Chapter 206 Military Parade
On December 12, 1936, the day after the abdication of Edward VIII, the British monarch who "loved beauty more than power". The German Reichstag passed the Constitution of the Third Reich. On the same day, the Reichstag elected Wilhelm II as the emperor of the Third Reich of Germany according to the newly adopted constitution.
Unlike in history, from this day on, the throne of the Third Reich of the German Empire was no longer vacant - historically, Hitler's official title was "Leader and Imperial Chancellor", and after the death of President Hindenburg, Hitler adopted the strategy of "abolishing" the presidency. This means that the position of "Leader and Imperial Chancellor" became the head of state of Germany.
Isn't it a bit strange for the prime minister to become the head of state?
In fact, this was a common tactic used by many European dictators in the 1920s and 1930s, leaving the throne vacant instead of abolishing it, and at the same time monopolizing power in the name of "prime minister", "prime minister", "regent", etc.
For example, Miklos Horthy, the regent of the Kingdom of Hungary, and Franco, the Prime Minister of Spain, both adopted this strategy to govern the country. Hitler also took an ambiguous approach to the issue of monarchy, ruling an empire without an emperor in the name of "leader and chancellor of the empire", which gave the Junker officers who supported the monarchy unlimited reverie - after all, Hitler was not young and had no heirs, and his successor Goering had a close relationship with Crown Prince Wilhelm...
However, with Hessmann's efforts over the years, the strength of the Junker officer corps has increased a lot compared to the original history. Not only is the number of officers in the officer corps (referring to officers before Germany expanded its armaments), but there is also a huge spy organization, and it also has a "Junker country" with a population of three to four million, the Baltic Republic.
In this case, the restoration of William II was a matter of course. This is the will of the entire Junker group, and Hessmann, as their agent, naturally has to comply with their will. As a political general, Hessmann, like most politicians, must firmly grasp his base.
"Thank you, General!"
"Salute you, General!"
"Well done, General!"
Hersmann stood in the open-top 62-type Volkswagen (National Automobile Factory) military vehicle, and many people saluted him as he passed by groups of veterans and old officers wearing World War I uniforms.
These people came to participate in the emperor's coronation parade, and everyone's old military uniforms were covered with medals. Hersmann saw his father among them. The old man is now a member of the National Assembly of the Fatherland People's Party, but today he did not watch the ceremony with other members of parliament. Instead, he put on his well-preserved old military uniform and walked in formation with his former comrades to accept the inspection of the emperor and the leader and chancellor of the empire, Hitler.
"Salute you!" Hersmann also raised his right arm to return the salute.
Because of his "meritorious support", his status in the Junker Group also rose, and he is now Marquis Heinsberg-Hersmann and a general of the army. Unlike when he was the general of infantry, many people were not convinced. Now he is a general who is deeply loved by the people - at least the royalist officers are convinced.
Hessmann, who has been an officer for more than 20 years, knows that this kind of "obedience" is very important for generals who command thousands of troops. This is "execution power". Not only will people listen to the orders given, but they will also work hard to execute them, and will not obey them in public but disobey them in private.
To obtain this kind of "execution power", it is not enough to just form a small circle, but you have to do something that makes people convinced. What Hitler did was to completely solve the unemployment problem and let Germany take off economically. And Hessmann and Schleicher established a powerful national defense army and invited the German emperor back.
"The morale of everyone is very high. It would be great if the old President Hindenburg could see this scene."
Schleicher, who had just become a marshal, sat in the seat next to Hessmann, holding the scepter in his hand, with a smug look on his face.
"He will see it in heaven, together with millions of German heroes!" Hersmann said, "He will be very happy. We not only invited His Majesty back, but also built the most powerful army in the world!"
When the two were talking, the 62-type Volkswagen they were riding in had already passed in front of the veterans' square - Hersmann was the chief inspector of this review, and Schleicher was the Minister of Defense to conduct the final inspection before the review.
As a respect for the veterans who participated in the last World War, the veterans' square will be the first to appear. There is nothing wrong with this link. It's just a group of old people wearing military uniforms and medals. It's okay to walk in the square.
Behind the veterans' square is the military band - Germans like music more, and their military bands are also very high-level and can play very beautiful music. In many ceremonies of the German army, the military bands with music and drums often walk in the front.
Behind the military band square is the cavalry square. Of course the German army has cavalry! Although the annual production of German cars in this time and space is nearly double that of the original time and space, it is still not comparable to the annual production of millions of units in the United States. Therefore, it is impossible to fully realize motorization, and Germany does not have so much fuel to consume.
