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A short history of the German Empire

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c0d5579 said:
Is his name Kurt von Schleicher? :p
Click to expand...

Rhetorical questions, got to love them ;). But is Schleicher willing to step in right now, when any chancellor has more to lose than to win?

Beta 1 for KR 1.3 is finally ready (to be released to the public soon), so I will have time to show this AAR some love soon.
 
The effect of the crisis at home

The crisis expands
The collapse of the Berlin stock exchange led to immediate reactions by the firms involved. Since overproduction was a clear problem for most companies, many decided to halt production until the excess stocks where sold off. Unfortunately this would lead to a massive loss of jobs for many employees of companies like BMW, Blomm und Voss, Daimler, Fokker-Junkers and Opel almost overnight. Just weeks after the start of the crisis it was a common sight to see long lines of the unemployed waiting for government aid in cities as Munich, Hamburg and Berlin. The employees of Krupp, living in Krupp-run company towns didn’t lose their job, but would have their pay docked until the economic tide turned. The bursting of the colonial speculation bubble led to the collapse of a number of smaller banks, who had lend money to eager investors without checking their creditability. Their collapse meant many families lost their life savings. The fall into poverty of many Germans and explosive rise of unemployment would have severe repercussions.

worker.jpg

The streets aflame
The fall into poverty, and the governments perceived lack of action, led many Germans to look for solutions at the political extremes. The syndicalists and anarchists blamed the capitalists and the Junkers for squandering the peoples happiness for a few coins more. The Alldeutscher Verband blamed ethnic minorities for stealing the jobs of true Germans and saw an international conspiracy weakening Germany. For desperate men without a job and without money to feed their families, the easy solutions offered by both led to many of them joining these parties. When both met in the streets, violence was about to ensue. The first clash between the Reds and the Browns took place in Berlin, where a group of AV-männer marching through woking class neighbourhood Friedrichshain where assailed by a large group of FAUD-supporters (Freie Arbeiter Union Deutschlands – Free Workers Union Germany, an anarchosyndicalist trade union). What became known as the Battle of Friedrichshain was in fact little more than a streetbrawl, which left ten AV-männer hospitalized. One of them, Horst Wessel, would die from his injuries and became a martyr in the eyes of his comrades.
The AV would retalliate on several occasions, like the assault on a FAUD meeting in a Munich beer hall, where well known syndicalist Kurt Eisner was rumored to speech. The assault of the AV-männer led to an all out battle in the center of Munich, with the elderly Bavarian Prime-Minister Gustav Ritter von Kahr being forced to call in the Reichsheer to restore order.

vonkahr.jpg

Gustav Ritter von Kahr (b. 1862), the longtime Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bavaria.​

The Groener-Schleicher mediations
With the countries economy in shambles and the streets aflame, the formation of a strong coalition-government was more important than ever. Kurt von Schleicher knew he needed to support of parties besides the DNP, and started negotiations with the NLP, FVP, DNVP and Zentrum. As expected, all of them knew Schleicher had to make concessions to entice them to join. The crafty Schleicher left the negotiation with the liberal FVP and Catholic Zentrum to his mentor Groener, while negotiating himself with the nationalliberal NLP and nationalist DNVP. Groener, a moderate but well respected elder statesman soon concluded further negotiations with Rathenau where pointless, as their small-government policies and market oriented trade policies where incompatible with the DKP or DNVP policies. Zentrum was willing to support the government, but demanded the creation of a ministry of Labour, to be headed by Christian Trade Union leader Adam Stegerwald, a man unacceptable to many DKP and DNVP leaders simply for being a trade union activist. Therefore Groener tried a different approach. He asked Brüning to support the government without joining it, hinting at potential electoral succes for Zentrum in the future, by being able to present themselves as a moderate alternative to the DNVP and by not getting tainted with association with the DNVP. Wether Groener tried to pave the way for a future DKP-Zentrum coalition, or just tried to sweettalk Zentrum into supporting Von Papen isn't known, but Brüning promised to support the government until the 1937 Reichstag elections.
Schleichers negotiations with Lettow-Vorbeck and Hugenberg where more succesful, with NLP-leader Lettow-Vorbeck willing to put his prestige behind the government in exchange for the Ministries of Economic Affairs, Colonies and the addition of a Minister without Portfolio. Hugenberg flatly demanded the Ministries of Justice, Finance, and Posts together with the replacement of Secretary of the Interior Von Bernsttorff, who Hugenberg considered to be soft on the Reds.

