The Rise of the Third Reich

Since the Ludendorff Offensive on the Western Front did not achieve the expected results, and the U.S. military had arrived in large numbers, the German army had switched to defense since June. Victory became out of reach, and failure seemed to be a matter of time.

After his first meeting with Gustav Krupp in early June 1918, until late August of that year, Hersmann met frequently with members of the Industrial Promotion Committee to discuss the relocation of the factory and the construction of Riga. Industrial Zone Matters. During this period, he also accompanied Anthony Fokker, who was pursuing Margaret, and Gistan Otto, the owner of the Bavarian Machinery Manufacturing Factory (BMW), to Riga several times. The Fokker Aircraft Factory and BMW are key protection targets. According to the secret instructions of the General Staff, a considerable part of the equipment and personnel of these two factories must be transferred to Riga before November 1918, in preparation for industrial promotion. Open an aircraft R\u0026D and manufacturing company, BMW-Fokker, with financial support from the Commission (shareholding and low-interest loans). The company's main business is not mass production of aircraft, it only has a small-scale production workshop, but it will establish a large-scale experimental center, including an airport, wind tunnel, shooting range and engine testing center. According to the plan, in the future the design center of German military aviation projects will also be located in the mainland, and the experimental base and trial production base will be moved to Riga.

In addition, driven by Hersmann, the Industrial Promotion Council is also preparing to establish a special aviation development council. This council will be formally formed after the armistice and will be composed of Germany's most famous aircraft designers and air combat heroes. Control A secret industrial fund specifically used to promote the development of the German aviation industry, the development of civil aviation and the training of pilots. The United Baltic Duchy would also become the cradle of future Luftwaffe pilots.

At the same time, the Allied forces, assisted by the US military, began to counterattack. Due to heavy losses in the previous Ludendorff Offensive, the German army was in trouble starting in July. On August 8, the Allied forces launched a fierce attack on the Somme River, investing 456 tanks and hundreds of thousands of offensive troops! The weakly defended German front quickly collapsed, and 12,000 people were captured on the first day!

Moreover, the British and French troops used penetration tactics learned from the Germans in this offensive. The demoralized German army was caught off guard, and the entire front line was facing catastrophic consequences!

On the afternoon of August 30, Hirschmann and Rosenberg returned to Berlin with BMW-Fokker's plan to establish a factory and R\u0026D center in Riga. On the streets of Berlin, they once again saw a worrying scene - since Hessmann and Rosenberg were not wearing military uniforms, as soon as they walked out of the station, someone handed each of them a leaflet.

"For Germany!" the man shouted, and then hurried away.

"Damn Jew, that man is a Jew!" Alfred Rosenberg looked at the flyer and started to curse when he saw that it was anti-war propaganda.

"Let's go quickly. They're still waiting to see our plan." Hessman glanced at the crowded train station square and found many middle-aged people wearing patched suits walking around, holding hands in their hands. They all held stacks of leaflets.

Apparently, German anti-war elements are on the move again! Some of them may be Jews, but most of them are Germans.

As the director of the Stasi, Hessmann certainly knew who was anti-war - similar to the situation before the February Revolution in Russia, there were also strong socialist forces in Germany. Although after the war began, most German socialists adopted the "defense" line like the Russian Socialist Revolutionaries and Mensheviks. Only a small group of left-wing radicals established the German Communist Party, which was similar to the Russian Bolsheviks. Resolutely anti-war. But those socialists who supported the war were not firm in their attitude. Moreover, they are also very dissatisfied with the situation of military rule in Germany. If the principle of parliamentary majority forming a cabinet is followed, socialists like them will be the leaders of the country...

It would be fine if the war went very smoothly, but now the defeat is certain. How could the German socialists do nothing and give up this opportunity that would have brought them to power?

In Hersmann's memory, Albert, the first president of the Weimar Republic, was a German Social Democrat.

Therefore, the current "peace movement" in Germany is mainly caused by supporters of the Socialists - it may not necessarily be big figures like Albert who are in the forefront, but they must have their support behind it.

But there seem to be too many "peaceful people" in the train station square today! Moreover, Hersmann did not find the military police commanded by the Military Intelligence Bureau... Where were all Schleicher's people? Is today the secret service's day off? Didn't receive a notification.

Full of thoughts, Hessmann and Rosenberg got into a taxi and arrived at the General Staff Headquarters half an hour later.

"Lieutenant Colonel, what happened? I met a lot of troublemakers at the train station."

In the corridor of the Military Intelligence Bureau, Hersmann saw the listless Lieutenant Colonel Schleicher, the chief of the Security Service.

"Yes, I know!" Schleicher glanced at Hessmann and sighed, "Because my people cannot be dispatched. This is an order from above..."

"Above?" Hersman was stunned. Who is "above"? Hindenburg? Or... Kaiser Wilhelm II?

"What happened?" Hessman asked.

Schleicher scanned the corridor and found no one waiting. Then he lowered his voice and said, "The higher authorities have sued the Allied Powers for peace through secret channels, but the President of the United States said that the Allied Powers cannot negotiate with a military dictatorship. Negotiate! If Germany wants peace, it should first become a democracy..."

"What? The Americans want us to become a democratic country?" Hersman's expression suddenly changed. Having experienced the Russian Revolution, he naturally knew what this meant. "Does the superior agree?"

"Not yet." Schleicher was a little unsure, "But the attitude should be relaxed, otherwise my security department will not be idle."

…

"Conspiracy! Your Excellency, Marshal, this is an American conspiracy!"

In Marshal Hindenburg’s office, Hessmann shouted loudly: “If the army abandons its responsibilities, then revolution will sweep across the German Empire... By then most of the army will have lost its will, and we will lose our ability to resist foreign enemies. The most harsh treaty will be imposed on us!"

How Germany suddenly lost its ability to resist during World War I, succumbed obediently to the Allies, and accepted the Treaty of Versailles that it could not fulfill at all. Hersmann did not know much about it in later generations. He only knew that the disintegration of Austria-Hungary came first, the German revolution came last, and the German army finally collapsed. Without its powerful military power, Germany naturally changed from a beast with snarling claws to a lamb at its mercy.

But the instant collapse of millions of troops is still incredible. You must know that before Germany was defeated, no enemy had set foot on German soil. The battlefields on the Western Front were still in France and Belgium. According to the fighting style of the Western Front in World War I, if we advance a few kilometers, hundreds of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people will die! If they really wanted to hit the hinterland of Germany, the Allies would have to suffer millions more casualties no matter what. The United States may be able to bear it, but France and the United Kingdom are hard to say.

If Germany still had the ability to resist, the conditions for peace would never be so harsh.

But now, Hessmann has somewhat understood how Germany fell into disaster step by step - he has seen too many similar things in later generations. Wanting democracy to solve the crisis has turned a crisis that was not too serious into an irredeemable collapse.

In fact, Russia's collapse after the February Revolution was also caused by a democratization process that was destined to be unsuccessful - democracy could not solve the failures on the battlefield, and the power vacuum that emerged during the democratization process would also exacerbate the military extent of failure. The wave of democratization triggered by the Russian February Revolution destroyed the Russian army, allowing Germany to continue militarily forcing the Soviet government, which was defenseless.

And now, a similar disaster will soon happen in Germany!

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