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#701
February 28th, 2012, 06:52 PM
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December 23rd, late afternoon, NKVD headquarters, Lubyanka square, Moscow
Beria read the message just delivered to him from the NKVD resident in Soviet embassy in Berlin. As he read it, he waved his head incredulously. 'Such a coup!' he thought. 'This might be the most incredible intelligence operation ever to happen.' He picked up the phone and quickly said "Anatoliy, get me the deputy Merkulov. He must come to my office right now!" and he hung the phone. Next, he pulled the dossier from his desk. He had a habit of keeping the files on most important people handy. 'Excellent!' he thought 'Just the men we need. The possibilities this defection opens up. Those clowns from GRU will be stunned.'. Imagining the rewards Stalin will furnish on him, kept Beria amused during the time his deputy arrived. Then it was time for serious stuff. December 25th, 1008, Permanent Court of International Arbitration, The Hague In front of the Peace Palace huge crowds were gathered, curious to observe the place where the issue of peace in Europe was being decided today. The great hall of the Peace Pallace was being filled with foreign diplomats, press representatives and varios miscellaneous personel. Hall buzzed with lively chatter. Discussion ranged from casual and polite chat to serious conversation on political and diplomatic issues in Europe. Two hours before the start of the conference, all of the preparations were complete and the conference room was ready. Heads of governments spent those two hours in secluded rooms, preparing speeches and rehearsing the protocol.  Peace Palace where negotiations took place Chamberlain and Daladier found some time to talk in relative privacy of the chamber given to French delegation. Their discussion touched many subjects, from the impact of what came to be known as 'The Prague Massacre' to the situation in Far East. "Mr. Daladier, reaction of French public to the 'Prague massacre' has been dramatic. I hope that the voices heard in Paris represent only the minority of hotheads. There is nothing we can do for Czechs right now, as much as we sympathize with their plight. Securing peace is more important now than any foolish attempt to liberate Czechs. Later on we will try to relieve them through diplomatic means. I do not think Germans will be too interested in keeping subdued Czechs for very long." Neville ommited to mention the comparison of the massacre with certain actions of British police forces in Northern Ireland and India that sprang up in the media, following the publication of the event. He didn't want to expose Britain to cries of "Hypocritical Albion!" which were sure to emanate from many mouths had they attempted to take high moral ground in this case. All the 'buts' and 'in this case' excuses provided by British government will be drowned in such an event. "Sir Neville, your opinion coincides with mine. I used similar words in discussion within my government. Continuing the war now serves no one. We should strive for pressuring Germany into giving the Czech people political autonomy and the right to govern themselves. But, as you say, we also presume that Germans will find it too difficult and expensive to keep Czechs subdued in the long term. However, we must accept the fact that Czech economy will be dominated by Germans anyway." "We seem to be in agreement then. I presume you have considered American initiative by now. What do you make of it?" Neville asked. "We are of opinion that such an initiative is certainly welcome. Our possessions in the Indochina are threatened by Japanese and potential Japanese and Siam collusion can further destabilize our position there. Therefore we promised mr. Welles we will join their effort once concrete framework of action is formulated. What about you?" answered Daladier after short contemplation. "Well, according to estimates of our Navy and Army staff, we should be able to defend Far East from any Japanese threat by ourselves. The Navy is confident we can maintain naval superiority in the area and Singapore is impregnable fortress. Regardlesly, we welcome initiative presented by mr. Welles as we believe that joint action will certainly be more fruitful than isolated. Admiralty has earmarked three battleships for this purpose, to be augmented with two more as they become available. Some of the ships will not be available before june 1940, so until then, we will use older ships. Accompanied by two carriers, Stanley estimates this would represent a very tangible threat to Japanese that should disuade them from any aggressive moves. In regards to air forces, we can deploy two squadrons of fighters and a squadron of bombers. As for ground forces, two infantry divisions and a battalion of tanks should suffice for defense of Malaya in an unlikely event of Japan attacking there. We estimate Japanese lack logistical ability to undertake such an operation in the face of determined oposition." Neville said. British government has considered the course of action and formulated what can be termed as plan. Although in embryonic stage, the initial estimates of the necessary forces was complete. "Since we are allies, we must coordinate our efforts in this. You agree of course that no attack on Malaya can be mounted unless Indochina is conquered first. Having that in mind, I feel we should create a joint ground force in Indochina, while your ships could be based at Haiphong, where all facilities exist to support large fleet. French Navy would add Dunkerque and Strasbourg battleships, as well as two squadrons of fighters. Unfortunately, no aircraft carriers can be provided, as the single one is under construction, while Darlan refuses to expose Bearn to any danger. I must say, even though I am worried by Japanese aggression, I am not of opinion that this action should be formulated in this advanced stage of the things. We should allow Americans to come up with a plan first. As mr. Welles is present here, perhaps we can discuss details with him later on." said Daladier.  