vonbernsttorff.jpg

Johann Heinrich Graff von Bernstorff (b. 1862), the elderly State Secretary of the Interior and former Ambassador to the United States. His efforts where instrumental in keeping the States neutral during the Weltkrieg. Von Papen served under him during the Weltrieg, when he was military attaché at the Embassy in Washington.​

After long and hard negotiations, Schleicher was finally able to close a deal bringing the DNVP and NLP into the government, while Groener got Zentrum-leader Brünings guarantee that Zentrum would not let the government fall in these times of crisis. Von Papens cabinet was saved, but this victory came at a cost. The widely respected Dr. Hjalmar Schacht would have to be replaced in order to honour the deal with Hugenberg, just as Papens old mentor Von Bernstorff and DKP rising star Schwerin von Krosigk, the Secretary for Economics. Von Papens new team would get their first challenge soon after the installation of the new government, yet the crisis itself was external instead of internal…

###########​

Next update will take a look at Mitteleuropa and the Lithuanian crisis. We'll also take a look at Von Papens new team.
 
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I'm starting to feel sick with politics. I demand MOAR bloodshed! :D
 
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Blood doesn't normally flow this early, though there's usually an opportunity for it when Eastern Europe inevitably implodes.
 
So we get a stopgap solution which doesn't actually solve any of the problems Germany faces but should at least keep them in check for a year or two. I can't see this lasting particularly long with von Papen still in power, he's still not particularly popular and I wouldn't be surprised if he spent more time fighting his new partners than actually running the country.

How popular are the AV and FAUD at this point? I doubt they're a massive threat to the government yet but it is becoming incresingly clear that Germany is in trouble and I doubt the current government is going to deliver the change Germany needs, or change much at all.
 
@ Viden: Soon, my friend, very soon... The real match starts around 1940, but there will be several warmups.

@ c0d5579: For now Dmitri Romanov has kept Russia remarkably stable, not inciting a Soviet revolution among others. Yet this being Kaiserreich, the peace will not last.

@ Zhuge Liang: Basically Germany got complacent after the successes of WW1 and the Tirpitz-era, forgetting about the political reforms so desperately needed. Yet those reforms would mean moving power away from the Kaiser and nobility, and while Wilhelm II has mostly withdrawn from public life, I cannot see him giving away his godgiven power to simple commoners. Yet the Empire isn't as dominated by nobles as before. Many impoverised nobles can only dream of the influence and wealth commoners as Hugenberg wield.

At the moment both the AV and the FAUD (a trade union but the closest thing to a political syndicalist organisation allowed) enjoy a massive boost in popularity because the claim to have easy solutions to complex problems. If the government either manages to make clear these solutions are rubbish, or solve the problems themselves, their popularity could vaporate. Yet even before the crisis the AV managed to win 30+ seats in the Reichstag. The syndicalist appeal is more difficult to grasp, with syndicalist parties being banned, yet Liebknechts wing within the SPD is closer to syndicalism in ideology than to social-democracy.

@ Yourworstnightm: Just don't write Papen off yet. The Kaiser likes him and he's an expert at removing political opponents. He may just have some tricks left.
 
Update monday. We'll see the new government in action by then.

Just a small teaser: a national hero will enter government, as will a relative of one of Germanies greatest statesman.
 
