Chapter 64:

November 19, 1939

Northern Germany, 10th Military District, Hamburg – Kiel Naval Base I was just entering the Kiel Naval Base by car with Emperor Wilhelm III.

My father, Hjalmar Schacht, had once again passed the military-related event to me, saying there was no need for him to attend.

I couldn't shake the feeling that he was dumping all the uninteresting or bothersome events on me, while only handling the economic and domestic affairs he wanted to…

"Is this the first time you and I are on an official schedule together?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Since we've decided to form a democratic government and proceed with a constitutional monarchy, it's normal for the Emperor not to be at the forefront.

However, since the Kiel Naval Base, a major stronghold of the German Navy, was where the sailors' rebellion that led to the collapse of the German Empire broke out, we decided to hold a ceremony for the Navy's defection here, visiting with the Emperor for symbolic meaning.

The conservative figures in the German Navy also tend to have quite the royalist disposition.

"The Kiel Naval Base, it has been a very long time…"

Honestly, I came here seriously worried about getting a stomachache from accompanying him, but the expression of Wilhelm III, who was unusually quiet today, felt somewhat distant.

I realized for the first time that this man could make such an expression.

I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, but the massive battleships that must have filled the Kiel Naval Base were the very symbol of the expansionist policy pursued by Wilhelm II and the German Empire.

Although Count Blumenthal, who performed the incredible feat of sniping Hitler and forcing Army Group North to surrender, had been confirmed to be alive, the Emperor—who had been fully prepared to politically exploit his eldest son's close friend by packaging him as a martyr before the news arrived—was showing a rare display of emotion.

Our car drove slowly through the ranks of the honor guard and sailors as the military band played, stopping in front of the waiting naval admirals.

The naval headquarters is originally in Berlin, but Admiral Canaris, who is both the Director of the Abwehr and a naval admiral, coordinated with Admiral Raeder to dispatch the main naval commanders to major naval bases like Kiel and Wilhelmshaven just before the civil war.

Thanks to that, all the real power players of the Navy were gathered here.

"It is an honor to receive you, Your Majesty the Emperor, and the Vice Minister of the Chancellery."

The Navy's most senior officer, Admiral Erich Raeder, had a subtly different tone for the Emperor and for me.

It seems the old and conservative admiral wasn't pleased that a wet-behind-the-ears Vice Minister of the Chancellery had come, not even the Chancellor himself…

"Thank you for the welcome. It's been a while, Admiral Raeder."

Wilhelm III and Erich Raeder shook hands naturally, and then he shook hands with me.

"It is an honor to meet you, Admiral Raeder. I am Dietrich Schacht, Vice Minister of the Chancellery."

"A pleasure."

Even after shaking hands with Erich Raeder, there were many more people to greet.

Rolf Carls, who in the original history competed with Karl Dönitz for the position of Commander-in-chief of the Navy.

Günther Lütjens, who drafted a significant number of the German Navy's operations during World War II, such as Operation Sea Lion and Operation Rhine Exercise.

Wilhelm Marschall, who was an exceptionally capable admiral but was so belligerent that he defied orders to avoid engagement multiple times and sank enemy ships, And even Alfred Saalwächter, who was the commander in charge during the chase of the Bismarck.

Seeing the key figures of the World War II Kriegsmarine all at once, I feel a strange sense of novelty.

And finally, I shook hands with a man who, despite being on the younger side among the admirals here, looked like an old man with his many wrinkles and slightly thin frame.

"Karl Dönitz, Commodore (Kommodore). A pleasure to meet you."

"I am Dietrich Schacht, Vice Minister of the Chancellery.

It's a pleasure to meet you, Commodore Dönitz."

The symbol of the World War II German Navy, represented by the U-boat, and the man who, as the final leader of Nazi Germany after Hitler's death, surrendered to the Allied Forces.

Among the naval admirals, who were like oil and water with the Nazis, I was a bit curious about what Dönitz, an outlier who approved of Nazism, would think of the new government.

But unlike Raeder or the other conservative admirals, Dönitz didn't seem to show any particular displeasure or curiosity toward me, a young man.

He just gave a dry handshake and immediately looked away. What was he thinking?

While I was pondering, Wilhelm III, who had exchanged some pleasantries with the admirals, stepped up to the podium.

The battleships that once filled the harbor, the grand Kaiserliche Marine of the German Empire, were gone without a trace.

Not just in Kiel, but even if you combined all the battleships docked in every naval base, you could count the number of proper ones, including those under construction, on one hand.

But at this moment, that didn't seem to matter to him. The Emperor, who had seemed to have no blood or tears, was making a human-like expression for the first time.

Wilhelm III, who had fought as the Crown Prince in the last great war, stood where the end of the German Empire had begun, and now, as the constitutional monarch of Germany, he opened his mouth and spoke in a low voice.

"…I have finally returned."

-

After the welcoming ceremony, the naval admirals and I attended a meeting for serious discussions.

In truth, the welcoming ceremony was just for show, for symbolic purposes; the real business started now.

