Es Geloybte Aretz - a Germanwank

[carlton_bach]

Great TL carlton_bach. Love the personal details, love the plausibility.

Though, why no mention of Whilem III's brothers?

By my count four of his brothers were born before the POD, Eitel Friedrich, Adalbert, August Wilhelm and Oskar. With Oskar being only a few months old at the death of his father.

I would think they would be fairly important with Wilhelm being unmarried. Eitel Friedrich would be the Crown Prince, right?

He is, as far as I can tell. I just haven't been able to find enough data on them to make any kind of assumptions (my Wilhelm III is based on assumptions drawn from a highly flattering biography, but at least there was a book to go by) So right now, like most of the Reichstag and the general staff, I'm having them exist as shades in suspended animation pending their ever being needed. I'm pretty sure they all turned out a lot more Prussian than IOTL.

 

[Detlef]

He is, as far as I can tell. I just haven't been able to find enough data on them to make any kind of assumptions (my Wilhelm III is based on assumptions drawn from a highly flattering biography, but at least there was a book to go by) So right now, like most of the Reichstag and the general staff, I'm having them exist as shades in suspended animation pending their ever being needed. I'm pretty sure they all turned out a lot more Prussian than IOTL.

???
Wouldn´t Prince Regent Albrecht and Empress Mother Viktoria decide on following similar education and training principles for the even younger sons?
After all, accidents happen (see Wilhelm II).
So, just as an insurance policy, the next in line would be educated along similar lines? And once you do it for two of the sons, why not do it to the rest of them too? It´s by now standard procedure?

 

[carlton_bach]

???
Wouldn´t Prince Regent Albrecht and Empress Mother Viktoria decide on following similar education and training principles for the even younger sons?
After all, accidents happen (see Wilhelm II).
So, just as an insurance policy, the next in line would be educated along similar lines? And once you do it for two of the sons, why not do it to the rest of them too? It´s by now standard procedure?

Yes, that's what I meant by "more Prussian". The children of Wilhelm II IOTL were spoiled brats with insufferably chauvinistic opinions on nationhood and people AFAIK. With a different upbringing, they'd have more of a sense of duty and work ethic (and hopefully, be more open-minded).

 

[Detlef]

Yes, that's what I meant by "more Prussian". The children of Wilhelm II IOTL were spoiled brats with insufferably chauvinistic opinions on nationhood and people AFAIK. With a different upbringing, they'd have more of a sense of duty and work ethic (and hopefully, be more open-minded).

Ahh. Then I misunderstood what you meant with "more Prussian". But you´re right, it makes sense.

 

[carlton_bach]