The national government and the Lithuanian crisis

Papens ‘national’ government
Late March 1936 saw the inauguration of Von Papens new cabinet, which now included State Secretaries of the DNVP and NLP. In order to make place for these new State Secretaries, a number of old DKP-stalwarts had to make place. The old State Secretaries of Justice, Posts and Colonies (resp. Von Gayl, Von Eltz-Rübenach and Schnee) retired from politics in order to make room for DNVP and NLP candidates. Secretary for the Interior Graf von Bernstorff retired too, citing weak health. The most painful dismissals for Papen had been those of doctor Schacht (Finance) and Graf Schwerin von Krosigk (Economy) despite their efforts on containing the crisis in order to furfill DNVP and NLP demands. Schacht was appointed as President of the Reichsbank, while Schwerin von Krosigk would remain part of the government as Secretary without Portfolio. The now vacant post of Secretary of the Interior was given to Kurt von Schleicher himself, who was given the task of restoring order to the German cities.
The DNVP had no problems finding candidates for the post of Finance, with Alfred Hugenberg taking this post himself. As expected, Hugenberg found himself battling Reichsbank-president Schacht over leadership over the economic recovery effort. The post of Justice was given to Franz Gürtner, formerly serving at the same post in the Bavarian government. The last DNVP-secretary was the most surprising one: Otto Christian von Bismarck, the grandson of the Iron Chancellor himself, would become the new State Secretary for Post and Transport.
That NLP-leader Lettow-Vorbeck didn’t join the government himself was a welcome surprise for Von Papen. The beleaguered Chancellor had to deal with Hugenbergs frequent demands and outbursts already. The NLP would be represented by the NLP’s economics expert Johannes Popitz and Paul Lejeune-Jung as new Secretary for the Colonies. Given Lettow-Vorbecks history as Mittelafrikan Statthalter, his main task would be defending the rights of the native peoples, which would put him on colision course with Statthalter Herman Goering.
A last surprising addition to the government was the famous Manfred von Richthofen as the first State Secretary for the Airforce, elevating the Chief of Staff of the Luftstreitkräfte to the ministerial level, just as the Navy is headed by a member of the candidate. The Red Baron reluctantly accepted this promotion, even while he knew Papen was just borrowing his name to bolster confidence in his administration. The elevation of the head of the Luftstreitkräfte to State Secretary was seen as the coming of age of Germanies airforce, which now no longer fell under the Generalstab. Richthofens first task as State Secretary was to appoint a successor as Chief of Staff. This soon broiled down to a battle between the fighter ace Ernst Udet and general staffer Walther Wever, each representing a powerful branch within the airforce.

manfred-richthofen.jpg

Manfred von Richthofen (b. 1892). 44 years of age but still known for his boyish charm, Manfred von Richthofen became a top scoring ace during the Weltkrieg, Germanies first General der Flieger in 1929 and Germanies youngest Generalfeldmarschall in 1935. As Chief of Staff of the Luftstreitkräfte Richthofen had put emphasis on the expansion of the fighter arm in order to protect Germany and the development of two engined bombers to support the armed forces in their advance. In his new position of State Secretary of the Airforce, he will have to find a balance between the needs of his pilots and the demands of the Reichstag.​

The Von Papen ‘national’ administration
Chancellor and Prime Minister of Prussia: Franz von Papen (DKP)
State secretary for Foreign Affairs: Friedrich-Werner Graf von der Schulenberg (DKP)
Stare secretary for Finance: Alfred Hugenberg (DNVP)
State Secretary for the Interior: Kurt von Schleicher (DKP)
State Secretary for the Navy: Grossadmiral Ludwig von Reuter (independent)
State Secretary for the Airforce: Generalfeldmarschall Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen (independent)
State Secretary for Economic affairs: Johannes Popitz (NLP)
State Secretary for Justice: Franz Gürtner (DNVP)
State Secretary for Agriculture: Magnus Freiherr von Braun (DKP)
State Secretary for the Post, Telegraph and Transport: Otto Christian, Fürst von Bismarck (DNVP)
State Secretary for the Colonies: Paul Lejeune-Jung (NLP)
State Secretary without Portfolio: Johann Graf Schwerin von Krosigk (DKP)