"Your Majesty, the Navy's current situation is extremely poor. The battleships Bismarck and Tirpitz have been left abandoned in the harbor after their launching ceremonies, and the aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin is in the same state."

A launching ceremony is the act of floating a ship on the sea once its basic hull and watertight structure are complete.

Of course, being warships, they usually require another one to two years of fitting out with equipment and armament after the launch, but with those expensive battleships and aircraft carriers left abandoned halfway through construction, the Navy must have been burning with frustration.

At Admiral Raeder's statement, Wilhelm III, who had been listening with his arms crossed, pointed at me and said.

"Tell that not to me, but to the Vice Minister. The era of the Empire has already passed."

For Emperor Wilhelm, of all people, to say something like that.

Did the establishment of a constitutional monarchy and the visit to Kiel Naval Base move him so deeply?

While even I was making a surprised face, Admiral Raeder, with a slightly displeased look, turned to me and spoke.

"Vice Minister, as I said, the Navy has been virtually abandoned since the start of the civil war. We will, of course, pledge our loyalty to His Majesty the Emperor's government, but I trust the new government doesn't intend to keep neglecting the Navy."

The German Navy's situation during World War II was truly like a chicken rib.

Trying to build it up was hopeless against the weight class of its opponents, yet you couldn't just abandon it either.

"Of course not, Admiral. We've arranged this meeting today precisely to discuss that."

The Kriegsmarine's admirals didn't look very expectant.

After all, Nazi Germany itself had a history of drawing up a grand plan like Plan Z, only to dole out a pittance for the budget before trying to start a war in 1939.

"First of all, I must unfortunately inform you that Plan Z, which you planned with the Nazi Regime, must be scrapped."

Plan Z is a naval construction plan to rebuild an ocean-going fleet composed of numerous battleships, aircraft carriers, and battlecruisers.

Honestly, it was such an incredibly rosy blueprint that it seemed only a country with the economic power of America could have made it possible.

"Ahem…"

The admirals looked uncomfortable, but at least they didn't get openly angry.

They weren't so brainless as to demand the new government push forward with Plan Z while in the middle of a two-front war.

That, at least, is a favorable factor.

The German Navy's high command still believes in the outdated relic of big-gun-big-ship doctrine, but we have an excuse.

"As you know, the new government is still fighting a civil war with the Nazi Regime and also waging a two-front war with Italy, so the budget is not very generous."

Admiral Raeder, who was listening, asked with a very uncomfortable expression.

"We have eyes, so we know that. But are you planning to just leave the battleships and aircraft carrier we were building as heaps of scrap metal?"

"Of course not. At the very least, we plan to allocate the budget to complete the Bismarck, the Tirpitz, and the Graf Zeppelin."

Seeing the admirals' faces soften so quickly almost made me laugh.

They must have been worried sick that the new government would abandon all plans for constructing large ships.

It's good that their low expectations make them easy to satisfy.

"T-To what extent?"

Admiral Raeder seemed inwardly delighted but also half-in-doubt upon hearing the unexpected words.

"It is not yet confirmed, but the plan is to allocate the budget to complete the Bismarck within 1940, the Tirpitz within the first half of 1941, and the Graf Zeppelin by the end of 1941."

"Ooh…"

The naval admirals were quite pleased, but in truth, I originally had no intention of doing this.

I knew how much of a white elephant battleships were, and while the aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin was another matter, I was skeptical about the need for not one, but two Bismarck-class battleships built with an outdated design philosophy.

The ones who actively pushed for this plan were Director Canaris and Deputy Director Oster of the Abwehr.

They argued that we needed a minimal deterrent for command of the sea and the Navy's loyalty to smoothly maintain imports from America—especially oil and trucks.

It's true that during the Crown Prince's last visit, things were just starting, and America took our circumstances into account and traded with us through the Netherlands, but to bring in enough oil to operate both the Air Force and the Navy, we can't just keep borrowing Dutch or other countries' transport ships forever.

The Abwehr, which played a major role in the coup d'état, was set to absorb and manage all intelligence agencies after the civil war, but since that alone was a weak reward, this was approved as a political compensation for them, who are at least nominally part of the Navy.

"Thank you.

But, the auxiliary ships…"

"That part will have to be discussed later, after we end the civil war."

"Hmm, I see."

The admirals were satisfied just by the hope instilled in them that they would see the completion of the Bismarck, Tirpitz, and Graf Zeppelin, which had been indefinitely postponed.

The only one with a sour expression was Dönitz…

In truth, I also think it's more efficient militarily to produce submarines with the money for battleships, but the story gets complicated when political issues are involved.

Dönitz's infamous unrestricted submarine warfare is certainly efficient as a military operation, but it's a violation of international law and the risk of causing a diplomatic disaster is too great.

You don't have to look far; one of the reasons the U.S.

entered World War I against Germany was none other than the Sinking of the Lusitania, where an American passenger ship was sunk by a German submarine.

Nazi Germany's diplomatic strategy was not to have diplomacy, so that was one thing, but we can't do the same, so unrestricted submarine warfare is not an option.

