Crown Prince Rupprecht for President in 1932

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The election in Germany saw gains by the Social Democrats but the Conservative alliance managed to hold enough seats to retain control of the Parliament and the Kaiser granted Conrad the right to form a government.. Albrecht secretly met with the Polish President to discuss Russia. Both were concern with the modernization of the Russian military. The Mig 15 had been a great improvement in Russian fighters and the Mig-17 just started to appear. The Russian T-55 tank was a vast improvement over the old T-34/85 and a new Heavy tank had jst appeared in the Moscow May Day Parade.

 

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In Germany production of the RU251 tank was continuing. The tank as well as a tank destroyer were armed with a 90mm gun produced in Germany. Research was underway on the proposed Leopard Tank which would eventually replace the RU-251.

 

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Germany continued to try to avoid a conflict in the East. The Ukraine was fairly stable and the economic situation not bad Germany's relations with Poland, Czechoslovakia,, Austria and Lithuania were all good.Its relation with France on the other hand was cold. Italy was seeking a partnership with Germany and Britain to develop a new fighter. Germany was left with a choice of doing that or working with Sweden. The other option was to buy from the United States.
Conrad had informed the Kaiser that he would be retiring from Public office. His health was not what it once was and being Chancellor was not a job for an old man. He woulf turn it over to another member of the conservative Alliance at the beginning of December 1958.

 

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1960 The Election of 1960 finally saw the election of Nicholas Schultz of the Social Democratic Party as the new Chancellor of Germany. His Party barely took control of the lower House in Parliament with a 2 seat Majority. The Chancellor vowed to continue the modernization of the German Military. He however, reduced the size of German Military force in Armenia and Georgia. He also proposed reducing the force station in the Ukraine to 1 division plus prepositioning equipment in the Ukraine which would allow for rapid expansion to a Corp. He also traveled to the US where he signed an agreement to buy the American F-4 Phantom II for the Luftwaffe.

 

[chris N]

Chancellor Schultz ordered the Ministry of Defense to study about the possibility of withdrawing all military forces from Armenia and Georgia. What was the ability of the Armenian Military to defend that Country and the same with Georgia. And if there were any problems what steps needed to be taken to prepare them to be capable of defending themselves without having a large German military force there.

 

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The Chancellor was summoned by the Kaiser to discuss some of the decisions that he was making. The Kaiser asked questions and stated his opinion that the proposed German withdrawal from Armenia and Georgia might encourage aggression by either Turkey or Russia. He believed that if that was a case it might lead to another war in the East. He preferred not to have to issue an Imperial veto preferring that the Chancellor come up with a compromise

 

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The Kaiser spoke with the Director of German Intelligence to be briefed on Armenia, Georgia and the Ukraine. He also wanted to be briefed on the current thought of the Intelligence Agency on the likely response of Russia and Turkey.

 

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The Kaiser called for a meeting with the Chancellor and he asked him to bring the Defense Minister and the Foreign Minister. He notified him that he would be having the Commander of the Army, Commander of the Luftwaffe and the Chief of the Imperial Navy and he had also asked the director of the Country's Intelligence Service to be there with the latest reports. The Kaiser wanted a solution to the current problem

 

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The Meeting at the Palace was somewhat heated but the Kaiser remained calm and got the Director of Intelligence to point out that the move proposed by the Chancellor was likely to result in the Armenians being pushed toward Russia and the possibility of a conflict in the region was greatly increased. The Military leadership said that the possibility was real that the action could result in a stronger Russia with a growing threat to the region.

 

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In the face of evidence that the withdrawal might result in a threat to German and European security the Chancellor agreed to withdraw the planned withdrawal. Germany would work with Armenia to ensure respect from Turkey for Armenia. Germany would supply Armenia with additional Military aid. Germany would also be carrying out joint exercises with Georgia.

 

[chris N]

German and Western Intelligence had identified two Russian Bombers : The IL-28 medium bomber and the Strategic Bomber designated the BEAR. The Germans had gained more detailed information on both aircraft and shared the information with the British and Americans.

