WesWorld

July 2, 1932 - Grafenwohr

The Heer has announced the winners of several competitions for new vehicles for the Heer. A team of Krupp and MAN has won the competition for new scout tanks for the Heer (think Pz IID with better sloping of the armor), while other contracts have been let for half-tracked artillery tractors, trucks, and, in a surprise, an armored infantry half-track (a unsolicited proposal was rewarded with a contract). All of these contracts are for small numbers of vehicles for testing by the Panzer School at Grafenwohr.


July 6, 1932 - Kiel

A large contingent of Bulgarians have arrived in Kiel and are expected to inspect the battleship KM Helgoland in the upcoming days. By the numbers, it is suspected that if the ship is found to be in buyable condition, the men are to form at least a portion of her crew in Bulgarian service and to sail her to Bulgaria.


July 14,1932 - Berlin

A series of meetings are going on between the various ministries of Germany and Austria, continuing the planning for the merger of their functions in the coming months. It is all but certain that there will be some redundancies, as the Austrian Foreign Ministry, for instance, will not be needed as a whole. Planning on how to deal with this issue is a major portion of the work that is being done, along with the planned organizational structure, and revising procedures and rules.


July 29, 1932 - Kiel

The Nordish battlecruiser Gota Lejon and her consort, the heavy cruiser Gjorvik, have tied up at Kiel. The two warships, one a veteran of the Great War, were docked near the new KM cruisers Admiral Hipper and Admiral Scheer and not far from where Blucher is fitting out. All in all a splendid sight for fans of modern warships, though it is expected to be dwarfed by the scene at Spithead next month.

August 1,1932 - Berlin

The Kriegsmarine has announced that it will be conducting a series of tests and evaluations in the coming months on naval armor, weapons, and projectiles. This is seen as a great opportunity for Rheinmetall and Witkowitz, as if their products outperform those of Krupp, they have the chance to gain sales at the expense of their larger rival.

The planned tests include tests of 21cm and 28cm projectiles, and armor plates of 15cm, 24cm, and 30.5cm thickness. Both Rheinmetall and Krupp are also expected to show prototypes or mockups of mid-caliber and large-caliber guns as well.


August 2, 1932 - Berlin

The Foreign Minister has left town on a trip to Warsaw to consult with the Polish government before his departure for the Cowes conference.

August 7, 1932 - Kiel

Admiral Hipper and Z-215 have raised anchor and set sail for their part in the Spithead Review. While they will certainly be dwarfed by some of the ships there, both are very modern vessels of their respective types and should show the world that German designers and builders can still build warships up to the world standard.


August 9, 1932 - Berlin

Foreign Minister Stresseman has returned from Warsaw and talks with the Polish government, and will soon be leaving for England to discuss matters with the other signatories of the Cleito Treaty.

August 30, 1932 - Berlin

The German delegation to the Cowes talks has returned to Germany. While no agreements of world-spanning import were made, the German U-boat allocation under the Treaty was doubled, though the prohibition on large submarines remains. Given the lack of progress on other fronts, however, this is regarded as quite an achievement.


September 3, 1932 - Ottawa, Canada

The German government has recalled the German ambassador to Canada "for consultations". Ambassador Thaelman said that his government wished to discuss matters with him, and that he would be travelling home on the next flight of the Hindenburg from Lakehurst, New Jersey.


September 29, 1930 - Dresden

The Heer, in preparation for the rifle competition beginning in less than a month, has released a list of the companies or individuals that have expressed interest. Whether all will appear or not remains to be seen. The companies or persons were:
John Pedersen, USA
John Garand, USA
Carl Walther, Germany
Mauserwerke, Germany
Fabrique Nationale, Belgium
Solothurn, Switzerland