Chamberlain and Daladier discussing Door opened, and Chamberlains secretary peaked in. "Gentlemen," he said "It is half past eleven. The conference room is ready and you are invited to take your positions." Daladier and Neville got up and Neville said "Well, we have an understanding then." shook hand with his counterpart. They left the room and headed to conference hall. Meanwhile, in front of the conference room Large hall was full of ambassadors from various countries, aides, military personel and inevitable reporters for the major news agencies and newspapers. In one corner, Harold 'Kim' Philby chatted with Donald Maclean. Maclean came from Paris to be present at the conference partly out of sheer curiosity and partly to gather intelligence. They pretended Kim was interviewing him, while in reality Maclean recited what informations he had gathered, most of which consisted of observations and overheard conversations. Door of the conference room opened, and people started entering. First to enter were head of governments who took places at the desks in the central position of the room. American, Belgian and Italian representatives, attending the conference in capacity of interested or guaranteeing parties, were given tables on the right hand side of the room. Sumner Welles represented Americans, Spaak Belgium and Ciano Italy. Those three countries would be impartial supervisors of the treaty. Once all that had chairs were seated, De Geer stepped on the speaker stand and announced "Ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you to the closing ceremony of The Hague Peace Conference. I hope that the peace concluded today will last longer than the peace treaty signed twenty years ago. I am sure all present here have sincere intentions of maintaining peace or else they would not be here. We will now hear the final text of the treaty, as agreed by all sides.". Reading of the treaty was entrusted to the interpreter, and she read it in French, German and English. Quote:
Goering stepped to the stand. "Ladies and gentlemen, after weeks of negotiations, here we are, about to sign a peace treaty that would end the war. It is unfortunate that Poland was the country that suffered the most, but we hope Polish people will now reconsider their place in Europe and reorient her policy in more realistic manner. In any case, Germany promises to uphold this peace agreement and consider the current borders as final. We will have no further territorial ambitions from now on. All we want is to be allowed to pursue closer economic and political ties with our neighbors in Central Europe and fair treatment of German trade on the world market. Germany remains open for cooperation in the future, but any attempt to interfere with our internal affairs will be regarded as hostile. With this I will end my speech here. Thank you for attention."  Goering and von Neurath with unknown official going into the conference room Next came Neville Chamberlain. His speech was short too and he invited everyone to help Poland reclaim her country and establish the normal life in its territory. He added the hope that all people in Europe will be allowed to govern their lives free of threat of violence and force. "This peace treaty is just the first step in the inevitable journey to just and free society of European nations.". This line replaced the unfortunate "Peace in our time" he was remembered for. Daladier expressed desire of French people to establish friendly relationship with Germany and create a basis for stability and prosperity in Europe instead of confrontation of previous century. "War," he said "was obviously not the answer. This pendulum of terror has to freeze once and for all.". This was also widely quoted around the world. It was a catchy phrase. Polish Prime minister was short. He stated Polish desire to be left alone. "We are forced to suffer for the mistakes we made in the past and we hope that someday injustices in the world will be corrected and Poland will regain her glory. Until that day, Poland will be content to be left alone." Welles spoke in the name of interested powers. "We will act with utmost honesty and strict neutrality in order to make this treaty work. We expect and require cooperation of both sides in order to accomplish this task. I wish good luck to all of us." Since no other representative sought to speak, the treaty was presented to all for signature. Under the flashes of the cameras, everyone signed the treaty. The Polish war, as it came to be known, was ended with Christmas Peace. The ceremony was concluded at 2 p.m. with official lunch served for heads of governments. With pressure of negotiations taken off their shoulders, Neville and Daladier agreed to have an unofficial talk with Goering.
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Last edited by Shaby; February 29th, 2012 at 12:32 PM.. 
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#703
February 28th, 2012, 09:04 PM
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Didn't know you going include Slovakia in Peace treaty, but make sense. But i noticed that Germany is going to be strongly outnumbered in Air Forces by France and Britain. While Poland strength is mentioned to 150 fighters, Slovak Air Force strength is not mentioned.