22 October 1905, Berlin

Heavy drapes and a massive stove kept the harsh, wet cold of the evening out of the drawing room. For the men seated around the polished oak table, all reasonable comfort was provided. Cigars and brandy, coffee for those not partaking, and an ample supply of writing paper to make notes. They were here for business.
“I do not think, Mr Hugenberg, that your ideas will find a majority in our party.” Reichstag Fedor von Spiegel remarked icily. “Your convictions may be above reproach, but your choice of words has gone far beyond the merely distasteful. No patriotic man can read this and not feel his anger raised.”
The journalist thus chastised appeared duly remorseful at first. “I know, I have on many occasions gone beyond the boundaries of good taste and good conduct. But I must say in my defense that provocation has been ample. More than ample! You know as well as I what course the country is steering today, and what dangers lie along that route. Shall I be quiet, leaving us to founder on the rocks to spare the feelings of gentlemen? I think not, Sir. I will proudly bear the opprobrium of my betters if I have served my purpose as the prophet of national awakening.”
A murmur of approval rose. Hugenberg was impetuous and in many regards inexperienced, but he was a powerful voice in the Alldeutscher Bund and wrote fiery prose that was read far beyond the organisation's scope. His attacks on the government had become more fervent and more sweeping over the past years, but that reflected a wider frustration. He was not alone. Heinrich Claß, writer and journalist himself, raised his hand to call for silence before coming to his colleague's support.
“Gentlemen, it is easy to condemn our friend for speaking his mind to freely, but I challenge any of you to say he is not right. Germany has been made subservient to England. Jews do surround the throne. Liberal and Socialistic agitation is penetrating all sections of society and eating away at the foundations of the state. We are being turned into a spineless, decadent, urbanised proletarian society where authority is made a laughingstock and power flows solely from possession of credit and Jewish gold. All these things need to be said, and I hope we can still rely on your support ifgg we occasionally go further than propriety demands.”
Von Spiegel shook his head gravely. He was a conservative of the old school, and the very thought of speaking ill of the imperial government disgusted him, much though he might see worth criticising. He often despaired of the route his party and its callies were increasingly taking, and this meeting was doing nothing to allay his misgivings.
“Well, it is true, that much we can agree on!” Emil Kirdorf spoke up, assertive as ever. Spiegel sighed. If this was old Prussia, a man of his background – industrialist, 'manager', vulgar money-grubber – would hardly have dared open his mouth in the presence of statesmen. Now, he was considered a man of importance and needed humouring.
“Look at the Socialists!” he continued, finding his favourite topic with dispiriting ease “Democratic, treasonous, criminal mobs that Bismarck combated with the sabre and bayonet are not only crowding into our parliaments, they are now considered seriously as ministers. The Emperor himself speaks with them! I cannot fathom how any true German patriot will give them anything but a bullet. We must tell the people who these men are and what peril they place our country in. Everyone, no matter what their position, must understand the danger to our people by the enervation, the division and mongrelisation that these people advocate.”
Ernst Fröhlich, a junior delegate, rose. “You say 'No matter what their position', Mr Kirdorf? Surely you are not implying...”
“I am!” Kirdorf was not going to be intimidated. “Sir, do you know the epitaph of General von der Marwitz, do you not? 'He chose disgrace where obedience would have brought dishonour', Sir! So must we.”
“You would ask us to dishonour our oaths of loyalty? Where does it end, Sir?”
Hugenberg rose, with characteristic impetuousness. “It ends where the good of the German people demands it, and no sooner! Every German man knows in his blood that he must obey the leader that providence sets above us. There can be no question of this, we are a loyal and selfless people. But when a king is found wanting, where those in power act in bad faith or on poor counsel, it is the duty of all right-thinking subjects to correct them.”
Furious, von Spiegel jumped to his feet. “That is treason, Sir!” he shouted. “No less than treason! You may thank the unknowable wisdom of god that you need not fear justice at the hands of the state, but do not think I will tolerate such talk a moment longer!” Grabbing his cane, the gesture spoiled by the fumbling recovery as it slipped from his hands, he strode towards the door. Ernst von Heydebrand followed, to the dismay of many who stayed seated. The great man had said little throughout the evening, but his support could be vital in the Reichstag. Still, the rest of the men stayed.
“Well, then, Sirs.” Hugenberg spoke up after quiet was restored. “There go honourable gentlemen, and we must deplore they do not see their way to supporting our cause, but this shall not lessen our determination. No, Mr Kirdorf and I have asked you here precisely because we believe that this rift, painful though it be, must not be papered over. When the day comes, I want to be able to say I was true to Germany above all, whatever other powers I may have to recuse my obedience to.”

 

[DrakeRlugia]

Great chapter, Carlton!

I've been watching Downton Abbey lately, and I can't help but feel that same vibe when reading this TL. Like it's German, alternate history counterpart or something like that. You capture the period so well.

 

[Benjamin XVIII]

Great chapter, Carlton!

I've been watching Downton Abbey lately, and I can't help but feel that same vibe when reading this TL. Like it's German, alternate history counterpart or something like that. You capture the period so well.

I also started arching downton abbey about two weeks ago. When I was power reading through this TL I remember thinking it had a similar feel and pace about it.

