Chapter 31 How Did Germany’s Disaster Begin?

Since the Ludendorff Offensive on the Western Front did not achieve the expected results and the US military had already 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 the first meeting with Gustav Krupp in early June 1918, until late August of that year, Hessmann frequently met with members of the Industrial Promotion Committee to discuss the relocation of factories and the construction of the Riga Industrial Zone. During this period, he also accompanied Anthony Fokker, who was pursuing Margaret, and Gistan Otto, the owner of the Bavarian Machinery Factory (BMW), to Riga several times. Fokker Aircraft Manufacturing Plant and BMW were the 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 the establishment of an aircraft research and development and manufacturing enterprise, BMW-Fokker Company, with the financial support of the Industrial Promotion Committee (equity and low-interest loans). The company's main business is not mass production of aircraft, only a small-scale production workshop, but it will establish a large-scale experimental center, including airports, wind tunnels, shooting ranges and engine test centers. According to the plan, the design center of future German military aviation projects will still be located in the country, and the experimental base and trial production base will be moved to Riga.

In addition, under the promotion of Hessmann, the Industrial Promotion Committee is also preparing to set up a special aviation development council, which will be formally formed after the armistice. It will be composed of Germany's most famous aircraft designers and air combat heroes, and control a secret industrial fund dedicated to promoting the development of Germany's aviation industry, civil aviation development and pilot training. The United Baltic Principality will also become the cradle of future German Air Force pilots.

At the same time, the Allied forces assisted by the US military began to turn to counterattack. Due to the huge losses in the previous Ludendorff Offensive, the German army has been in trouble since 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 the infiltration tactics learned from the German army in this offensive. The demoralized German army was caught off guard, and the entire front was facing disastrous consequences!

On the afternoon of August 30, Hersman and Rosenberg returned to Berlin with the plan of BMW-Fokker to build a factory and R&D center in Riga. On the streets of Berlin, they once again saw a worrying scene - since Hersman and Rosenberg were not wearing military uniforms, as soon as they walked out of the station, someone stuffed a leaflet into each of them.

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

"Damn Jews, that man is a Jew!" Alfred Rosenberg looked at the leaflet and found that it was anti-war propaganda, so he cursed.

"Let's go quickly, the higher-ups are still waiting to see our plan." Hersman glanced at the crowded train station square and found that many middle-aged people in patched suits were wandering around, holding stacks of leaflets in their hands.

Obviously, German anti-war elements have started to move again! Some of them may be Jews, but more of them are Germans.

As the director of the Stasi, Hersman certainly knows who is against the war - similar to the situation before the February Revolution in Russia, there is also a strong socialist force in Germany. Although after the war began, most German socialists also adopted the "defensivism" line like the Russian Social Revolutionary Party and Mensheviks, only a small number of left-wing radicals established the German Communist Party and opposed the war more firmly like the Russian Bolsheviks. But the attitude of those socialists who support the war is not firm. And they are also very dissatisfied with the situation of the military ruling Germany. If they follow the principle of forming a cabinet according to the majority of the parliament, they, the socialists, are the leaders of the country...

If the war goes very smoothly, it will be fine, but now the defeat is inevitable. How can the German socialists do nothing and give up this opportunity to come to power?

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

So now the "peace movement" in Germany is mainly caused by the supporters of the socialists - the ones who come forward may not be big figures like Albert, but they must be supported by them behind the scenes.

But today, there seemed to be a lot more "peace people" in the train station square! And Hersman did not find the military police commanded by the Military Intelligence Bureau... Where did Schleicher's people go? Is today a day off for spies? No notice was received.

With a lot of thoughts in mind, Hersman and Rosenberg got on a rented carriage and arrived at the General Staff 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, Hersman saw the listless Director of the Security Department, Lieutenant Colonel Schleicher.

"Yes, I know!" Schleicher glanced at Hersman and sighed, "Because my people can't go out, this is an order from above..."

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

"What happened?" Hersman asked.

Schleicher scanned the corridor and found no strangers, so he lowered his voice and said, "The higher-ups have asked for peace with the Allies through secret channels, but the US President said: The Allies cannot negotiate with a military dictatorship! If Germany wants peace, it should first become a democratic country..."

"What? The Americans want us to become a democratic country?" Hersman's face suddenly changed. Having experienced the Russian Revolution, he naturally knew what this meant. "Did the higher-ups agree?"

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

...

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

In Marshal Hindenburg's office, Hersman shouted loudly: "If the army abandons its responsibilities, then the revolution will sweep the German Empire... At that time, most of the army will lose its will, and we will lose our ability to resist the outside world. The enemy will impose the most stringent treaty on us!"

As for how Germany suddenly lost its ability to resist in World War I, obediently surrendered to the Allies, and accepted the Treaty of Versailles that could not be fulfilled at all. Hirschmann didn't know much about it in later generations. He only knew that Austria-Hungary disintegrated first, the German Revolution came later, and the German army finally collapsed. Without a strong military force, Germany naturally turned from a fierce beast into a lamb to be slaughtered.

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 Western Front was still in France and Belgium. According to the fighting style of the Western Front in World War I, hundreds of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people would die if they advanced a few kilometers! If they really wanted to fight to the heart of Germany, the Allies would have to suffer millions more casualties. The United States might be able to bear it, but it's hard to say about France and Britain.

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

But now, Hirschmann has a little understanding of how Germany fell into disaster step by step-he has seen too many similar things in later generations. He wanted democracy to solve the crisis, but the result turned the crisis that was not too serious into an irreparable collapse.

In fact, Russia's collapse after the February Revolution was also caused by a democratization process that was doomed to fail - democracy could not solve the failure on the battlefield, and the power vacuum that emerged during the democratization process would exacerbate the degree of military failure. The wave of democratization triggered by the February Revolution in Russia destroyed the Russian army, allowing Germany to continue to force the Soviet government, which had no resistance, militarily.

And now, a similar disaster will soon be staged in Germany!

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