The Lithuanian crisis
After the Weltkrieg, Germany had set up a number of newly created states on its borders, in order to create a barrier between Russia and Germany proper. Most of these states where rather weak constructions as Flanders-Wallonia, the United Baltic Duchy and White Ruthenia. All states firmly under Germanies control, as the nationalities living within these states could be played against eachother. Lithuania on the other hand had a long history as a sovereign nationstate. Nationalists within the Lithuanian parliament had always agitated against the rise of German schools in Lithuania, the mandatory education of German in all higher education, the double posting of all placenames and other forced Germanifications of Lithuanian culture. In march 1936 all simmering resentment exploded into a massive wave of protests throughout the nation. After the police failed to maintain order, the government made the fateful decision to send in the army, fearing German invasion if they failed to maintain order. Unfortunately the army refused to fire on their countrymen and soon the government and king Mindaugas III where forced to flee to Berlin.

MindaugasIII.jpg

King Mindaugas III of Lithuania. (B. 1899 as Karl Gero von Urach). He had succeeded his father Mindaugas II as king of Lithuania in 1928, becoming its second king after Lithuania's independence from Russia. Both he and his father based their regal name on a 12th century Lithuanian king.​

The new nationalist government had hoped to gain German recognition, offering to ratify the Mitteleuropa defence agreement Germany had forced upon its satellites and offering to invite king Mindaugas to return to Vilnius. All hopes of a peaceful solution where soon shattered after Kaiser Wilhelm himself publicly stated that he would do everything in his power to restore king Mindaugas to his throne. Unsurprisingly, it where Hugenbergs newspapers who first published this news. With both the Kaiser and the DNVP actively seeking war, the Papen administration had no choice but to prepare for war.

Blomberg.jpg

Generalfeldmarschall Werner von Blomberg (b. 1878). To the chagrin of many traditionalists, Blomberg was the first Marshall receiving the baton in times of peace in 1935, the same year he was appointed Oberbefehlhaber Ost, the commander charged with the protection of Germanies Eastern border.​

The task of preparing for the Lithuanian campaign went to Generalfeldmarschall Werner von Blomberg, the Oberbefehlhaber Ost. Blomberg had quickly risen through the ranks owing to the patronage of Hans von Seeckt, the Chief of the Generalstab himself. He was the first Marshall to receive the marshalls baton in times of peace (the other being Manfred von Richthofen) for his efforts in keeping Germanies Eastern borders peaceful. For the upcoming campaign, Blomberg could muster ten divisions, divided in five corps, with the Baltic Landeswehr and the White Ruthenian borderguard providing further assistance.

Order of Battle for the Lithuanian pacification

I. Armee - Generalfeldmarschall Werner von Blomberg
- I Ostpreussische Armeekorps – General der Infanterie Friedrich Kress von Kressenstein
- I Armeekorps – Generalleutnant Walther von Brauchitsch
- II Armeekorps - Generalleutnant Georg von Küchler
- V Armeekorps – Generalleutnant Maximillian von Weichs
- XIV Armeekorps – Generalleutnant Conrad von Cockenhausen

Additional support
- I. Baltische Landswehr Korps – General der Landswehr Rüdiger Von der Golz
- 1st. White Ruthenian Corps – Leutenant-General Bronislaw Kaminski

Blombergs plan was as arrogant as it was simple: he would lead an advance towards Gardinas (Grodno) personally, splitting Lithuania in two and showing the Lithuanians they had no chance against the might of the German Empire. Afterwards he could decide wether to encircle the Lithuanian forces, strike at major cities as Kaunas and Vilnius or seek terms with the defeated Lithuanians. Blomberg promised the government to overrun the revolting state in just ten days, despite objections of most of his subordinates. The venerable general Kress von Kressenstein, a veteran of the Caucasus campaign of the Weltkrieg had tried to point out the dangers of a retreating enemy in difficult terrain, as the Lithuanian forests where. Yet Blomberg was determined to start the campaign on the tenth of April…
 
So Schleicher, as Minister of the Interior, has control of the police force? That's almost as good as running the country, he's positioned to be Papen's Beria!

Good to see the Rubber Lion gets to earn his baton. Hopefully the new Luftministerium can help justify their existence here, too.
 
