German Civil War – Oath of Allegiance (1)

October 6, 1939 — New Government Building, Frankfurt, 9th Military District

After the meeting, French Prime Minister Édouard Daladier resigned due to failed diplomacy, succeeded by Paul Reynaud.

The French Social Party under de la Rocque denounced the Radical Party's failure and boosted momentum, further fueling French Third Republic chaos.

Unfortunately for them, the German people were thrilled seeing France in chaos, saying they'd avenged Versailles and the Ruhr.

Neither waging war with Britain-France nor surrendering again were desired outcomes, but successfully satisfying the people allowed the new government—which had been reeling from the royalist coup—to quickly overcome the crisis.

"Good work. It was handled fairly well."

Father Hjalmar Schacht praised me by raising the corners of his mouth slightly on his characteristically stern face.

Honestly, I thought I'd done quite well in this case, but was that the extent of his evaluation?

As if his business were finished, Hjalmar immediately moved on, congratulating Weizsäcker and Kordt.

It was foolish of me to have hopes for that father...

"But now, diplomatically, we've gained breathing room. How about the Italian situation?"

"Um, that's..."

At my question, Ludwig Beck—now Defense Minister rather than regent—showed a subtle expression.

"Could it be they were defeated?"

No way—surely the Italians who'd given me trouble at Guadalajara weren't receiving such strange corrections that they were useless as allies but stronger as enemies, right?

"They were attacked and defeated by Austrians, and they're fighting at the border."

"What?"

Why were Austrians and Italians fighting? Most of the Austrian army would have been incorporated into the Wehrmacht and mobilized for Polish invasion forces.

"The Italians announced they would annex Tyrol. So the angry Austrian border guards attacked and defeated the Italians, and since then the Italians counterattacked and they're engaged."

You're still a great power, but defeated by border guards? What was this? No—before that, annex Tyrol?

"Didn't Mussolini join the war as a Nazi ally?"

"He did."

Oh, I'd just forgotten to mention that. Was it pointless to think hard on the plane about what to do if Bavaria were invaded?

"Haha..."

It wasn't funny. I was seriously curious what expression Hitler would have.

Still, we couldn't miss this great opportunity.

Now that internal and external crises were overcome, the time had come to make real decisions.

October 7, 1939 — New Chancellery, Berlin, Northern Germany

"The Führer, who claimed to serve the German people and nation, is selling his homeland to foreign powers and calling them rebels! Wake up, Germany! What on earth is the Germany Goebbels was telling to wake up!"

"Schacht! Schacht! That traitor! Turn it off! Turn it off immediately!"

Hitler was listening to the radio and shouting in a fit.

"Now open your eyes! Listen to their agitation but don't close your eyes—see the truth with your own eyes! The Germany they speak of is not our homeland, but subject to them—"

Wilhelm Keitel turned off the radio nervously while Hitler clutched his neck.

"Give me medicine! Quickly!"

Erwin Rommel sighed softly watching Hitler like this.

After saving Hitler from the Chancellery raid, Rommel had become the Führer's favorite Wehrmacht general and was promoted to Lieutenant General, but recently he only sighed.

"Here it is, Your Excellency."

Hitler poured the medicine Morell had given him into his mouth and drank water.

Even Rommel, who knew little about medicine, could see that his doctor, Theodor Morell, was making the Führer's condition progressively worse with his prescriptions.

However, Hitler—suffering from injury aftereffects—believed Morell's words and demanded medicine whenever pain struck.

"Damn it! What the hell is that bastard Mussolini doing!"

Your ally was obsessed with seizing Austria, and when the military government coup occurred, wouldn't he reach out to Britain-France?

Even when that was rejected, Hitler's blood boiled when Mussolini again asked for help with southern Austria.

Mussolini insisted he couldn't help without territorial concessions, so Hitler decided to hand over Tyrol quickly, then correct Mussolini's behavior after suppressing the rebels...

Not even Hitler could have imagined those madmen would declare Tyrol's annexation during civil war.

"Once I eliminate those rebels, then Mussolini—oh, damn!"

Hitler grabbed his neck again.

Since Nazi Party members and pro-Nazi Austrian generals had all been brought to the Polish front hoping to give them opportunities, Major General Egglezeer—commanding Austrian border guards—was far from the Nazis.

As soon as he heard of Italian Tyrol annexation, he rallied residents and border guards to attack Italians fiercely.

Hitler hastily ordered the Austrian State Commission to ban engagement with Italian troops, but Austrian Nazis had already lost control.

The new government didn't miss this incident and began a public opinion battle, accusing Nazis of selling out compatriots.

That damn Schacht was the problem—Schacht, Schacht. Both father and son were the most vicious traitors.

The father opposed him at every turn, and the son should have been recognized as a traitor from the moment he talked back instead of declaring loyalty.

"Your Excellency, unfortunately generals continue contacting Wehrmacht High Command to confirm whether it's true we've decided to hand over Austrian territory to Italy."

Wilhelm Keitel spoke nervously, but Hitler shouted.

"How many times must I say it! No such thing! The Austrians are traitors aligned with the new government, so the Italians are just suppressing them! Tell the Wehrmacht to begin offensive operations against those traitors immediately!"

Ultimately, what Hitler and the Nazis chose was abandoning Austria. The Nazis announced that General Egglezeer and part of the Austrian army had joined the revolt and that Italians were compelled to suppress it.

Since Nazis had banned new government radio, newspapers, and phone connections to new government areas, it might be somewhat effective now, but would be difficult to cover up long-term because residents—even some Wehrmacht personnel—were listening to new government radio on frequencies seen in newspapers distributed on the coup's first day.