 

[carlton_bach]

I have to admit I never watched Dowton Abbey. Maybe I should, assuming i can find it somehow.

I'm still not really sure how to best write this. Part of me wants to use German expressions and avopid obvious Abnglicisms when Germans are talking. Another tries to build modern language into the dialogue to make it relatable. So far, I think it works OK, but I really need to make decisions there.

 

[carlton_bach]

23 October 1905, Lodz

You did not fight over a modern city. That had been the first thing General Brianski had heard from his German advisers, and it still stuck in his mind. You doubly did not fight in a city. Cities were fragile treasurehouses that, if left undamaged, produced everything modern armies ran on. They were also meat grinders that swallowed up regiments and spat out wounded and dead. So what the fuck was he doing?

The first days of the offensive had gone off fairly well. The Russians had the advantage in artillery, but they were low on ammunition and morale. Von Lowtzow had advised him to concentrate his guns in one sector to break the lines, but his troops had threatened to mutiny if they were deprived of their artillery support even with a purely defensive mission. That had been the first instance Brianski had decided to break the rules. He had no intention to send his men to make targets for Russian gunners, so they went on the attack under cover of morning mist or dusk, in small groups along a broad front, the way they had attacked the barracks in Warsaw. Lowtzow had predicted a disaster and told him to prepare fallback positions, but the move had worked. The second attack gained a lodgement in the Russian trenches east of the city, and on day three, they had control of a road. That left the Russians sitting behind hedges, in houses and factory buildings, hastily dug foxholes and improvised gun emplacements. Today was the day, he decided, that he would break another rule, and he would break it hard.

Standing in the middle of a suburban road between the husks of burnt-out cottages, the general was aware that he was still running an insane risk. The Polish National Army had no fancy uniforms, no staff gallopers or aides-de-camp and no colour guard to draw hostile attention, but neither did they have the organisation and structure that kept the field-grade officers of other forces well behind the sharp end of the fight. Instead, their tradition all but demanded generals show their faces among the men they led. If that meant taking a bullet for the fatherland, then you just had to accept that. Brianski was no coward, but he felt that this was the stupid way of doing things. Wearing his heavy cloth cap and greatcoat, he tried hard to project the image of just another NA man. Surrounded by a bevy of carbine-toting horsemen and aides with maps and binoculars, the effort was a lost cause. You just had to hope any Russian riflemen nearby had something to occupy their minds. It was a hell of a way to fight a war.

In the middle distance, he could hear artillery, the metallic bark of the old German 77mm guns the had been given and the dull roar of the Russian M1877. You quickly learned to tell from the sound when a shell was coming your way, but Brianski still winced at every shot. This was supposed to be their city. Every shell smashed Polish homes, burned Polish property, destroyed potential war stocks. A runner came in to report, out of breath and visibly elated. Good news!
“Major Rabinovicz sends his regards, general, and he has foothold on the railway line. He requests reinforcements and more machine guns and ammunition.”
Rabinovicz – that was the crazy Jew, wasn't it? Brianski had never thought that they had it in them, but the Jewish regiment that had come along was performing well. He guided his horse along the side streets his guide chose – main thoroughfares tended to attract fire – until he reached the railway line, where he and his staff dismounted. It was not what his handler would have advised him to do, but Brianski still found it hard not to go and see for himself. Too many reports of victory turned out to be fabrications by officers bent on furthering their careers. Carefully, the men walked along the side of the embankment, shielded from view and the occasional random shot or shell that passed overhead. The thick of the fighting was elsewhere. It seemed that the Russians had either not yet discovered the problem, or were ignoring it.

