German Empire

Germany, or officially the German Empire (German: Deutsches Kaiserreich) is a country in Central Europe. The Empire is a semi-constitutional monarchy composed of twenty-seven constituent monarchical states, ruled by the Hohenzollern dynasty. Despite large losses in terms of lives during the Second Weltkrieg and the destruction of industries on the Rhine, the German Empire remains the strongest country in the world. The German Empire was proclaimed on January 18, 1871, in the Hall of Mirrors of Palace of Versailles in the aftermath of the 1871 Franco-Prussian War. As a victor of the Second Weltkrieg, Germany has established an occupation zone in North France and still oversees a sizeable colonial empire in Africa. Germany also leads the Reichspakt and Mitteleuropa, military and economic alliances involving several European nations.

History
After 15 years of uninterrupted dominance, the German Empire was stagnating. The economy had stopped growing, her allies were becoming over-extended, and the Kaiser himself was ailing with growing senility. Reichskanzler Kuno von Westarp’s government had competently steered the ship for six long years, and now the Empire was entering election season.

Then, Black Monday occurred. Almost overnight, what was left of the stagnant German and wider Mitteleuropan economy had collapsed, and the ruling Conservatives had no plans with which to face such a crisis. Over the next few weeks, Germany would remain in a state of political deadlock as all parties scrambled to put forward their own recovery plans to heal the ailing nation. Economic Secretary Karl Heffelrich would begin instituting a relatively ambitious economic intervention plan by April, however, the damage had already been done. The DkP-DRP-Zentrum alliance had lost much of its credibility, and as the electorate went to the polls the nation appeared thoroughly divided.

On the announcement of the results, the SPD-FVP-CSRP ‘Democratic Union’ electoral alliance would shock the nation, securing an outright majority in the Reichstag. With no other options with which to form a government with, Wilhelm II appointed Otto Wels as Reichskanzler, enabling the formation of the first Social-Democrat led government in the history of the German Empire. The new Economic Secretary Walter Rathenau would begin to implement his own, far more radical, recovery plan. Focused on increasing state control over the German economy, the Rathenauplan also called for increased levels of taxation and, quite controversially, widespread cuts to military spending. Though vehemently protested by Chief of Staff Hans von Seeckt, his sudden death at the end of 1936 would allow the spending cuts to be carried out in earnest.

Another of Wels’ more controversial stances was his view of the growing strength of the Third Internationale. Rather than sharing the nationally-prevailing view that Syndicalism needed to be destroyed, the veteran politician pursued a 'Detente' with the Commune of France. With the most notable application of this policy being the Savoyard Crisis where Germany refused to support the Swiss Government, this ‘Detente’ foreign policy was generally hated by the German public. However, it did achieve its goal of reducing the tensions between Berlin and Paris, for a time anyway.

By late-1939 however, tensions were on the rise again between the two countries. A spate of unrest amongst the French minority in Elsaß, combined with a large Communard military exercise in the Grand Est region, would further stoke Francophobic sentiment across the country. With his popularity plummeting, Otto Wels died suddenly on the 13th of September, leaving his government in a state of temporary paralysis. After a brief leadership convention, SPD-rightist Carl Severing would succeed to the leadership of the party and become the next Reichskanzler and would move to immediately reverse several of Wels’ policies, triggering internal conflicts with the left-wing of the Social-Democrats.

When the 20-year time-frame for the official occupation of Nancy ended in November, Germany refused to withdraw. Severing’s decision to stand firm against the Communards would earn him the respect of the German people but would bring the government’s internal unity to an all-time low. As tensions continued to rise, the upcoming elections looked uncertain. However Severing, a firm believer in democracy, ensured they went ahead. As German and French diplomats met in the Hague to attempt to defuse the Elsaß Crisis, the German people went to the polls.

A Conservative comeback would break the Democratic Union alliance’s hold over the Reichstag, with the Zentrum and NLP both making big gains. After a week of negotiation, Carl Severing would secure an alliance to allow Germany to weather the coming storm and present a united political front; the SPD-FVP-NLP-Zentrum-BVP Grand Coalition. With talks at the Hague progressing, if quite slowly, many would hope for peace in our time. However, this would be the calm before the storm.

On June 25th, a tense standoff would take place in the square of the Place Stanislas in Nancy. As German military police stared down an angry crowd of French-speaking workers, a gunshot rang out. A pistol had been fired from the crowd and the captain commanding the German soldiers had been shot dead. The response would be a cacophony of gunshots as the military police fired their rifles and submachine guns into the massed crowd. At the end of the fifteen-second burst of gunfire, twelve in the crowd would lay dead, and twenty-six others were wounded. This massacre would be too much for the French diplomats in the Hague, who broke off negotiations immediately. It was also too much for the French military, who intensified border skirmishes that had been occurring over the past few months.

The Second Weltkrieg
June 28th 1940, at 0530 hours, would see the beginning of a general French offensive and the beginning of the war. The Second Weltkrieg. German positions in Nancy and Elsaß-Lothringen would be pounded with artillery and harassed by scouting parties. The next day would see the Union of Britain deliver its own war declaration to the German Empire, with the Socialist Republic of Italy following suit on the 30th.