In 1939 Slovakia had around 150-200 planes of all types. So it may give Germans some extra room for maneuver. For example modernize Slovak Air Force to German standards. Maybe pay for some of it and request few squadrons mad of German minority. OTL thre were some units of Slovak army made up of German minority there. Same goes for army and tanks for Slovakia. Not mentioned in peace treaty.
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#704
February 29th, 2012, 10:18 AM
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However, I think that more crucial to the level of war-readiness in the '40s won't be the obligations of the treaty, but the financial burdens in order to keep up and modernize large forces...
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#705
February 29th, 2012, 11:39 AM
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 ? Corrected and added a limitation that their current armed forces be considered maximum allowed level as part of the treaty. I've decided to allow Germans to have 20% more airplanes than Entente, and will correct the last update. Somehow I forgot that in the excitement.BTW, I added some pics. Not much, but I figured it might help reading the TL. Enjoy.
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Last edited by Shaby; February 29th, 2012 at 12:30 PM..
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#706
February 29th, 2012, 12:53 PM
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"And remember, Mr Churchill, that in the next war the Italians will be on our side". "Well, that's only fair. We had them last time".
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#707
February 29th, 2012, 12:58 PM
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Nice pictures. Just continue with good work.
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"And remember, Mr Churchill, that in the next war the Italians will be on our side". "Well, that's only fair. We had them last time".
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#708
February 29th, 2012, 04:16 PM
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#709
February 29th, 2012, 05:37 PM
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( as a way of circumventing of this peace agreement )
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"And remember, Mr Churchill, that in the next war the Italians will be on our side". "Well, that's only fair. We had them last time".
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#710
February 29th, 2012, 09:09 PM
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Good work on the Peace treaty. However I do not think Heydrich would betray Germany like this. He still was a German Nationalist, and not taken to siding with the Russians.
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#711
February 29th, 2012, 09:28 PM
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#712
February 29th, 2012, 10:18 PM
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However, people have done stranger things in OTL, and maybe Heydrich could have a change of heart, and change sides. It could happen, and thats why this is AlternateHistory eh?
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#713
March 1st, 2012, 01:17 AM
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Heydrich may be discredited with average Nazis
If word gets out that Heydrich is Moscow working with the communist, it could very well discredit him with the average Nazis. I remember reading an article that the pact with the Soviet Union was upsetting to a lot of Nazis members. If my memory is correct, then the German government can use the fact that he is in Moscow to discredit him and anyone who went with him.
I am waiting to read about a round up of SS rebels. I would be surprised if the German police is not pressuring their informants and local criminals to provide any info on the SS rebels. With the number of killed police officers, I am sure that the local criminals would want to win favors from the police by providing information on the SS rebels. Also,the rebel who keeps going by his house is sure to be spotted and trailed by the police or military. Stubear1012
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#714
March 1st, 2012, 10:42 AM
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Heydrich's motivation if he sides with Stalin?
Sheer, pure revenge. I do not know if it is in character, but he would assess that if anyone can now set the world on fire (a desire at the core of true national-socialists), it is the other mustache. And once that happens, the situation in Germany might become volatile again. That is what counts.
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#715
March 2nd, 2012, 01:01 PM
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#716
March 2nd, 2012, 01:08 PM
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#717
March 4th, 2012, 08:13 PM
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Would Goering have any interest in having Germans immigrate from USSR
I understand that there have been Germans in Russia/USSR for a long time. I am wondering if Goering would have any interest in negotiating with Stalin to let the remaining German population immigrate to Germany?