The railyard that the messenger led them to was indeed relatively quiet, and populated by men in the typical NA coats. Two of the men posted on guard at the entrance also wore the blue-and-white ribbons of the Jewish regiment, and they did not seem unduly alarmed or frightened, so the success story seemed to actually be true. Brianski ordered an aide-de-camp back to his nominal headquarters to fetch ammunition and reinforcements. Let Hauptmann von Lowtzow worry about how to get it here, the cold-hearted bastard was liable to still be sitting there pushing markers over the map. The general strode purposefully forward, his steps only occasionally hampered by the uneven ground. A knot of men seemed to be loading a row of flatcars. Then, the major himself came to greet him.
“General! How good of you to come yourself, Sir. We have been able to secure the railyard and a section of the track, but we expect a counterattack soon.” He gestured around. Men had taken up positions behind walls and embankments, and two machine guns were visible, pointing in the general direction of the enemy. Nothing much had happened yet, it seemed, but the men were ready for the fight. Brianski found himself continuously reassessing his opinion of the Yids. They had the makings of fine soldiers. Not that other NA units could not have done this, but – not all of them could have, and that was the point. “Now, if I may introduce you...” Rabinovicz seemed a bit overeager, but completely collected. The man was incapable of physical fear, it seemed. “This is Mr. Theodore Hyrcanus Grynszpan. He and his men have a suggestion for a machine-gun locomotive.”

The man the major pointed out was a tall, wiry fellow in a cloth cap, leather jackets and fashionably striped trousers. Brianski noticed he was wearing neither bagdes nor identifying marks. “One of yours?”, he asked Rabinovicz. The officer shook his head. “Mr. Grynszpan is a Bundist.”, he stated, as though that explained everything. Brianski decided to leave it at that. Plenty of people from inside Lodz had been willing to support them. Whatever this man's reasons were, he'd take his aid. Grynszpan did not look like a Jew, he thought. At least, not like you'd imagine one. His face was clean-shaven, his hands big and workmanlike, and the revolver stuck in the waistband of his trousers – he wore the shirt tucked in, townsman-fashion – looked well used. Not that Brianski was concerned with such niceties. He had worked with a lot of the rougher urban fighters in the days before the NA had become what passed for a real army. It just seemed strange.
“The device was his idea, by the way.” Rabinovicz continued. “I hope you'll approve the use of the extra machine guns, Sir.”
“Device?” Communication in any army at war was patchy. In the Polish National Army, it was still largely a matter of luck. “What device, major?”
“I'm sorry, Sir. I thought my message had reached you. Mr Grynszpan has suggested improvising an Egyptian English machine to move guns along the railway tracks so that we can get into the centre of the city more quickly.”
“It's called an armoured train!” Grynszpan interjected. Brianski was tempted to think of it as civilian manners, but any number of army men would interrupt their superiors just as freely. “If you read any book less than four hundred years old, you'd know about useful stuff, too.” It seemed to Brianski that he added something less than complimentary about yeshivah students under his breath. Jews were a strange bunch – everyone looked down on them to some degree or other, but nobody could disdain a Jew like another Jew. He decided to intervene before Major Rabinovicz did anything rash: “All right, an armoured train. Well, it could be worth trying. Tell me how it is supposed to work, and how long it will take, all right? Please, Mr Grynszpan.”
The Bundist smiled broadly. “General, it's simple. There isn't much we can do right now anyway, not with the time we have. If you give me a week and a proper workshop, I can make a real armoured train. But this locomotive,” he gestured towards a massive and ungainly engine, “is massive enough to withstand most of anything likely to hit us. If we hitch flatcars to the front, with cloth bales strapped to their sides for protection, we can mount machine guns and even a cannon on them. A few cars behind for infantry for dismounting when we have to clear out resistance. It would be better with real armour plate and proper turrets, of course, but...”
“It will be better than nothing.”, Brianski finished the sentence. “And the Russians won't expect it. I hope.” Grynszpan's enthusiasm was infectious, and Brianski was prone to that disease himself. “What does your German say?”