July would see the next phase of the Internationale offensive begin as several resistance cells in Nancy, Elsaß-Lothringen, and Belgium would rise up against their local garrisons. Many failed to immediately take their cities and objectives but would sow enough chaos to assist the French offensive. The offensive in question chose to smash through the Ludendorff Line on the Franco-German border, probing attacks and military intelligence revealing the defensive line much weaker than originally anticipated. This wide-front offensive into the Reichspakt consisted of three main thrusts. The first was a broad invasion of Nancy and Elsaß-Lothringen, the second was a spearhead through the Ardennes, and the last was an assault on the city of Dunkirk.

Sparing the details, the French offensive later bolstered and supplemented by forces from Britain and Italy would be a rousing success. The German and Belgian forces fought valiantly, but the close of the year would see them retreating across the Rhine.

Tensions would rise between the Internationale and the Netherlands over accusations of the latter supplying Reichspakt forces besieged at Antwerp, culminating in an ultimatum to the Dutch that would effectively turn them into a puppet state of the Internationale. This would be rejected and war would be declared against the Dutch. Matters would be further complicated with the death of the Kaiser as Wilhelm II would pass away from a pulmonary embolism, roughly eleven months after the start of the war. June of 1941 would also see the entry of the Russian State into the war as another blow against the German sphere and empire, but details of the Eastern Front will be omitted here and further explained in the Russian State Progress Report and a wider one of the events of the 2nd Weltkrieg (stay tuned). What is important is that many German divisions are forced Eastward in order to assist their allies in defending against Russia. With German attention focused on Europe, a surprise attack by the Japanese Navy would signal the start of the War in the Pacific, which will be explained in more detail at a later date.

Celebrations of the Kaiser’s death would occur in Paris, along with much-welcomed news of the fall of Rotterdam and the Hague, with the Reichspakt falling back to Amsterdam. The fall of these cities would allow the Internationale to bridge the Rhine and a powerful offensive to force the crossings would be launched and quickly see success. The situation along the Rhine would be declared untenable, and the Germans began to slowly retreat towards Frankfurt, fighting for every inch of land. January of 1942 would see the breakthrough of a glimmer of hope as the Danubian Federation entered the war against both the Internationale and Russia, bringing much-needed manpower to the Reichspakt’s aid.

On the political front, the succeeding Kaiser, Wilhelm III, would unceremoniously dump Reichskanzler Carl Severing for his ‘failures to protect the German State’, and appointed his friend Kurt von Schleicher in his place. Schleicher would quickly form a broad right-wing coalition of his own, allying the Zentrum and NLP with the DkP, while also working to break up the radicals on both sides of the spectrum. Through Schleicher’s machinations, both the SPD and DVLP suffered factional splits, with the latter facing a near total collapse following the formation of the DvRP.

1942 would see the beginning of the bitter siege of Wilhelmshaven and, after the capture of most cities on the banks of the Northern Rhine, that of Frankfurt. Though while Wilhelmshaven would eventually be abandoned, Frankfurt would stand defiant, becoming a stronghold against the Internationale advance. Fearing a thrust from the south, the Internationale would attempt to take the city of Stuttgart but would be checked by German divisions and later Danubian reinforcements. 1942 would also see cracks beginning to show in the French military, something the German high command had taken note of.

1943 and 1944 would see the first reversals of the Internationale in Germany as the now fully mobilised, equipped and motivated German Heer would finally go on the offensive. While the struggles of those two years were fierce and costly, by July of 1944 the Internationale would be forced back across the Rhine. September of that year would see the long-expected Entente invasion of Southern France which would only further strain the French war effort. Germany’s final push came in April of 1945, as a million men and four thousand tanks would cross the Rhine. Paratroopers and loyalist Friekorp militias would sow chaos in the Internationale rear and the entire front would eventually collapse. By June of that year, the Commune of France ordered a full retreat from the Rhineland.

By September 1945, with the fall of Brussels to the Reichspakt and Entente forces making gains in the south of France, it appeared that total collapse was imminent. Mid-month would see a successful German thrust into Northern France, and Paris would be placed under threat. The government of France would flee to Nantes, declaring their intentions to resist until the end. However, Paris was spared from destruction. As German troops quickly approached Paris whatever resistance put up against them would eventually be pushed aside and the city taken. After a final renewed offensive by both the Reichspakt and the Entente, the French government in Nantes would reconsider their earlier declaration and agreed to an unconditional surrender. The war in the west was over, though the Union of Britain would tenaciously hold out for nearly two more years...

Post-war
Since succeeding Kurt von Schleicher as Reichskanzler in 1946, Ferdinand von Bredow’s term has been largely smooth sailing. Strongly convinced that strong, centralised governance is the way forward for Germany, Reichkanzler Bredow is gathering support for his own reforms, consolidating power around his political movement, the newly established Deutsche Nationale Einheitsfront (German National Unity Front, referred to here on out as the DNE). For the first year after the end of the war, Kurt's priorities will be to begin reconstruction and slowly progress with the New State reforms, as the Empire enjoys a honeymoon period following their victory.