The Meeting at the Reichswehr Headquarters – Part 1
On September 8th 1948 Theodor Heuss along with the finest of Germany’s military strategists and generals met at the Reichswehr Headquarters in Berlin. The deadline Heuss had set for the preparation of the Reichswehr for war was about to pass and the Chancellor now looked to decide whether or not to proceed with war. Over the past year a new Panzer model had replaced the Panzer II (which had been standard issue since the war in Asia ended) called the E-50 Standardpanzer, the entire infantry had been outfitted with the latest rifles and other small arms whilst the entire Luftwaffe was brought up to the level of ‘Improved Turbojet’. Currently in production were a series of super-heavy armored units known as the Panzer VIII Maus, these would accompany new infantry divisions and were designed to act as an immovable barrier to be used in defensive situations. But with the Blitzkrieg Doctrine close to their hearts for the earlier stages of any potential war these new units would not be necessary.
Erich von Manstein, Chief of Staff in the Reichswehr and head of the Combined Berlin Pact Military Wing, followed on from Albert Speer’s presentation on the recent improvements of the Reichswehr (and future expansions) by offering a view of the overall military power of the Berlin Pact.
On land Germany and the Pact as a whole was at its strongest, the Heer employed around 2.5 million men including the world’s second largest (but most powerful) armored force not to mention the large mobile contingent of mechanized and motorized corps and the elite Fallschirmjäger and Gebirgsjäger divisions. The Chinese basic infantry was actually of the same standard, in terms of equipment, as Germany but lacked the training and experience of their veteran counterparts. On the South American Continent Argentina seemed to have more than enough to defend itself from invasion but the strategically vital Venezuela (whose economic miracle had seen industrial output almost double since joining the Pact) was under a severe threat of invasion and may require Germany to send reinforcements across the Atlantic. Most nations in Europe retained a modest army and half of the armed forces of every Balkan country was deployed to the German-Soviet border to bolster the German garrison forces already there, the exception to this was Bulgaria whose greater independence form the Berlin pact meant that they kept their army within Bulgaria itself. In Western Europe both France and Italy fielded strong land armies but the Pact saw little purpose for them beyond the protection of Europe from invasion, these nation’s real military uses lay elsewhere.
The leadership of Chiang Kaishek’s army is a major issue with many ex-warlords employed by the Kuomintang and no real military academy established within China. In the past year Alexander von Falkenhausen has been sent back to China after tens years back in Europe. The difficulties of working with Chiang, and the importance of the 3 million Chinese soldiers to the Berlin Pact, mean that the Chinese army is currently not under Pact control and will act at its own whim, it can only be hoped that this powerful force will be used effectively.
Between 1940 and 1946 the Luftwaffe had grown very little due to the focus on expanding the land and latter naval forces of the Reich, at its lowest ebb near the start of 1946 the RAF fielded an air force twice the size of the Luftwaffe. Since then the German air force has gone through astronomical growth in both the quality and quantity of its units and is now arguably the most powerful air force on earth. The next most powerful Pact air force is that of France, although smaller than the Chinese and Argentine fleets it is considerably more modern and is currently half-way through the process of upgrading to ‘Improved Turbojet’ standard. Both the Chinese and Argentines have large Turbojet air fleet which will greatly strain any enemy attempting to face the Pact by forcing them to send more air units to distant theatres of war.
The much publicized expansion of the Kriegsmarine has now made it a potent force yet no nations of the Berlin Pact have followed the German example. Ever since regaining independence Italy had been reconstructing its navy, yet she lacked the funds to build capital ships and had been limited to constructing large destroyer groups (and more recently light cruisers) with the supreme power of the Royal Navy in the Mediterranean the Italian Fleet has little hope of survival but it would manage to tie the British Mediterranean Fleet down for many months, distracting it from the more potent threat of the Kriegsmarine. Venezuela’s fleet is mostly a new construction, population growth has not followed her industrial boom and so the world’s largest oil exporter has begun to consume some of her own as Venezuela now fields the second most powerful fleet in the Caribbean after the US fleet based out of Colon. Finally the second most powerful Pact fleet, and the only other than German with Capital Ships, The Argentine Navy has also recently expanded with the construction of some new destroyer squadrons but the focus of the fleet remains on the two Battleships.
The two Rivadavia Class battleships were first launched just prior to the Great War and were then rebuilt during the mid-1920s, they may be old but their powerful guns give the Pact undisputed naval supremacy over the nations of Latin America.
As Manstein stepped away Heuss readied himself for the next two presentations which would detail the expected strength of both NAPTO and the Soviet Union. Although not in an official alliance ever since the NAPTO embargo against the Berlin Pact began both Churchill and Truman had been looking to gain the support of Lavrenti Beria and earlier in 1948 the US, UK and Soviet Union had signed the Tripartite Pact of Mutual Friendship where they agreed to share information of ‘mutual importance’ and assist each other economically. Fearing encirclement by an ever strengthening opponent Heuss knew that this would be his one and only chance to secure the German Empire once and for all, if he didn’t go to war now then Germany would have to give up so much, to allow Communism to survive, to bow before a new master across the Ocean.