That was the crucial question more often than not. The German advisers, while solid fighting men, were prone to be cautious and plodding. They thought like a regular army, with reserves and deployment times and the ability to reinforce gains at leisure. Brianski had ruffled feathers before treating their advice like – advice, not orders.
“He's not happy, Sir.”, Rabinovicz volunteered. “Sergeant Lewin thinks the contraption is too vulnerable to artillery and will boil its crew alive. He prefers probing along the rail line on foot, with artillery following behind.”
“Sounds like the way a German would do it.” the general commented drily. “All right, Rabinovicz, give it a try. I can spare you a few machine guns, and I'll reinforce your pocket here. The railyard's worth holding even if it costs us.”
Major Rabinovicz saluted absent-mindedly. He was already going through his calculations. Brianski had seen him in action before, and the man scared him. He utterly lacked any kind of drive or esprit, but equally any sense of fear. Was that how Jews fought? It was a frightening idea for someone who relished the animal thrill of victory and struggled to control the leaden grip of fear every time the shooting started.
“There is something else, Sir.” It was Grynszpan again, speaking out of order, as usual.
“What?”
“Smallarms, Sir. The people of Lodz are not fond of the Russians. Certainly not after the way the commander behaved during the siege. If I can get them rifles, I'm sure I can find you a good number of volunteers to give them a good, nasty headache.”

No doubt he could. How many of the rifles the NA would ever see again was another question. Civilians were volatile, and usually greedy. “How many do you think you can find?”, Brianski asked, mentally taking stock of what he had on hand. With German supplies coming in, he didn't have to shepherd each gun as closely as he would have otherwise, but just giving them away was out of the question. Maybe some captured Russian stocks, if he could get his hands on them. They had a few Nagants taken from prisoners or dead.
“We are maybe a hundred active Bund men in the city, general. I can reach half of them today, even if the streets are fought over. Everyone knows two or three reliable people. But once we start giving out guns, more will come. They really hate the Russians.”
Brianski decided it was worth the risk. “Orders to headquarters,” he dictated to an aide. “We'll need another two or three companies here, whichever are still uncommitted.” The NA did not exactly work like a regular army yet, though God knew he had tried to make it. Units often decided to self-deploy in the general direction of a fight, or – more rarely – away from it. Keeping reserves was an iffy business. “And send four of the the machine gun section forward, they should still be in the trench line. And as many Russian rifles as you can find lying around.”
Grynszpan smiled. “Thank you, Sir.”, he said. “We'll make the bastards sorry today.”

 

[imperialaquila]

Excellent. I do hope the Germans can learn a thing or two from the Poles, since they seem to be figuring out infiltration tactics fairly quickly.

 

[carlton_bach]

27 October 1905, Paris

My dear and honoured friend,

I am writing to you in dark times, times when the hope for peace is dimming and the intentions of our enemies are becoming ever more threatening. Perhaps you will think I am mad for believing myself capable of affecting the great events of our time, and I often doubt myself, but I cannot go to my grave knowing I have left this untried. Surely, Emperor Wilhelm himself, you know, is a Hohenzollern and a Teuton of the purest blood, just as the oldest noble families of France. His youth and his earnest spirit make him impressionable, but I have seen little to suggest that there is evil in him. I cannot believe a man of such heritage should be beyond rescuing, even if the claws of Judah have pierced his flesh from birth. And so I believe this effort must be made, undertaken by one whose blood can call to his, who understands, as you and I do, the power of ancestry and the fundamental fates of our race.

Do not, I beg of you, share this knowledge with any, even the most trustworthy, for the eyes of treacherous Israel are everywhere today. I do not yet know myself how I will do this. I have written to the man several times, but no answer was granted me, no doubt through the influence of the court Jews, Rathenau's cabal. Thus I believe the last recourse shall be a gesture of trust in the wisdom of his blood; I shall throw myself on his mercy, imploring him to understand how his policies are threatening the future of the white peoples of Europe and the future of the world itself! He is, I have learned, a man of artistic tastes – have I not said he cannpot be so thoroughly Judaised that blood will not out? And I hope that perhaps when he is at his pleasures incognito, I shall be able to speak to him. I must trust my life to that certainty, that he himself will not condemn to death unheard a fellow Teuton. If he grants me but the time to make him see, I shall have triumphed, and humanity will thank me as its saviour. If not, at least I will have tried. I do not know what I shall do if his answer is negative, I do not, my friend! But I must pray it is affirmative.

