With Seven Crowns for Seven Brothers: an AAR for KR

[Ab Ovo]

With Seven Crowns for Seven Brothers
An After Action Report in the DH Kaiserreichverse​

☑ Kaiser Wilhelm III -- Kaiser of the German Empire
☑ Prince Eitel Friedrich -- King of Poland
☑ Prince Adalbert -- King of Flanders-Wallonia
☑ Prince August Wilhelm -- King of Wallachia
☑ Prince Oskar -- King of France
☑ Prince Joachim -- King of Occitania
☑ Prince Boniface Wilhelm -- Grand Duke of Brittany

Prologue
1936-1938
1938-1940
1940-1942

"I look on myself as an instrument of the Almighty and go on my way regardless of transient opinions and views."
-- Wilhelm II, Speech at Koenigsberg (25 August 1910)​

 

[OnFire]

subbed

 

[nachopontmercy]

In

 

[Milites]

2 down already, 5 to go. Let the nations of Europe tremble!

 

[Ab Ovo]

Berliner Stadtschloss
Berlin, German Empire

It couldn't be said that any of the members of the German cabinet were happy, exactly, to be convened at the Palace in the dead of night. But when the Kaiser came calling, one answered, and so the most prominent men in the Empire sat staring at each other at three in the morning. No-one really spoke to one another besides muttered greetings, they had all been woken from deepest sleep and were by and large too tired even for those little pleasantries and polite fictions which greased the wheels of German society. None of them were young men either and von der Schulenburg had just begun to nod off when the Kaiser entered the room. Up they sprang like childrens' toys, respectfully saluting His Majesty before he wearily waved a hand for them to take their seats again. If they themselves were tired then he was certainly moreso. Usually possessed of the pallor of the overworked on the best of days, tonight he looked as if he were standing at the brink of the grave.

"I have a son."

The cabinet ministers looked at each other with concern. Of course the Kaiser had a son. He had six of them. Was this the beginning of...

"No, I mean a new one!" he snapped, as if reading their thoughts.

"Your Majesty?" asked von Papen.

The Kaiser sighed and rubbed his eyes. "My seventh son, Prince Boniface Wilhelm Augustus Friedrich Martin, was born about an hour ago. Her Majesty is quite well, as is the child."

They all stared at him. Kaiser Wilhelm was on the other side of 75 and Empress Hermine was to be 50 before the year was out. On neither account was conception of a child impossible, but... they stared. Her Majesty had been out of the public eye for months now with what palace officials had referred to as a "persistent but ultimately harmless" cold, and clearly had come down with something else instead. von Papen was the first to speak, somewhat tentatively.

"We congratulate you, of course, but without being unseemly Your Majesty it does behoove us to wonder..."

Kaiser Wilhelm started for a second, having quite possibly fallen asleep in the intervening moments, and only then managed to stagger to the point of this conventicle.

"It is tradition that when a new state is inaugurated, a Royal be at its head. The Greek king hails from the Danes, distant cousins of mine ruled Romania, an Austrian rules the Ukraine, and Germans hold Mitteleuropa. Yet while I obviously hold no grudge against the Grand Duke of the Baltic Duchy or the King of Lithuania for not being of my own blood; I must confess some measure of irritation. The Hohenzollerns rule over what is now the greatest empire in the world. Berlin, truly, is the New Rome. Yet at every turn my dynasty, my blood, is outdone by inferiors. A Hapsburg or Bourbon commands more respect, for theirs are the dynasties which rule the world direct. This cannot be allowed to continue. I now have seven sons, five of whom are not blessed with a crown or assurance thereof..."

He paused there and looked at them.

"...and this will change. The Hohenzollern name will be revered, men will bend their knees to such sovereigns, not just in Germany but elsewhere as well. In the annals of history they will not only find our Imperial crown, but the legacies and exploits of all my sons and theirs after them. What task I am commending to you, gentlemen, is this: before I die, my sons are to be kings. Get working."

And with that the Kaiser got up and left without waiting for a response. The cabinet wasn't sure to make of what they had just heard. Either the Kaiser had gone mad, or was playing some elaborate prank. Either way their hands were tied to do otherwise. In the German Empire, if the Kaiser gave an order, it was to be obeyed.

 

[Gukpa]

Heil Dir im Siegerkranz! I'm in!

 

[OnFire]

A KR aar with a CKII goal! Hurrah for Willy

 

[Kaiser_Mobius]

Hehe, I am really liking this concept! Perhaps you will need to give the Americans a German King to bow down to as well? I will be following!

