WesWorld

April 3, 1933 - near Cuxhaven

Krupp is conducting a test of a new coast defence gun, one based on their report from a year ago. Testing is, supposedly, going well, though there have been some surprises.


April 10, 1933 - Berlin

As the presidential election gets closer, the rhetoric has begun to heat up, as could be predicted. Right now no clear winner is seen, it is expected that the winner will be decided in the second round just as it was in 1925.


April 12, 1933 - Berlin

The Luftwaffe has announced the completion of testing of the new H4D aerial torpedo, and has placed an order for 200 of the new weapons, to be delivered starting in 1934. This puts an additional emphasis on the competition for a torpedo bomber for the Luftwaffe, of course, since right now only the He-59 used for testing could launch such a weapon.

April 15, 1933 - Berlin

Germany goes to the polls today to choose a new President to replace the slain Otto Braun. Unless there is a surprise surge for one candidate or another, it is expected that the election will not choose a winner and instead will lead to another election in late May.


April 17, 1933 - Berlin

As expected, the presidential elections did not result in a clear winner.

Hugo Eckener, running in place of the assassinated Otto Braun for the ISD, took 23.8% of the vote.
General Ludendorff, formerly of the NSDAP, took 2%.
Wilhelm Marx of the DZP took 21%
Karl Jarres of the DVP took 19%
Herman Muller of the SDP took 24%
Heinrich Held of the BVP took 2%
Ernst Thaelman of the KPD took 8%

April 18, 1933 - Berlin

"What are they doing?" That was the question of the moment, being pondered by Grand Admiral Raeder, the rest of the Admiralstab, Foreign Minister Stresseman, and a number of diplomats in the Foreign Ministry. "Didn't we go through this sort of thing only a year or so ago, with the same people? What makes them think it will be any different this time around?"


"What if it's true, and other countries react?", asked Grand Admiral Raeder.

"If the Reichstag approves, there are at least two separate contingency plans, not including not reacting. One plan calls for stopping work on Ersatz G and scrapping her on the ways to clear space for other vessels. The alternate plan includes converting her on the stocks into an aircraft carrier, luckily she's not so far along that the width of the hull can't be modified. The timing could have been better, but it could have been far worse."


Foreign Minister Stressemann drummed his fingers on his desk. He had returned from Poland, and now this. "We need to contact Rome, asking the Italians their intentions. Once we have that in hand, we'll be better able to respond to the other diplomatic cables. Have the Junkers made ready, I expect there will be more flights in the near future, and contact Zeppelin, we may need to borrow Graf Zeppelin if there's a longer flight needed to Atlantis or America."



Soon, the Foreign Minister was exiting his Daimler outside the Italian embassy in Berlin. Over drinks, he asked the question to the Ambassador, "Sir, what is your government's intentions vis a vis the requirements of the Treaty of Cleito and your government's naval strength? Germany is, frankly, concerned at the direction being taken, and I very much doubt that Germany is the only one. Do convey your government's response as soon as you have it."

Nicely written post, sir. I like the conversational style - the fingers drumming on the desk bit was a nice touch.

Events are definitely in motion now...

Nul

"The change in political climate in Italy and the Meditterenean Theatre since 1921 has made Italy's position in this current treaty untenable. It is impossible for us to stand by and watch non-signatories massively increase the size of their navies, and other signatories blatantly flaunt their responsibility. Italy would welcome negotiations held with a view to rectifying this injustice but is not hopeful that a satisfactory outcome could be reached."

April 23, 1933 - Berlin

Foreign Minister Stresseman pondered the words he'd received from the Italian ambassador. He had already informed Chancellor Cuno, Admiral Raeder, General Udet, and General von Rundestedt (the new head of the Generalstab after von Seekt's arrest), so that they could begin their own preparations. He, however, had the duty of drafting a diplomatic note to return to Italy.