 

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Chancellor Schultz had decided to try a new approach and work with the Kaiser rather than clashing with him over Foreign Policy and Defense Policy. He was now aware that the new Kaiser would react if he felt the Chancellor had crossed a red line but he was willing to give him some flexibility if he didn't cross the line.. The Chancellor met with the Polish ,Austrian,Ukrainian,Lituuanian Prime Ministers to discuss defense issues

 

[chris N]

The Chancellor flew to Russia to met with the Russian Czar and the countries Prime Minister to discuss trade, security and improved relations. While he was out of the country the Kaiser flew to Armenia and Georgia to met with those countries leaders. He stopped in the Ukraine to met wit that countries leader and Inspect the German forces stationed in the Ukraine.

 

[chris N]

The Kaiser and the Chancellor appeared to be working in opposite directions. Chancellor Schultz appeared to be attempting to reach an agreement with the Russians that would allow a German disengagement in the East and normalize relations with the New Russia. The Kaiser on the other hand had his world shaped by his father and saw the new Russia as attempting to re-establish itself as a major power. His goal was not to show weakness and thus prevent a war Germany and its allies had considerable investments in the Ukraine and Georgia. The Kaiser wanted to maintain Germany ability to thwart aggression by Russia while the Chancellor believed that defense spending could be slowed if a deal could be reached.

 

[chris N]

The Kaiser made it clear that he was not opposed to better relation with Russia but he didn't believe that selling out the Ukraine, Georgia and Armenia and allowing a continued build up of the Russian Military was in Germany's interest or its allies. German Intelligence reported that the Russian Army had some 1,500 T-54 tanks and 1,880 T-55 tanks and had added 300 new T-10 heavy tanks . In addition it had 1,000 T-44 tanks, 900 IS-IIIs and 1,200 T-34/85. It would add 420 more T-55 tanks and 60 T-10. Its air Force was adding newer fighters and attack aircraft to its inventory. It had added a new improved fighter the Mig-19 and was working on a newer better fighter.

 

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The Kaiser address the German Parliament putting forward his case to the elected representatives . He announced that he could not support the Chancellors proposal as it would endanger the Reich and set Europe on a course to another war and at the same time weaken Germany's support among its allies and trading partners. Thus he urged the house to chart a different course or he would be forced to use the Imperial veto.

 

[chris N]

Unlike his father the current Kaiser preferred not to get involved in political decisions unless he had no choice. The Social Democrat Chancellor was realizing that if he compromised he would not run into an opponent that could stop him dead. The result was a meeting with the Kaiser in which they exchanged their positions and came up with a policy which the Kaiser would allow the House to vote on.

 

[chris N]

The Kaiser's son had completed a period of Military service and he met with his father to give him his opinion of the current Heer. His belief was that the current MBT was in need of a replacement. The new Leopard I tank was about to go through testing. It had better armor and the more powerful 105mm gun.The Crown Prince believd that the army needed a major upgrade.

 

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Chancellor Schultz was now midway through his term in office. His clashes with the Kaiser had left him with being in a declining popularity. He had however, reached a trade agreement with Russia and he had lowered the amount of German defense forces station in Armenia and Georgia. Despite his desire to keep Defense spending down it was on the rise as the Heer needed modernization and the Luftwaffe also needed to replace a lot of aircraft which were obsolete. He faced Pressure from the Conservatives and the Kaiser seemed to watch every move that he made

 

[chris N]

Production of the Leopard I Main Battle tank began in 1964 and as a result the production of th RU251 came to a halt except for some spare parts . Elections for the Parliament would take place in March 1965. The past 4 plus years had been full of clashes between the Kaiser and the Chancellor but the Kaiser had tried to walk a path which allowed for some compromise. The six months leading to the election had seen both the Monarch and the Chancellor make an effort to get along with one another. Russia had open its rebuilt Embassy and relations were improved.
The Kaiser had visited Finland,Estonia, Lithuania.Poland and the Ukraine. He had also visited the United States and Britain.