 

[Nikolai]

Five new kingdoms! That should be doable. Four in France alone, right? But OTOH, the kaiser being 75 complicates things...

 

[Ab Ovo]

Hehe, I am really liking this concept! Perhaps you will need to give the Americans a German King to bow down to as well? I will be following!

That sound you hear is the Kriegsmarine laughing it's ass off at the notion of sailing farther than Ireland.

 

[Ab Ovo]

1936-1938​

January 9 36 - the Iron Guard regime in Romania announces the remilitarisation of the Oltenia region, in flagrant violation of the Treaty of Bucharest. Germany expresses concern and condemnation, and warns Romania that her patience is not to be trifled with.

February 3 36 - Black Monday in the German Empire, as the slowly-declining Berlin Stock Exchange plummets, heralding financial disaster.

February 6 36 - A run on the banks occurs as Germans alarmed by the stock crash rush to withdraw their savings from banks across the nation. The strain is too great for many to bear, and in order to avoid a wholesale collapse of the banking industry the Reichstag passes emergency legislation guaranteeing private holdings.

Wealthy Germans from across the Empire quite literally ran to their local banks in an attempt to save what they could, only to be shut out by the teller's cage​

February 9 36 - the Black Week comes to an end, with German finances in shambles and 11 major figures in banking and commerce having committed suicide. The Minister of Finance announces that henceforth there will be a "careful planification" of the economy by the Imperial government, so as to speed the overall recovery of the nation.

February 18 36 - Codreanu, reinvigorated after a failed assassination attempt against him, announces the nationalisation of the Ploiesti oil fields. Germany is unable to take any serious action against him for fear of spooking investors and sabotaging hopes of economic recovery, but warns Bucharest that any attempts to stop oil shipments to the Empire will have severe repercussions.

April 16 36 - The Free Workers' Union of Germany, an anarcho-syndicalist labour union, is banned on the advice of the Minister of Security. While the FAUD had been previously allowed to organise unmolested, proofs that they had maintained contact with Spanish syndicalists soon arose. With rising tension with the Communes as both France and Germany militarised their border, it was decided that the risk was too great to allow them to continue and possibly threaten the life of the Kaiser. As well, the Colonial Office and the Ministry of Finances deliver a report to the Reichstag indicating that in light of the financial collapse, the Empire could no longer support her network of colonial protectorates such as the AOG, the Cretan Free State, and Mittelafrika; and that support to any but direct colonies such as Indochina or her African possessions would have to be cut off.

June 2 36 - In light of the recent report, the Foreign Office offers to negotiate a sale of Crete to the Ottomans. Much to their surprise however, the Ottomans flatly refuse the German offer, and maintain that they have no interest in the isle whatsoever. The Foreign Office then offers to negotiate a sale with the Greeks, who eagerly accept. The island is sold for a not unsubstantial amount of money, and relations with Greece warm as the two nations sign a non-aggression pact.

June 9 36 - the Deutsche Pan-Afrikanisches Eisen Bahn, a state-owned railroad stretching from the Congo to Djibouti, nears bankruptcy. As opposed to selling to to Mittelafrika and Abyssinia, Berlin decides to privatise the railroad and keep such an important conduit directly in German hands.

June 12 36 - the rise of suffragist movements in the German Empire, especially in these troubled times, has brought the question of women's suffrage to the especial attention of the Kaiser. Although granting universal suffrage would mean severely displeasing the Reichstag, who currently were elected solely through male suffrage, and antagonising important conservative elements of society. Ignoring the movement could have serious consequences down the road, not the least of which is the spectre of civil unrest in some of the more liberal states, which already provide for universal suffrage to local and constituent assemblies. By means of compromise, the Kaiser decrees that universal local suffrage be enacted, allowing women to vote and run for the regional assemblies of the Empire's constituent states; but not for the Reichstag.

The behaviour of the suffragettes was often intentionally scandalous, flouting the norms of the day, to draw attention to their cause​

July 23 36 - Russia erupts in civil war, as the Syndicalists in Russian Europe declare the independence of the Russian Union of Soviets. The spectre of Germany and Mitteleuropa as a whole being bordered by Syndicalist states is a grave one indeed, sparking fear in Berlin and prompting the Reichstag to authorise aid to the White Russian government.

