Part 1.
June 1937
The first step is taken
This is my very first HoI2 AAR.
I will cut the crap and jump straight to the story…
You see… The summer of ’37 was indeed an interesting time for all Europeans. The war in Spain had just ended and there were no military operations planned for the future. However, prosperity and technologically advantages seemed to dominate the nations.
We will now look closer on Germany…
This giant of a nation, had since it lost its pride in 1918, sought men who could raise their fallen nation and teach the others, that there still was German blood in the German vanes.
However, the crisis in the late 20’es and early 30’es, made the Germans choose alternative ways to win back their honour.
The small politic party of National Socialists got a chance to prove its worth. They did!
By setting a new agenda and show no mercy to the German communists and other politic troublemakers, they quickly made the society simpler.
Now, that was something that gained peoples attention. Their strong will and good leaders, was brought up and from 1933, the Germans had gotten a new soul. It was time to make the new body!
After the break of the Versailles treaty, the Germans, with their führer Adolf Hitler’s help, built up a new army, new fleets and new aircrafts. Rhineland was reoccupied and as long as the other nations didn’t protest, Germany continued their rise of arms.
Now, in 1937, the army under the command of Werner von Fritsch was strengthened by a new style of warfare, which the Germans called “Blitzkrieg.”
There, it was important to strike fast and powerful, to win territory and sending the enemies on the run, in shock and confusion.
Adolf Hitler and his second in command, Rudolf Hess, were fascinated and interested in this new tactic.
New types of weapons were then designed and constructed to fulfil the demands “Blitzkrieg.”
Among them, were the light tank PzKpfw.IIc, and the little heavier but poorer armoured, PzKpfw.NbFz.VI.
To support these new tanks, the creation of the Junkers Ju-87B, also known as “Stuka,” helped a lot.
Anyway, these new advantages would surely be helpful if the Führer’s dream about One gathered German people, should come true.
But weapons and soldiers were not everything!
New factories were built and more and more people got into work. Also the minister of Security Wilhelm Frick sent people to work, as he ordered anti aircraft batteries built, in Münster and Bremen.
Now, lets look at the German forces…
-42 Infantry Divisions were spread out in 16 “Korps”.
-3 Cavalry Divisions functioned as a “test force”, at the border to the Netherlands.
-5 Panzer Divisions were divided into 2 “PanzerArmees”.
-4 Interceptor Groups laid in Wilhelmshafen, under the name of I.Fliegerkorps.
-8 Bomber Groups were divided in 4 Flotillas and were stationed around the borders.
-8 Submarine Groups and 16 major and minor ships lay in the German ports.
Now, that was the forces, which still was increased.
And in the meantime the forces were created, the Foreign minister Constantin von Neurath made sure to keep the connections to the other European nations, and assure them, that these forces only functioned as a shield against the Communism to the east.
Long had the Communism been something the Europeans disgusted, so many of Germany’s neighbours actually joined up around Adolf Hitler’s future plans, which only showed to be a visually fight on power. Still, the British and the French governments were uncertain how to react. They didn’t want to show the National Socialists that they were right and that they had to walk behind them. Instead, they kept their own politic convenience and made a counter-nation, which would not take part in either Fascism or Communism.
The first steps were taken...