Lithuania should provide a nice and easy victory to shore up the new government (provided nothing goes horribly wrong) but I wonder what the of members of Mitteleuropa will make of this little demonstration. It's clear that there is no room for local nationalism within Mittleuropa but will this cow the local populations or merely provoke them? Russia would probably be happy to cause trouble if it was in any position to.
 
Ah, good old Kaiser Billy seems to be the old lover of peaceful negotiated solutions that he used to... :D
 
@ c0d5579: Schleicher is indeed poised to expand his already considerable influence. He is a personal friend of Crownprince Wilhelm, has considerable influence within the ruling DKP, is a respected general der infanterie and is a good friend of Abwehr chief Von Bredow. Add to this the powers of the State Secretary of the Interior and you know Schleicher will have ample opportunity to influence German politics for decades to come. The question is, will people as Papen or Hugenberg allow him to expand his influence at their expense?

@ Zhuge Liang: I'll deal with the aftermath of the Lithuanian intervention in the next update, but military intervention against a nation still willing to accept German military dominance will not endear the Germans to their Eastern vassals. Yet it also sends a clear message what the cost of defying Germany will be.

Russia is in too much chaos to do more than send some leftover equipment, or risk German intervention themselves. Yet some of these leftovers might just come in the form of T-28's...

@ Kurt_Steiner: Kaiser Bill, spreading peace and understanding since 1888.
 
I should think the OTL events of 1932-1933 answer the question about whether Schleicher can outmaneuver Papen, at least tactically. Hugenberg seems like too much of an outsider, or at least newly arrived, in the Wilhelmine circle to be a risk. If anything, what I see is a modified 1933, with Schleicher and Hugenberg turning on Papen, then Schleicher turning on Hugenberg. After all, the one man who has a chance against the man who controls the press is the man who can shut down the press.
 
This is really excellent. Nicely written and with a very strong level of detail.

I haven't played HoI2 for years, but this really makes me want to have a go at Kaisserreich. Would I need to upgrade from vanilla HoI2 to Armageddon?
 
Hmm, Lithuania will be a pushover, but this shows Germany's weakness: There is no room for compromise, German domination of all sectors of Mittelseuropan life is the minimum requirement. Mittelseuropa is not a strong alliance, but merely oppressive regimes leaning on German support. Germany's inability to deal with the Lithuanian nationalist peacefully sets a dangerous precedent. Will Mittelseuropa become more of a burden for Germany than an asset?
 
@ c0d5579: Its true that Schleicher is a better schemer than Papen and has the power to break Hugenberg at the moment, yet don't forget that the German Empire is a strange mix of autocracy and democracy. All of Schleichers plans can be undone if Papen runs to Wilhelm, or if Brüning and Rathenau manage to win enough votes to out the current coalition, perhaps even by winning support of the SPD...

@ Alfredian: Thanks for the compliment and welcome aboard. I feel the devil is often in the details when it comes to fleshing out an alternative history. By doing so a world can come alive and even ahistorical occurences can become more plausible if presented with care and detail.

About Kaiserreich. The current game is designed for Arma 1.3 and will not run on vanilla HoI2 without some modding to the files. The current Beta for version 1.2 has just been released, although it still contains some bugs, especially concerning the espionage costs.

@ Yourworstnightm: By now its clear that Germany sees Mitteleuropa as little more than some puppets that are allowed to supply cannonfodder in an upcoming war. Yet their willingness, or ability to resist this fate varies from nation to nation. Some might rebel, some would try to make Germany see them as equals and others will accept German supremacy in exchange for protection. Future updates will give more details.

The next update will probably be monday.
 
If it's like all of my KR Germany games, the next war is a never-ending slog in Eastern Europe until France suddenly goes "SURPRISE!"
 
@ Enewald: the next update will be fully devoted to a war. It will be the last one of 1936 though.

@ c0d5579: Eastern Europe simply decides to tear itself apart for now, leaving me with more chances to prepare for France. Central Europe and the Balkans are a different story...
 
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