"In any case, thank you. I was worried, not being ignorant of the new government's circumstances, but at least the ships containing the essence of the navy won't be abandoned. Please convey my thanks to Canaris and the Chancellor as well."

Well, still, the Bismarck, Tirpitz, and Graf Zeppelin.

In the original history, all three were symbols of the German Navy, but the Bismarck was sunk as soon as it saw action, the Tirpitz was used only as a threat, and the Graf Zeppelin was never even completed.

I hope they avoid such misfortune this time.

"It is true that our circumstances are not easy, but please take it as a sign of how much interest the new government has in the Navy. I will relay your message to the Chancellor."

Admiral Raeder, a complete 180 from when we first met, shook my hand with a broad smile.

The budget that made this possible in our already strained situation was my father's work. The MEFO bills, worth over 20 billion Marks, were truly daunting, but in reality, the munitions companies must have been even more desperate.

Having gone into debt to supply to their limits, trusting only the government's guarantee, the weapons they were contracted to deliver to the Nazi Wehrmacht couldn't be delivered because of the civil war, and since they couldn't deliver, they couldn't get paid. Even Germany's renowned munitions companies were on the brink of bankruptcy.

That's when my father made a deal with the munitions companies. The new government would repay the MEFO bills, which had no guarantee of being paid, little by little each month, and also purchase the equipment that was scheduled for delivery to the Nazis to provide them with funds, in exchange for reducing the total value of the MEFO bills.

From the munitions companies' perspective, it must have been incredibly unfair to have to reduce the value of the bonds the German government had promised to repay, but avoiding bankruptcy due to a lack of immediate funds was more important than a huge sum they might never receive.

On top of that, when we added the condition of overlooking their collusion with the Nazis, the munitions companies had no choice but to accept with long faces, and we have already begun asset seizure of companies that actively collaborated with the Nazi Regime.

Given that my father was the creator of those very MEFO bills, it was a truly ruthless act worthy of a capitalist, but his craftiness was on a level I couldn't dare to imitate, so I have nothing to say.

As a result, the total value of the MEFO bills was reduced by about 40% to around 12 billion Marks.

This is still an astronomical sum, but by at least getting the companies to agree to installment payments, we've gained a little breathing room.

As I watched the overjoyed admirals, the Emperor quietly approached and spoke.

"As expected, loyalty to the imperial family and all that is nothing compared to money."

"We've entered such an era, Your Majesty."

-

After the meeting ended and the Emperor and the Vice Minister of the Chancellery had left.

Karl Dönitz stood blankly on the balcony, the sea breeze blowing in, and gazed at the sea.

"Everyone else is celebrating, are you just going to stand here looking pathetic by yourself?"

Dönitz gave a bitter smile at the voice from behind him.

Günther Lütjens, a man with a rough disposition but a decent acquaintance of his, came and stood next to Dönitz.

"What's wrong? Is it because you couldn't bring up the submarine fleet?"

"It just feels… empty."

Before welcoming the new government's Vice Minister of the Chancellery, Admiral Raeder had repeatedly warned Dönitz not to attract the high-ranking official's attention.

Thanks to that, Dönitz didn't even speak to the Vice Minister of the Chancellery and had to keep his mouth shut throughout the meeting.

The young Vice Minister himself didn't seem to pay much attention to Dönitz, but the Navy had been concerned that they would get caught in the crossfire because of Dönitz, who was secretly friendly to the Nazis.

"At first, I thought that to spread my wings in the Navy, since my ideas differed from my superiors, it would be best to get on the good side of the Führer and the Nazi Party."

"Well, that makes sense."

It was true that Dönitz, who enthusiastically advocated for a submarine fleet alone in a German Navy that believed in the surface fleet and big-gun-big-ship doctrine, was non-mainstream, so Lütjens spoke casually.

But Dönitz was tasting a deep sense of frustration.

"But as I did that, I came to truly believe it. That the Führer and the Nazis were the leadership that would make this Germany strong again."

Dönitz, who was considerably influenced by Nazism, genuinely respected Hitler and believed that Jewish people and the Bolsheviks were the sources weakening Germany.

"I believed there was no one who could lead this Germany better than Hitler. But that wasn't the case."

Only two and a half months since the coup d'état.

The once seemingly powerful dictator's regime was collapsing in an instant, revealing a shameful part so ugly that even Dönitz, steeped in Nazism, could not defend it.

"Do you regret it?"

"…It's all for nothing."

After those words, Dönitz fell silent, his gaze fixed on the sea.

Lütjens watched Dönitz for a moment before speaking.

"We saw the Emperor's Empire and the Kaiserliche Marine collapse."

Saying that, Lütjens looked at the incomplete aircraft carrier, the Graf Zeppelin, floating endlessly on the sea after only its launching ceremony.

"It felt like the end of the world back then, but looking back, we've managed to live on just fine."

Hearing Lütjens's words, Dönitz slowly closed his eyes.

He still found it hard to imagine a Germany without Hitler, but he would have to live on in a Germany without Hitler.

"Yes, I suppose so…"