July 27 36 - Poland had always had a special relationship with Germany. Carved from Russia at the end of the Weltkrieg by a benevolent Kaiser, it was established as a constitutional monarchy with a Regency Council. Because of constant disagreement between Austria and Germany concerning who would be King of Poland, however, the Regency lasted far longer than its intended purpose, leading to the Council dissolving itself in early 1936 and declaring Poland a republic. This was gravely distressing to Germany, who observed the social liberal, democratic new Poland with suspicion. Finally, months later on July 27, the High Command in Berlin ordered that units be pulled from the French border and stationed north of Warsaw. Hours later, a declaration of war was delivered.

August 2 36 - Fours days later, the German advance was progressing with difficulty. While Czestochowa and Wloclawek along the Polish border were easily occupied, the offensive into Warsaw stalled under heavy resistance as the Poles made forays into Silesia. Concerned that they had underestimated the Polish, OKW ordered that more units be pulled from the French border to assist in the subjugation of Poland, while reinforcements for the forces besieging Warsaw were dispatched direct from Berlin.

September 11 36 - From start to finish, the war against Poland had taken 46 days. But those 46 days had been vastly important ones for the Imperial army. Since the Weltkrieg Germany had often the inclination to rest on her laurels. Secure in her knowledge that she was one of the most powerful nations on earth, with an army to match, Germany had perhaps grown overconfident. The initial forces committed to the invasion were soon proven to be drastically undermanned, promptly dangerously hasty troop withdrawals that left the French border largely undefended. And in that time, the Poles made a serious bid to resurrect their own empire, taking advantage of the uncoordinated behaviour of Germany's allies to make vast inroads into Ukrainian, Lithuanian, and White Ruthenian territory, not to mention Ostpruessen. In the end of course they were destroyed. Włocławek, Sosnowiec, Łódź and Częstochowa were all ceded to Germany as punitive damages, reducing Poland by a third while Prince Eitel Friedrich was crowned as King Fryderyk II of Poland. Germany could easily take most nations on early, but she couldn't do it unprepared. The next time around, massive force would have to be brought to bear.

Their Majesties the King and Queen of Poland, driving through Warsaw some time after the war​

January 8 37 - With the death of Hans von Seeckt and the retirement of August von Mackensen in late 1936, the General Staff fell to feuding over preparations for war, specifically with France and Ireland. France had been the first to re-militarise the Franco-German border and German intelligence gleaned that they had begun transitioning to a wartime economy; neither of which were positive signs for continued peace between the two powers. Ireland, on the other hand, was under consideration for an entirely different reason. Reports indicated that the Union of Britain wished to invade and annex Ireland, and it was imperative to Berlin that the UoB not be allowed to expand, let alone into the friendly state of Ireland. The installation of a German puppet regime might be the only thing short of outright war which would frighten London off. The Syndicalists were growing to be a terrible menace, and only time would tell how they were to be dealt with.

February 16 37 - Austro-Hungarian negotiations concerning the Augsleich of 1937 quickly broke down as the Hungarians rejected Austrian plans for centralisation and a compromise offer of Bosnia, leading to delegations from both sides appealing to Germany for mediation. Standing on the principles of Germanic unity, the Kaiser himself sided with Austria; and the Augsleich was commanded to be settled in their favour. This soured the Hungarians, who declared their personal union with the Habsburgs to be dissolved and promptly declared war on Austria. The opportunistic Serbian Republic likewise declared war on Bosnia to seize irredentist claims. Germany herself sided with Austria, and the Reichstag authorised a package of aid and military supplies to Vienna.

March 9 37 - As war continues to rage in the Balkans, with the addition of the Romanian Civil War, Germans go to the polls. The DKP majority in the Reichstag is re-elected by quite a comfortable margin, continuing to be the party of victory and prestige; basking in the never-fading glow of the Weltkrieg and the support of the landed establishment. Surprisingly Franz von Papen declines the Kaiser's nomination to form a government, citing ill health, and therefore noted conservative Kurt von Schleicher is appointed as Prime Minister of the German Empire.

March 17 37 - Ukraine had been drifting from the German sphere for some time, ever since King Vasyl dismissed the German-backed Pavlo Skoropadsky as Hetman of Ukraine, instead appointing noted orator and rabblerouser Nikita Khrushchev to head the first socialist government which had ever been permitted to serve in a constitutional monarchy. From that point, Ukraine was a dutiful ally but not an especially helpful one. On March 17th, the Ukraine announced that they would be leaving Mitteleuropa, cancelling German military access and accepting Syndicalist ambassadors. This infuriated many at the OKW, who called for a war, but Ukraine was a formidable opponent and cooler heads prevailed. Germany would sponsor a coup whilst she moved her troops into position against Ukraine, and would hope she would not have to use them. The next day, on the 18th, the German military mission in the Ukraine seized Kiev with the help of loyalist militias and ousted the Syndicalist government, restoring Skoropadsky as Hetman and returning Ukraine to Mitteleuropa.

