Re: Blood and Iron

It did not take much to secure the patronage of the United States. The Werwolf Group had a fearsome reputation, as both mercenaries who operated without any verifiable ties to their employers, and with impeccable results nonetheless.

The price was hefty, but as Bruno pointed out, it was significantly cheaper than the cost of raising entire new divisions and equipping them with an invasion of Mexico. It also was an option completely devoid of any political baggage that would normally come with such a thing.

And within weeks, the first Werwolf Mercenaries arrived on Mexico soil, acting as foreign advisors, and agents of foreign internal defense more than anything else. At least on paper that is, underneath the surface however their primary purpose was to foster a local militant faction that was pro-Washington and would be operating under the order of the United States department of defense.

As a result, Bruno had played the best hand he could within the realm of the Americas, which were under strict defense, reinforced by the Monroe Doctrine, and he had convinced the American government to foot the bill.

Bruno was a man of his word, and one way or another the war would be won within the next few years, hopefully creating a solid, stable, Mexican government that chose to work within the American sphere of influence, and preferably keep the United States, grounded in their own region, rather than needlessly butting their nose in where it didn’t belong.

Thus, Bruno’s attention turned elsewhere, with developments being made in regards to the introduction of turboprop aircraft, and the e-series of tanks and armored vehicles slowly being scaled up to their maximum reasonable size, and all variations needed to fulfill early combined arms battalions, Bruno instead shifted his focus to the much neglected version of Germany’s war development.

Or he should say, much neglected in preparation for the previous war, but now was a large focus of his. Bruno’s shipyards in Danzig had gained extensive experience over the last decade building submarines, and destroyers, and their knowledge of developing and manufacturing warships was now second only to the major German Shipyards.

But now… Now Bruno had something else planned, and to first build this next generation of warships, he had to first change the mentality of the Kaiserliche Marine on a doctrinal level. Hence why he used his power and influence to summon the highest members of the German Admiralty.

Bruno’s relationship with these men was complicated to say the least. On the one hand, many of them were very displeased with the fact that Bruno had taken the spotlight in Germany’s victory during the Great War.

After all, the Army seemed to receive most of, if not all the credit for Germany’s dominating victory, while the navy played a significant but largely forgotten role in the overall result of the conflict.

Not to mention Bruno was still at odds with the old guard of Germany’s ancient and wealth aristocratic families, many of whom held prominent positions in the Navy. Because of this, those men did not bother attending the meeting, drawing a line in the sand between themselves and those who did.

Still, old alliances died hard, and the ties Bruno had forged early on to now Grand Admiral Henning von Holtzendorff had paid off in full, and then some. While being granted recognition for his use in “developing Wolfpack tactics” Henning had made it known to those fellow admirals he could count on that the idea was truly Bruno’s and that if he was gathering admirals, they needed to shut up, attend, and listen, because his ideas of warfare weren’t just revolutionary for ground and aerial forces, but naval assets as well.

Frankly speaking, Bruno hadn’t seen the old admiral in many years, and if he was being honest with himself, this might be his last chance to do so, as the man died in 1919 during his previous life, which was just a year away from the current date, if even.

Even so, he was surprised to see the man bow his head in front of him the moment he made contact, apologizing for a matter Bruno had forgotten about entirely.

“Generalfeldmarschall, no… Your royal highness… I must apologize… I tried to block the seizure of the fleet of landing craft you had personally sponsored the creation of, but I was overruled at the time by the remainder of the admiralty.

As penance I have admitted the truth to these men, that you were the founder of Wolfpack doctrine that helped our navy defeat the British so dominantly during the Great War, and they are eager to hear whatever you have to say because of it.

I know it isn’t much, and in no way pays you back for the failures I have made, but please know I it is all I can offer at this time.”

Bruno, a bit dumbfounded, albeit thankful for the gesture was quick to help the aging admiral up to his feet, so he could properly stand upright, while informing him there was no pardon necessary to be granted.

“please, stand, you have no reason to bow before me. I never once held you responsible for the shortsighted foolishness of those old fossils. You truly have no reason to go to such extent to seek my forgiveness…

Besides we have something much more important to discuss, and I wanted to hear your earnest opinion in that regard one unburdened by some self-perceived of guilt, and rather granted to me with the clarity I have always trusted you with…”

The murmurs were subtle but noticeable, the other admirals were indeed surprised Bruno showed such grace to a Grand Admiral of the Kaiserliche Marine, when many thought he might be holding a grudge over what one could consider the theft of a fortune’s worth of ships.

Bruno however didn’t really care all that much about such a petty past grievance. Was it a foolish act on behalf of the admiralty hoping to use his ships to invade the British isles? An invasion that never manifested itself in reality?

Did it at all change the course of his campaign in the Balkans? Not in the slightest. The result was the same either way. Because of this, Bruno had already forgotten about such a matter.

But the Kaiserliche Marine hadn’t, and they were beyond grateful to see the way which Bruno handled it. As a result, the men who gathered today were far more inclined to genuinely listen to what Bruno had to speak of.

And Bruno did not surprise them, as he pulled out a board with some partially drawn schematics on it. Explaining in great detail his vision for the future of the German Navy.

“We all know the role that torpedo bombers played in the Battle of the North Sea… But biplanes are already rapidly becoming obsolete, and seaplanes? Forget about them entirely.

So, we aren’t relying on such primitive measures. How do we deploy our planes going into the future? The answer is in warships deliberately designed to carry airframes and launch them at sea.

Naturally, these carriers will be escorted by ships capable of screening against all forms of attack and providing protection against them. Such as anti-aircraft ,anti-submarine ,and anti-battleship.

But gentlemen… This is the future of our navy, as you can see in this primitive layout…. In such a setup, and deployed in such numbers, not only will these carrier strike groups, as I have decided to name them, prove lethal against enemy battleships, but can even provide support to amphibious landings.”

Bruno would spend the next hour explaining in great detail how these ships functioned, how many planes they could carry, how they would maintain logistical supply, what they would be escorted by, where they would be built, anchored et cetera.

And by the time he had finished his presentation the German Admirals were staring at the man as if he were some kind of mad prophet. Bruno had just declared in full detail more or less how the next generation of naval warfare would operate, and had proven with a practical model that the age of the dreadnought, and battleship class of vessels was already vastly obsolete.

Other than perhaps as classic gunships utilized solely for coastal bombardments… A fortune had been spent on these weapon platforms, and aside from one major engagement, they had never even truly been utilized to their fullest potential.

It was not only a devastating realization but also deeply enlightening. And it was all proposed by an Army Field Marshal, and not a Naval Admiral. And while Henning simply sat there with a smug “I told you so” expression on his weathered face, the other admirals who had accompanied him sat in genuine bewilderment as they tried to wrap their heads around everything that was happening right now.

While they were still trying to figure it out, Henning stood up and made a bold proposition, one that would forever change the course of German Naval Doctrine, or at least for the next century.

“Well, after everything I just witnessed, I can make you this solemn vow. Even if it is the last thing I do in this life, I will make sure this vision of yours is adopted as the premier Naval Doctrine going forward. And I’ll be damned if those old vampires stop me this time!”

Bruno couldn’t help but smirk as he shook the Grand Admiral’s hand, having known the man for many years now, he couldn’t help but understand his resolve, and know that he would keep his vow even if it killed him, and so Germany began the long path towards developing true global projection capabilities.