Speak to no soul! We shall meet again in peace, or never.

Your affectionate friend

Jacques Lavassor

 

[imperialaquila]

This is going to be interpreted as a French assassination attempt on the Kaiser, isn't it? That won't end well.

 

[carlton_bach]

This is going to be interpreted as a French assassination attempt on the Kaiser, isn't it? That won't end well.

If this gets played right, it might not. Lavassor is not affiliated with anyone in government (except in the sense he's a subscriber to L'Antijuif and Libre Parole, whose editors sit in the National Assembly). He's just nuts. Stuff like that happened in other parts of the world, too. But so far, the antisemites have always held on to the idea that they were a respectable, mainstream political movement, not a violent fringe. And they do have elections in France.

 

[carlton_bach]

30 October 1905 Berlin

... It is especially due to the tireless labour of our delegates that the 1905 military bill is to be a true reform bill, not merely an extension of unthinking militarism into the future. The expansion of the military force – and in this regard, the arms of the future, artillery, engineers and infantry – which many of our comrades have long opposed is a stark necessity in the face of the Russian threat, and must be viewed as such. A veto, as was proposed by many, would have achieved nothing and further alienated our party from the political process at this crucial time when, for the first time, we are recognised as partners by most factions in the Reichstag and without. Our support, on the other hand, made possible genuine advances in the army. As of this year, the degrading punishment of tying up shall end, as will the shameful treatment of serving soldiers by one-year volunteers. Noncommissioned and officer careers will be opened to all candidates based on merit, with exams to be taken following the end of mandatory service. If this means our one-.year volunteers will have to work a little harder, I must say the prospect does not unduly perturb me. Hard work has never been bad for anyone, as the better classes never tire of reminding the proletarian, and that should apply to gentleman soldiers as much as the regular kind.

Yet as our greatest victory we must count the establishment of the annual reporting requirements. However much this has been dismissed as symbolic – and the red firebrands do not like it – the idea that the five army inspectorates have to give annual account to the Reichstag will allow us to to counteract negative developments early and to make crucial decisions even while we retain the quinquennate. To hope for annual military buidgets would have been too much.

You will, however, no doubt derive the greatest pleasure from hearing how the emperor intends to pay for all of this. Surely it is as clear to you as it is to me that it will be a long time until we see the sons of factory workers graduate from Lichterfelde cadet school, for all they would now technically be entitled to sit the entry exams. But even today, as the Junkers still hold the reins of the army as tightly as they ever did, they will have to pay a larger share for their precious toys. The Reichstag has voted, and the emperor has agreed to, an imperial inheritance tax to fund the military expansions to come. You should have heard the squals from the right! They were hoping to pay for it all with a bond issue, producing more national debt to funnel tax money into the pockets of the capitalists and rentiers, of course. Well, we did not give them that, and neither did they manage to stop the inspectorate reporting. I must say I was half convinced the emperor would veto the whole thing and just bull into another constitutional crisis. I don't think the Zentrum people would have had the stomach to stand it. But he did not – I continue to be surprised by Wilhelm.

I do not know how closely you have been following events, but you must have noticed that our new emperor is quite the modernist. Of course, he is no Socialist or even democrat, how could he? But he believes in all kinds of things that give the Conservatives conniptions. The Prince Regent was fascinasting enough, with his love of industry and science, of course, but Wilhelm is a man of true scientific conviction, even scientific romance. One cannot help but wonder what the future will bring for our fatherland when he truly comes into his own. Already, he speaks highly of the polytechnic institutes of France and the inventors of America, and he has invited scientists and engineers to Sanssouci to instruct him. Even people like Professor Weber! But enough of this, I am telling you today of our victory and delight in the bile that the Junkers are directing our way. ...

