main striking force of the Reichsmarine. Two of these ships were the largest Germany had built since the High Seas Fleet...Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. Considered battlecruisers by most, the command of the Navy considered them battleships.

Two larger vessels, battleships by any nations definition, were taking shape in Kiel too, with a tentative completion date of mid-1938. Other than these vessels, no more were currently planned...due to budget disputes, and debates over where the Reichsmarine should go. Three major schools of thought were divided on that issue.

Admiral Raeder, commander of the Raumflotte was very much in favor of building more of the Bismarck class battleships, and had the ear of Conrad Patzig, SPD Chief of the Navy. Donitz has already been mentioned, in his support of the U-Boot arm. Admiral Canaris¹, a member of the intelligence community as much as an Admiral, supported Aircraft Carriers, the likes of which were being built in Britain, America, Japan and even Italy.

As the refusal to support the U-Boots has already been discussed, this left Raeder and Canaris as the major focus. In an effort to support both sides, the dockyards of Wilhelmshaven were commissioned to develop an experimental Aircraft Carrier, tentatively named the Graf Zeppelin. Kiel would continue construction of SMS Bismarck and Tirpitz, with contracts existing for more ships of their class.



Finally, there was the Reichsheer. This arm of the military was perhaps the most unified, under the careful training of Heinz Guderian. The Army was reorganized completely from its small size under Versailles, expanded to nearly two-hundred brigades by the time of the Summer Olympics. These brigades were organized into two different types of divisions, designed for vastly different purposes.

The first, were the more traditional Infantry Divisions. The vast majority of the Reichsheer was made up of these divisions, four brigades strong. Three of infantry being rearmed with the short Karbiner variant of the Mauser '98 rifle that had served the Imperial Army in the Great War. The fourth was a brigade of modern artillery, to provide the divisions with greater hitting power than their counterparts in other nations. There were studies underway to mechanize the infantry and modernize the artillery further into a self-propelled design, but both were still in the planning stages.

The other division, was the Panzer Division. Comprised of two brigades of light tanks and one of infantry, the Panzers were Guderian's 'baby' so to speak. Hard hitting and fast, they would be the spearhead in the event of a war, with the infantry exploiting any breakthroughs made by the Panzers. At the moment, their ability to make these breakthroughs was up for debate, however. The Panzer I and Panzer II tanks were arguably obsolete as they were produced, barely sufficient for training purposes.

Much like the Luftwaffe, more effective designs would be needed soon. A Panzer III anti-tank design, and a Panzer IV infantry support design were both under development, but there was some discussion of approaching the Skoda works in Czechoslovakia over purchasing some of their LT 34 tanks as a stop-gap measure. Which came first, would largely depend on how long it took Porsche or Henschel to develop their own designs.

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¹ This is a shoutout to the excellent Siegerkranz over in HoI2.


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Also: It lives! Hopefully we shouldn't have a delay like this again.

Henry v. Keiper said:

Did Jesse Owens have a better reception at this Germany than he did the real one at this time?

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I would certainly hope so

guillec87 said:

Poor Dönitz... And he das right al the time

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Yup. But I can't see this Germany going for the subs. Maybe that's just me.