German troops firing upon the Hetman's Palace in Kiev, shortly before the fall of Khruschev's government​

June 16 37 - After France issues demands for the Swiss cessation of the Francophone Romandy region, Berlin responds with a counter-ultimatum: back down or face a Second Weltkrieg. The decision was a terrible one to have to make, but Germany simply could not be permitted to show weakness in the face of such Syndicalist aggression. Luckily, the French were properly cowed and ceased all overtures against the Swiss. This was widely publicised throughout the Empire, and was celebrated by Germans everywhere.

August 8 37 - Rejoicing as Tsar Dmitri V Romanov announces in an international radio address that St Petersburg has been recaptured from the Soviets, and Soviet Russia has been destroyed.

September 21 37 - In exchange for the diplomatic coup which is the inclusion of Austria and Galicia-Lodomeria in Mitteleuropa, Germany and her allies agree to enter the Austro-Hungarian Civil War on the behalf of the Austrians. Rather than pull units from the border with France, Ukrainian and Polish units are to be Germany's main contribution to the war against the Magyar huns.

November 30 37 - After a long slog of a war in which German commanders finished what their Austrian counterparts began, Hungary is annexed into Austria and the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary is proclaimed anew from the steps of St Stephen's Cathedral. Croatia, Bohemia, and Galicia-Lodomeria all dutifully submit to the will of Emperor Otto; and a historic meeting of the German and Austro-Hungarian kaisers takes place in Berlin where the two nations reaffirm their historic ties, their friendship, and their alliance. A week later, Vienna relives her glory days by forcing an ultimatum on the Serbian Republic, forcing them to cede Bosnia and defer all internal and external matters to Imperial authority; to which they wordlessly submit.

December 11 37 - After the anti-Collins democratic opposition wins a firm majority in the Oireachtas despite attempts by the government to rig the vote, President Collins orders the legislature to be disbanded and assumes direct control over the country. This scandalises the more genteel circles in Berlin, Germany having always taken a rather proprietary interest in the Emerald Isle after the ill-fated saga of Prince Joachim, and who was dismayed to see election results cast aside by a friendly nation. While Mitteleuropa as a whole was not the most democratic place, it was a common rule of civilisation among them that election results were to be respected in order to retain any legitimacy. The Kaiser gave approval for military plans to be drawn up for the restoration of civilised government in Ireland.

 

[Ab Ovo]

I'm experimenting with a different style here than I have employed before when writing an AAR, which allows me to write as I play the game rather than reconstruct updates later from screenshots. I hope you all enjoy it.

 

[99KingHigh]

I'm experimenting with a different style here than I have employed before when writing an AAR, which allows me to write as I play the game rather than reconstruct updates later from screenshots. I hope you all enjoy it.

Has Ab gotten lazy?

 

[Ab Ovo]

Has Ab gotten lazy?

Who? Me?

Nah, in reality I don't know how to take screenshots in DH, so I don't. The fact that doing it this way is easier is just icing on the cupcake.

 

[99KingHigh]

Who? Me?

Nah, in reality I don't know how to take screenshots in DH, so I don't. The fact that doing it this way is easier is just icing on the cupcake.

You could use fraps.

 

[Ab Ovo]

You could use fraps.

What in god's name are fraps?

 

[Zzzzz...]

Very interesting AAR! Subs!

Five new kingdoms! That should be doable. Four in France alone, right? But OTOH, the kaiser being 75 complicates things...

Nein! Who wants to have petty Normandy?

 

[der Kriegsherr]

I'm experimenting with a different style here than I have employed before when writing an AAR, which allows me to write as I play the game rather than reconstruct updates later from screenshots. I hope you all enjoy it.

I love it; doubly because its always good to see a new KR Germany AAR bringing monarchy to the blighted republics: My last one was basically in the format of the Red Baron's memoirs.

What in god's name are fraps?

A screen/video capture program for use in game. Through two years and four AARs, it hasn't failed me once.
Apparently, the DH engine won't allow you to take screencaps of the newspaper events, so we use programs like FRAPS for that.

 

[Kaiser_Mobius]

I find that just using ctrl+print screen then pasting to MS paint works pretty well, its a bit more cumbersome but it gets you the results you need.

 

[Battle bunny]

How is Prince Joachim going to get a throne when he has committed suicide, by the way? Or can we assume that you took a bit of creative liberty with the KR canon?