(letter by Social Democratic Reichstag delegate Kurt Eisner to an Austrian friend)

 

[Monty Burns]

One cannot help but wonder what the future will bring for our fatherland when he truly comes into his own.

Indeed!

And the military reforms seem pretty sensible. Germany being better prepared and Britain neutral will change the international situation completely.

By the way, with a more "modernist" emperor searching for allies besides the conservatives: what about the Minorities? Giving statehood to Alsace-Lorraine and some autonomy to Danes or Kashubes in Prussia (where the Emperor should face even more resistance from conservatives dominating the Landtag thanks to the class voting system) could yield new groups of supporters. I guess thanks to the Polish uprising the Poles will support the Emperor anyway.

 

[Nivek]

Indeed!

And the military reforms seem pretty sensible. Germany being better prepared and Britain neutral will change the international situation completely.

By the way, with a more "modernist" emperor searching for allies besides the conservatives: what about the Minorities? Giving statehood to Alsace-Lorraine and some autonomy to Danes or Kashubes in Prussia (where the Emperor should face even more resistance from conservatives dominating the Landtag thanks to the class voting system) could yield new groups of supporters. I guess thanks to the Polish uprising the Poles will support the Emperor anyway.

About Eltass-Lothrigren... In OTL Willy 2 want to give the title of Duke of Lorraine back to Franz Fernidand as a way to become an Lander, mostly because he was a friend of him an as way to give his son a noble title post his oath of renuncation... maybe here Willy 3 meet in similar Fashion with Franz Fernindand and some similar happen

 

[carlton_bach]

Indeed!

And the military reforms seem pretty sensible. Germany being better prepared and Britain neutral will change the international situation completely.

By the way, with a more "modernist" emperor searching for allies besides the conservatives: what about the Minorities? Giving statehood to Alsace-Lorraine and some autonomy to Danes or Kashubes in Prussia (where the Emperor should face even more resistance from conservatives dominating the Landtag thanks to the class voting system) could yield new groups of supporters. I guess thanks to the Polish uprising the Poles will support the Emperor anyway.

Right now, the minority parties are on-again, off-again members of the imperial voting coalition. they have been since the Preußentumsbrief, more or less. However, with the Conservative party fragmenting and a large part of its votes going towards antisemitic, openly anti-government völkisch candidates, they willl become more important. The new Kartell is National Liberal-Zentrum-Minorities, depending on the support of the SPD and Freisinige in many cases.

And yes, He's going to have to do something for Alsace-Lorraine. The idea with a ducal title is very interesting, by the way, and Franz Ferdinand might be a good candidate for handling ticklish minority situations. Thanks.

 

[Monty Burns]

That Franz Ferdinand? But he was Austrian crown prince at this time, right? Did Wilhelm II. merely plan to give an honorary title or should Franz Ferdinand really become ruling duke of Alsace-Lorraine?

In any case, a Hapsburg as duke of Alsace-Lorraine is sensible. A republic might be more popular with the population and more "modernist" - but it's harldy imaginable for the Emperor to do that.

 

[Keb]

That Franz Ferdinand? But he was Austrian crown prince at this time, right? Did Wilhelm II. merely plan to give an honorary title or should Franz Ferdinand really become ruling duke of Alsace-Lorraine?

Technically, the title was intended as a favour to give Franz Ferdinand's children noble titles. FF's marriage included a condition that his children from that particular marriage cannot inherit (thus, Karl is inteded to follow Franz Ferdinand, then Karl's son, Otto, if he's even born) ... as a result, Wilhelm II intended to award Elsass-Lothringen to Franz Ferdinand as a sort of family inheritance.

 

[wietze]

when will we see the next installment carlton?