Nothing was good for Nazis in prolonging this situation, and they were pushing the Wehrmacht to somehow eliminate the rebels.

"Forgive me, Mein Führer, but orders are being issued while only receiving replies that offensives cannot begin without supplies."

Currently, Nazi Wehrmacht forces only looked impressive. As main forces had prepared for Polish invasion, troops and equipment were actually stronger than new government forces.

However, with the Ruhr Industrial Zone producing key equipment and the ball bearing factory in Schweinfurt (northern Bavaria) handed to enemies, there was no way to properly manufacture heavy equipment and parts.

What good were armored units if tanks broke down while driving and engine parts couldn't be obtained?

"Damn bastards! That's just an excuse! Who doesn't know they're watching developments between us and the rebels!"

Hitler blamed the Wehrmacht, and half was true—Nazi Wehrmacht equipment was deteriorating.

The only armored equipment currently produced by Nazi Germany was Czech-made tanks manufactured in the Protectorate of Bohemia-Moravia.

Thinking no more were needed, they'd replaced Panzer III and IV production lines, and only after civil war broke out and ball bearing factories were captured did they have to rely on Czech tank lines producible without German parts.

Moreover, local Czech workers were completely uncooperative. Naturally productivity hit bottom, and what was produced wasn't given to Wehrmacht but assigned to Waffen-SS.

"Mein Führer, please send me forward instead. I'll stand in the vanguard and show my loyalty."

Unexpectedly, Rommel stepped forward, but Hitler approached him directly and shook his head.

"Oh, no, General Rommel. Please stay by my side."

Wilhelm Keitel looked with dissatisfaction at Rommel, to whom Hitler almost clung, but Rommel was also confused.

Though he had strong advancement ambitions, he saw no path to success due to poor relations with German Army General Staff, so he'd tried showing himself to Hitler.

Consequently, he'd been promoted to Lieutenant General and elevated to head Presidential Security.

Initially, Rommel felt proud as a soldier to have saved a national leader from terrorism.

But that was only brief joy—he grew increasingly skeptical listening to new government radio while sitting beside Hitler and hearing Hitler's instructions to Nazis.

It was very painful losing respect for the Führer while dealing with worsening conditions, unable to reach front lines, injury aftereffects, and the Führer ruined by drugs.

"The only one I can trust in the Wehrmacht is General Rommel. All the rest are traitors, schemers, and base opportunists."

To the Führer who'd turned pathologically dependent after rescue from the raid, Rommel only responded with bitter smiles.

"There will be loyal people in the Wehrmacht, Mein Führer."

"There will be, of course there will be. The problem is opportunistic traitors..."

Rommel just muttered, but flinched at Hitler's sudden speech as if inspired.

But Hitler quickly fell into his own world, muttering quietly while trembling, his eyes shining with madness from pain and drugs.

"If it comes to this, we have no choice but to set a clear example."

October 9, 1939 — Potsdam Garrison, 10th Army Headquarters

The 10th Army garrison—which had first pledged allegiance after the new government coup and rushed to Berlin—was engulfed in commotion.

"What! What's happening?!"

The Gestapo attacked XI Corps headquarters and declared proudly before bewildered corps generals.

"General Emil Leeb! This is the Führer's order to arrest you for conspiracy with rebel Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb!"

"You're arresting the commander while fighting the enemy?!"

Major General Friedrich-Karl Kranz, commander of 18th Division, protested absurdly, but Gestapo didn't listen.

"I'll take that as rebel interference obstructing official duties."

"Ridiculous..."

While staff sighed, XI Corps commander Artillery General Emil Leeb sighed deeply.

"Yes, my brother joined the rebels. But I'm a Wehrmacht general who swore loyalty, and apparently that oath was worthless to the Führer."

Emil Leeb gestured to his generals not to intervene, then rose and followed the Gestapo.

"This is..."

In the place where the corps commander was taken, only staff and subordinate division commanders remained, muttering despairingly.

Around the same time, similar events occurred in other corps.

"General Erich Hoepner! Call logs with rebel leader Ludwig Beck confirmed! Arrest on treason charges!"

"That damn Bohemian corporal..."

"You confess to being a traitor!"

Wehrmacht units—sitting idle in garrisons without proper equipment or supplies—were stunned, but Gestapo, apparently prepared in advance, immediately stormed each unit and seized generals ordered arrested.

"Herr Generaloberst! What is this! Randomly arresting front-line officers from units facing the enemy!"

4th Panzer Group Chief of Staff Walter Model was outraged, calling Army High Command.

"Model, those arrested are all suspected of conspiring with rebels—this was the Führer's personal order."

Brauchitsch spoke calmly, but Walter Model didn't back down.

"We're loyal to country and regime—we were first to run defending Berlin! The military fulfilled its duty to government, but government is—"

"Model, you were also on the arrest list."

Walter Model's speech was interrupted by Brauchitsch.

After momentary silence, Model spoke.

"Schacht—because I recommended him?"

"Yes. Of course I know you're innocent. But know I had difficulty removing you from the list. If you continue like this, it'll be difficult."

Walter Model slumped helplessly into his chair.

"Cool your head and follow orders. Haven't you done well so far? I'm busy too, so I'll stop here. Take care."

The call ended, and Walter Model stared blankly at the ceiling fixture.

"A soldier doesn't judge, but remains loyal."

He tried repeating Seeckt's teachings he'd followed all his life, but couldn't find the answer.

Loyal to what?