"Germany is saddened by this decision, though it is of course Italy's sovereign right. In Germany's eyes, this likely means the complete collapse of the Treaty system, a system that, even admitting it's flaws, has served the world relatively well for a number of years. Germany will have to consider it's reaction, and it's future actions."

"As Germany's Foreign Minister, on a personal level, I must thank the Italian government and the Ambassador for being so responsive on this question, another government might have prevaricated or stalled for time."

The note written, he leaned back in his chair, thinking. I wonder if my retirement may need to be put on hold, for the good of the Reich we have built.....

April 23, 1933 - Berlin

Proposals have been received by the Luftwaffe from Dornier, Focke-Wulf, and Fokker for the torpedo-bomber contract announced earlier. Dornier is submitting a version of their Do-17, Focke-Wulf a version of the Fw-42, and Fokker a version of their new T.V. The Fokker aircraft is a larger, bulkier aircraft than the other two, but the performance is surprisingly good.

Fw 42C torpedo-bombers? Hmmm...

*checks RSAF budget*

Possibly, yes.


April 25, 1933 - Berlin

The cables oiffice in the Foreign Ministry has been very busy of late, with diplomatic cables flying in and out from around the world. The Foreign Minister has not, yet, announced any trips, but another multi-stop trip to various capitals seems imminent. [Any nation willing to host a visit please PM me.]


April 27, 1933 - Berlin

In the headquarters of the Kreigsmarine, Grand Admiral Raeder looked around the room. "So, what is the recommendation of the Admiralstab?"

"We're recommending continuing this year's production as planned. G and H to be built as designed, along with everything else. Next year, though, I and J would be built to this design." Admiral Lentz pointed to a stack of bluepirnts, topped with a summary sheet. "It's a slightly modified version of the G-33B design. L and M would also be laid down, they're sisters to Blucher, so nothing new there."

"Looking ahead, the Admiralstab is undecided about 1935 right now. We could build another pair of the G-33, a pair of the I-34, or a pair of the large carriers that are in the plan. Any of those are feasible."

"Enquiries are being made to various countries about the availability of shipyard space. If 1934 and beyond are indeed uncapped years, we may be more limited by our ability to build ships than our ability to pay for them and produce the pieces of the ships."

Admiral Raeder nodded, then looked at the summary atop the stack of blueprints and smiled. Then he looked up, "What about smaller ships? And U-boats?"

"Right now, the recommendation is to proceed with the previous plan as far as cruisers and destroyers goes, though we may have a bit of room for some additional production in foreign yards. Our own yards are mostly accounted for in the plan already."

"As to U-boats, at least for 1934 the Admiralstab recommends staying with the current plan. We're also recommending that we fund Walter's request, it appears to have great potential. In 1934, we can replace Type I's with U-boats similar to the Type P's built for Peru and Argentina at 2 for 1, but the Admiralstab recommends that if larger boats are to be built that they be built in small numbers. For now, we don't need them in quantity."

The Grand Admiral nodded and leaned back in his chair. "Good, we now have a plan I can deliver to the Chancellor."

April 27, 1933 - Berlin

The Foreign Ministry has announced that Foreign Minister Stresseman will be leaving directly for a meeting in Paris with the French government. Plans are also being worked on for a meeting in Hyderabad in late May with representatives of several governments.


April 28, 1933 - Paris

The Foreign Minister's Ju-52 has touched down and the Foreign Minister, along with his staff, has headed to meet with the French government. Conveniently, several important members of the Russian government are also in Paris at this time.


April 29, 1933 - Berlin

The Heer has announced the signing of contracts with Garand and Walther for deliveries of trial quantities of their rifles. The Garand, being more developed, will be delivered starting by January of 1934, and will be known as the Gewehr 34(G), while the Walther will be delivered starting by January of 1935 and will be known as the Gewehr 35(W). Both orders are for 5000 rifles.

April 30, 1933 - Berlin

The date for the second and final round of the 1933 presidential elections has been set: May 28, 1933 is when the election will be held.