"The German minority in Russia and the Soviet Union was created from several sources and in several waves. The 1914 census puts the number of Germans living in Russian Empire at 2,416,290.[1] In 1989, the German population of the Soviet Union was roughly 2 million.[2] In the 2002 Russian census, 597,212 Germans were enumerated, making Germans the fifth largest ethnic group in Russia. In 1999, there were 353,441 Germans in Kazakhstan and 21,472 in Kyrgyzstan.[3] According to the 2001 census, 33,300 Germans lived in Ukraine.[4] In the chaos of the Russian Revolution and the civil war that followed it, many ethnic Germans were displaced within Russia or emigrated from Russia altogether. The chaos surrounding the Russian Civil War was devastating to many German communities, particularly to religious dissenters like the Mennonites. Many Mennonites hold the forces of Nestor Makhno in Ukraine particularly responsible for large-scale violence against their community. This period was also one of regular food shortages, caused by famine and the lack of long distance transportation of food during the fighting. Coupled with the typhus epidemic and famine of the early 1920s,[7] as many as a third of Russia's Germans may have perished. Russian German organisations in the Americas, particularly the Mennonite Central Committee, organised famine relief in Russia in the late 1920s. As the chaos faded and the Soviet Union's position became more secure, many Russian Germans simply took advantage of the end of the fighting to emigrate to the Americas. Emigration from the Soviet Union came to a halt in 1929 by Stalin's decree, leaving roughly one million Russian Germans within Soviet borders." I am enjoying this thread and it is encouraging me to more about this time period. Stubear1012
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#718
March 5th, 2012, 01:13 PM
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Later, German chamber in the Peace Palace
Daladier, Chamberlain and Goering met in the German chamber. No one, but an interpretter was present for the first hour. After greeting allied leaders Goering said "Gentlemen, I am grateful you accepted this invitation. In my opinion, real results in diplomacy can be achieved only through talks among the peers and through frank discussion. Now that we have peace, I do not expect that our relations will blossom to friendship over night. Regardlessly, I want to assure you that Germany desires nothing but friendship with France and Britain. Many mistakes were made and I will be the first to admit some of them were made by my predecessor. We are now given a chance to turn the page and start over." His speech was carefully prepared beforehand. "Luckily, we have not hurt each other like in the previous war and grievances can easily be forgiven. Is it not high time that our nations move on a more friendly path?" "Mr. Goering," answered Chamberlain "Your words, wise as they may sound, are only words. If you do not back them up with appropriate actions, I am afraid we will not head towards the friendship between our countries you profess to desire. Before our countries can truly be friends, you will need to show that you are ready to accept some internationally accepted norms. The previous government of your country got into the war because their words did not coincide with their actions." "Sir Neville, part of the blame is on your governments, too and nobody will pin the singular blame for the outbreak of war on Germany again." Goering almost started shouting, but managed to control himself. Red in face he continued "But let us not delve into it. Let us talk about the future, and past will eventually be sorted out by historians. It is too much asking us, mere mortals, to interpret all the events in this world. Last war almost brought ruin to all of Europe. Germany barely managed to avert being taken over by the Reds. We are now in a situation where we border the Soviet Union, while your countries do not. We have managed to establish and maintain reasonably friendly relations with them so far. However, there is no doubt that ultimate goal of Soviet Union is to subjugate larger and larger parts of Europe and ultimately the World." "Some might say the same of the ideology of your predecessor." Daladier interjected "A New World Order was a rally cry in your country and undeniably ambitions of Adolf Hitler ultimately spanned the whole world." "Such absurd claims are not even worth the attempt to refute them. This discussion, mr. Daladier leads nowhere, if we conduct it in such a manner. If I am required to answer meaningless rhetorics on every step, I will rather not have any relations with your countries." Goering waved his hand angrily in dismissing gesture. "Let the sleeping dogs of war lie. German true ambitions never extended beyond the parts of Central Europe inhabited by Germans and we never desired war with your countries. Gentlemen, we have learned the lesson of the Great War, just as you did. We feel no need to relearn it." Goering retorted. "I just ask you to consider the necessity of Germany to prepare to defend herself from possible Soviet attack. While such an attack is unlikely right now, Soviet diplomatic activity and military preparations evident on the Polish borders appear alarming. I realise you find it hard to trust our intentions, but have I not shown you you can trust us? Have Germany not done everything possible to earn trust?" "In no small part such a situation is the doing of your government. After the agreement from Munich, your country just tear it up and occupied Prague on flimsy excuses. That removed any basis of trust necessary for negotiations. You made a deal with Soviets and yourself brought their border to you. It is not responsibility of our countries nor our governments. Who will say that, once you prepare for 'defense against Soviet Union', you will not turn around and attack us? Your country has done that once already. One of the actions to prove your goodwill could be revising status of former Czech republic. We understand you consider this your territory, but you cannot dispute the fact that it was acquired through breach of agreement." Chamberlain said. "Our internal affairs are not concern of your governments. Czechia is protectorate of German Reich and enjoys significant amount of autonomy. If tensions decrease this autonomy may increase, but there would not be restoration of the Republic of Czech." "But how