Therefore, the "mechanized" German army is only a minority, and the "burning horse manure" is the majority. There are currently 1.1 million military horses serving in the German Army with a total of about 1.5 million people! Each infantry division is equipped with at least 5,300 horses and 1,100 carriages. In addition, the reconnaissance battalion of the infantry division also relies on horses and bicycles for mobility.
However, what was reviewed today was not the cavalry attached to the infantry division, but independent cavalry units, a mixed cavalry regiment belonging to the 1st Cavalry Brigade of the Wehrmacht and a cavalry regiment from the 1st Cavalry Brigade of the SS.
The former is a partially mechanized cavalry force, while the latter is a pure cavalry force. However, the German cavalry no longer used saber charges, but marched on horseback and dismounted to fight. They were actually mounted infantry.
"Haha, there are two whole cavalry regiments, it's very spectacular!" Schleicher was very satisfied when he saw the soldiers leading the horses and lined up neatly. "This reminds me of before the World War, when there were many cavalry."
"There are many now!" Hessmann said with a smile. "The Wehrmacht has three regiments and the SS has 12 regiments."
The three cavalry regiments of the Wehrmacht (including a semi-mechanized cavalry regiment) all belong to the 1st Cavalry Brigade, and they are front-line combat units. Hersmann planned to equip the cavalry brigade with a motorized anti-tank battalion and a motorized reconnaissance battalion before the war began, allowing them to accompany the armored forces in action.
As for the SS cavalry, they are some second-line troops, temporarily engaged in security warfare in the rear.
After the cavalry are some infantry phalanxes, wearing M35 helmets, carrying Mauser 98K rifles, shiny leather boots, leather backpacks, high-quality armed belts and other equipment. In addition, they are also very handsomely dressed. The new military uniforms - this was designed by the leader and imperial prime minister himself (only participation, the main design was still responsible for the traumatist Hugo Boss of the BOSS brand), which is very eye-catching.
Then came the artillery. What was displayed this time were the 150mm K18 heavy artillery that had just been equipped with the troops. It was towed by trucks, and the artillery crew members were also sitting on the trucks - this was considered mechanized artillery.
Although the last military exercise held in the Baltics told the German Army that they needed more self-propelled artillery, manufacturing tracked self-propelled artillery requires a large number of tank chassis. Germany's factories are currently operating at full capacity to meet the needs of tanks for the armored forces, and they cannot take care of self-propelled howitzers for the time being.
However, some progress has been made in the development of self-propelled artillery. The No. 1 "training tank" that is currently withdrawing from active service is being converted into the No. 1 assault gun and No. 1 self-propelled artillery.
But these two projects have not been completed yet, so naturally there are no weapons available for display.
After the K18 cannon, the motorcycle troops appeared. They usually belong to the reconnaissance battalion of the motorized infantry division or armored division, and use three-wheeled motorcycles produced by BMW and Zundap.
After the motorcycle troops, comes the final tank!
The uniform Panzer 2 tank is no longer the original model, but the Type 2 C tank that has undergone several major changes. The maximum armor thickness reaches 15 mm, and 20 mm of additional armor is installed on the front of the tank turret. It is relatively reassuring in terms of defense, but the firepower is still too weak, it is still a 20mm machine gun.
"A total of 400 No. 2 Type C tanks will be very spectacular." Hersman looked at the neatly arranged tanks and said to Schleicher with satisfaction. "They are enough to defeat Poland! At most, a small amount is needed. III and Skoda tanks (Skoda has developed several light tanks, and more advanced tanks are under development).”
"I think the Poles will be very happy to see these tanks," Schleicher shrugged, "Because they are too small! Without No. 3 and No. 4, there is no confidence in attacking Poland. The Poles also have many tanks. Bar?"
"There are TK series of small tanks, each division can have at most one battalion," Hessman said. "They are of no use. The armor is too thin and can be penetrated by rifles. But their 7TP tanks are still good. They are better than our No. 2 It’s better, it’s bigger, it’s more armored, it’s more powerful, but it’s too small to be of any use.”
"But they can seize the time to produce. If they are willing to spend money, they can also ask factories in the UK and France to help. In two years, there may be thousands of 7TPs."
Hessmann smiled and said, "Don't worry, we can handle it!"
He raised his wrist to check the time, and then said to Schleicher, "Kurt, it's still early, let's go to the airport now. This time the Air Force sent the latest four-engine heavy bombers Do19 and Ju89, It will scare the British and the French."