May 2, 1932 - Meppen

The testing of naval armor, guns, and projectiles from Krupp, Witzkowitz, and Rheinmetall has begun, and is expected to continue through the summer. At stake is Krupp's current monopoly on armor-plate for the Kreigsmarine, and it's near-monopoly on heavy naval guns. Rheinmetall and Witzkowitz hope to gain sales and market share at the expense of Krupp, and the Kreigsmarine hopes that the competition will lead to at least better prices and possibly better products.

Joint statement of the French, German, and Russian Foreign Ministers:

"We, the authorized representatives of the French, German, and Russian governments, mindful of our responsibility to maintain peaceful relations in the world and the validity of an important treaty which we recognize as an important pillar of the peace, but also of our responsibility for the safety and security of our respective peoples, call upon the Italian government to bring its naval building programme into compliance with the provisions of the Treaty of Cleito. If the Italian government fails to do so, our governments will equally no longer consider themselves bound by its provisions."

May 1, 1930 - Paris

Foreign Minister Stresseman, informed on Herre Berg's flight to Fredricshafen, has cut short his visit to Paris. "And I had reservations at an exquisite restaraunt for tonight. But duty calls. In other matters, several countries have received a cable from the Italian government offering a possible way out of the current crisis. The German, French, and Russian governments find it insufficient, since it does not address the problem of Italy being over her allotted hull limit by at least 2 capital ship hulls. Nor was there any mention in the cable of scrapping the older battleships currently serving in the Italian fleet. Italy can, quite easily, return to being in compliance with the Treaty, but so far it chooses not to do so."

"Return" ?

May 6, 1933 - Berlin

A day of manuevering on the Presidential election front, as a number of candidates have announced that they are withdrawing from the race and directiing their supporters to support other men. First, General Ludendorff, formerly of the NSDAP, stepped down and threw his support to Karl Jarres of the DNVP. Heinrich Held of the BVP then stepped down and threw his support behind Hugo Eckener of the ISD. He was soon followed by Willy Hellpach of the DDP. If the voters who voted for these men follow their leaders instructions, that would put Hugo Eckener in the lead for the Presidency, but whether the voters will follow their leaders remains to be seen.

May 6, 1933 - Berlin

The Luftwaffe has scheduled the beginning of the process to determine the next fighter for the Luftwaffe: the delivery of aircraft to the airbase at Rechlin by interested parties must be complete by July 19. 4 companies are known to be competing: BFW, Focke-Wulf, Arado, and the favorite, Heinkel. The aircraft are expected to be equipped with Junkers Jumo-210 engines for testing, though the service engine is likely to be the Jumo-211 or possibly the Daimler-Benz DB-600 (if it can ever be produced in sufficient quantity, the RLM is quite disappointed in this matter).

May 8, 1933 - Berlin

A fifth competitor for the Luftwaffe's next fighter has emerged: the Fokker company has announced that they will be sending examples of their Fokker XIX to compete at Rechlin.


May 9, 1933 - Berlin

The Foreign Ministry has announced that the Foreign Minister will be visiting Hyderabad at the end of the month to consult with several Asian nations on matters of mutual interest.

May 23rd, 1933 - Fredricshafen

The airship Graf Zeppelin, carrying Foreign Minister Stresseman and his staff on their trip to India, has slipped her moorings and risen into a cloudy morning sky. The choice to avoid the skies around the Red Sea and Saudi Arabia, made to ensure the safety of the ship and its passengers and crew, has necessitated a slightly circuitous route, but Zeppelin sees no difficulty in it.


May 23rd, 1933 - Berlin

Another surprise in the Presidential elections: Wilhelm Marx of the DDP has dropped out of the race and thrown his support behind Hugo Eckener of the ISD. If his support holds, this may put Eckener into the lead vs Dr. Jarres of the DNVP, whose support has appeared to be growing of late.

The normal route east would be Rome - Baghdad - Bombay. Not very close to the fighting in Saudi Arabia.