can we trust your words if you maintain such attitude and not only justify, but perpetuate one of the gravest breaches previous German government committed?" Daladier asked. "Gentlemen, I assure you, once more, Germany has had enough of war. We made many compromises and if you do not accept them as signs of goodwill, I will offer you this." Goering said, handing folder to each of his counterparts. "It is obvious you will not accept our word for it. German intelligence services have collated this report on Soviet military and industrial potential. You can give it to your services for recheck. And if you wait for a few months, Soviet actions will clearly show you. The Finland and Baltic states was them stretching their muscles. Germany was forced to choose them over you, since your uncompromising attitude made a deal impossible. Unless their threat is curbed, we insist we keep firm control over possible communist rebels near our borders." Goering said. "You must understand that France will not give you tacit support and much less direct one for your attempt to subjugate Soviet Union. I am sure Sir Neville feels the same way. As much as we dislike and distrust Soviet regime, we will not tolerate nor accept German hegemony over Eastern Europe." Daladier said. "Gentlemen, we are running around in circles trading mutual accusations. Your fears of Germany are baseless. This war was as much your mistake as it was our. We will show you that we really mean peace. When you realize this let us hope it will not be too late." "Mr. Goering, in case Soviet Union attack your country unprovoked we will certainly reconsider our foreign policy. But our governments do not trust you right now. However, I must say that I am glad we had exchanged these opinions. This sort of talks help fostering trust. Honest exchange of opinion between heads of governments is the cornerstone of friendship between countries." Chamberlain said. "Mr. Goering, you could not have expected we would react any differently at this moment." said Daladier "France fears Germany more than Soviet Union right now." "In due time you will realise the error of this assumption." Goering said. Meanwhile, let us try to live in peace. I suggest we now invite the rest of the staff in and have a small celebration of our peace treaty." An interpretter opened the door of the chamber and let other members of British, French and German staff enter the chamber. Goering considered the talks successful by any standard. Mutual blustering was part of the show and nobody could outright admit being in the wrong. Goering thought 'Maybe next meeting would be more productive. I just hope I softened them up a little.' Meanwhile, in the Grand hall of Peace Palace Donald Maclean wondered around, chatting with fellow diplomats. He met a friend of his who was with Halifax staff and engaged into amiable chatter. It was when James mentioned that he was waiting for Halifax and Chamberlain to finish their meetings with Germans, that Maclean's ears perked up. Trying to sound casual, he pursued the subject further and found out that meeting being held in German chamber right now was unnoficial summit between three leaders and that after confering for an hour by themselves, they invited other members of their delegations to join them. December 26th, early morning, Eastern Germany, near Danzig (some might find parts of the text disturbing with some graphic depiction of death and injury. Be warned) A car travelled eastward slowly along the coastal road, making its way through the snow covered landscape. Inside the car, three men in naval uniforms of Kriegsmarine sat quietly. What they knew of their mission gave them little hope of survival, but they were told it was important by the commander. They were approaching the first checkpoint and both men sitting in the back seat gripped the briefcases they were holding more tightly in an unconsciously. As the driver heard sharp "Halt!" he hit the brakes. Car stopped and the driver handed over their documents to the soldier who approached. Two others blocked the road in front, while he checked their papers. A minute passed, then two and soldier was still looking over the papers. Tiny bits of perspiration appeared on the faces of two men in the back seat. "Stabsoberbootsmann Vogel, please step out!" said the soldier who checked the documents. "Why? Wh---" he was interrupted by a shout "Get out of the car! All of you!" and two soldiers started taking of the weapons off their shoulders. Mauser 98k was not the most handy weapon to use in a hurry and by the time they took the rifles off their shoulders, driver floored the accelerator pedal and the car surged forward picking up speed. Icy road caused it to swerve left and right, but wheels caught traction. Soldiers in front of it abandoned their effort to take the rifles off, and throw themselves to the sides in attempt to avoid the car. One of them managed only barely, while the other's leg was caught by the fender and broken, causing him to scream. The whistle sounded and four men got out of the hut and surged to the nearby panzer. The large vehicle roared to life thirty seconds later and trained its 37mm cannon towards the car that was speeding off, few hundred meters away. First shot exploded bare meters from the vehicle, but the second was dead on. Resulting explosion caught everyone by surprise, as 37mm HE shells were not really supposed deliver such force. The car was almost unrecognizable, and closer inspection revealed that there apparently was internal cause for this explosion. Much later it was discovered in the form of half a kilogram of dynamite packed within the briefcase. Checkpoint crew recovered the remains of three bodies, one a tall, blond male, face unrecognizable with SS tattoos, though barely readable, on the body. They made a report and sent it to regional Gestapo Headquarters according to instructions they had.  Car destroyed by the road
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#720
March 5th, 2012, 01:33 PM
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 Intriguing update Shaby! Perhaps if Goering keeps playing nice with the Soviets, they will use power-play another part of the world that will upset another power. Perhaps another try at "the Great Game" and Iran? Surely this could help push the UK into the conviction that the nazi's are only "out to protect" themselves. Excellent update!
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