On September 8th 1948 Theodor Heuss along with the finest of Germany’s military strategists and generals met at the Reichswehr Headquarters in Berlin. The deadline Heuss had set for the preparation of the Reichswehr for war was about to pass and the Chancellor now looked to decide whether or not to proceed with war. Over the past year a new Panzer model had replaced the Panzer II (which had been standard issue since the war in Asia ended) called the E-50 Standardpanzer, the entire infantry had been outfitted with the latest rifles and other small arms whilst the entire Luftwaffe was brought up to the level of ‘Improved Turbojet’. Currently in production were a series of super-heavy armored units known as the Panzer VIII Maus, these would accompany new infantry divisions and were designed to act as an immovable barrier to be used in defensive situations. But with the Blitzkrieg Doctrine close to their hearts for the earlier stages of any potential war these new units would not be necessary.
Erich von Manstein, Chief of Staff in the Reichswehr and head of the Combined Berlin Pact Military Wing, followed on from Albert Speer’s presentation on the recent improvements of the Reichswehr (and future expansions) by offering a view of the overall military power of the Berlin Pact.
On land Germany and the Pact as a whole was at its strongest, the Heer employed around 2.5 million men including the world’s second largest (but most powerful) armored force not to mention the large mobile contingent of mechanized and motorized corps and the elite Fallschirmjäger and Gebirgsjäger divisions. The Chinese basic infantry was actually of the same standard, in terms of equipment, as Germany but lacked the training and experience of their veteran counterparts. On the South American Continent Argentina seemed to have more than enough to defend itself from invasion but the strategically vital Venezuela (whose economic miracle had seen industrial output almost double since joining the Pact) was under a severe threat of invasion and may require Germany to send reinforcements across the Atlantic. Most nations in Europe retained a modest army and half of the armed forces of every Balkan country was deployed to the German-Soviet border to bolster the German garrison forces already there, the exception to this was Bulgaria whose greater independence form the Berlin pact meant that they kept their army within Bulgaria itself. In Western Europe both France and Italy fielded strong land armies but the Pact saw little purpose for them beyond the protection of Europe from invasion, these nation’s real military uses lay elsewhere.
The leadership of Chiang Kaishek’s army is a major issue with many ex-warlords employed by the Kuomintang and no real military academy established within China. In the past year Alexander von Falkenhausen has been sent back to China after tens years back in Europe. The difficulties of working with Chiang, and the importance of the 3 million Chinese soldiers to the Berlin Pact, mean that the Chinese army is currently not under Pact control and will act at its own whim, it can only be hoped that this powerful force will be used effectively.
Between 1940 and 1946 the Luftwaffe had grown very little due to the focus on expanding the land and latter naval forces of the Reich, at its lowest ebb near the start of 1946 the RAF fielded an air force twice the size of the Luftwaffe. Since then the German air force has gone through astronomical growth in both the quality and quantity of its units and is now arguably the most powerful air force on earth. The next most powerful Pact air force is that of France, although smaller than the Chinese and Argentine fleets it is considerably more modern and is currently half-way through the process of upgrading to ‘Improved Turbojet’ standard. Both the Chinese and Argentines have large Turbojet air fleet which will greatly strain any enemy attempting to face the Pact by forcing them to send more air units to distant theatres of war.
The much publicized expansion of the Kriegsmarine has now made it a potent force yet no nations of the Berlin Pact have followed the German example. Ever since regaining independence Italy had been reconstructing its navy, yet she lacked the funds to build capital ships and had been limited to constructing large destroyer groups (and more recently light cruisers) with the supreme power of the Royal Navy in the Mediterranean the Italian Fleet has little hope of survival but it would manage to tie the British Mediterranean Fleet down for many months, distracting it from the more potent threat of the Kriegsmarine. Venezuela’s fleet is mostly a new construction, population growth has not followed her industrial boom and so the world’s largest oil exporter has begun to consume some of her own as Venezuela now fields the second most powerful fleet in the Caribbean after the US fleet based out of Colon. Finally the second most powerful Pact fleet, and the only other than German with Capital Ships, The Argentine Navy has also recently expanded with the construction of some new destroyer squadrons but the focus of the fleet remains on the two Battleships.
The two Rivadavia Class battleships were first launched just prior to the Great War and were then rebuilt during the mid-1920s, they may be old but their powerful guns give the Pact undisputed naval supremacy over the nations of Latin America.
As Manstein stepped away Heuss readied himself for the next two presentations which would detail the expected strength of both NAPTO and the Soviet Union. Although not in an official alliance ever since the NAPTO embargo against the Berlin Pact began both Churchill and Truman had been looking to gain the support of Lavrenti Beria and earlier in 1948 the US, UK and Soviet Union had signed the Tripartite Pact of Mutual Friendship where they agreed to share information of ‘mutual importance’ and assist each other economically. Fearing encirclement by an ever strengthening opponent Heuss knew that this would be his one and only chance to secure the German Empire once and for all, if he didn’t go to war now then Germany would have to give up so much, to allow Communism to survive, to bow before a new master across the Ocean.
