Post by jjohnson on May 5, 2021 11:52:50 GMT
I might expand this, or leave it a post or two, but I was reading a book about JFK and the Berlin Crisis and his eventual assassination in 1963, and thought it would be interesting to posit the crisis in a post-Valkyrie world. So, for the sake of enjoyment, here's a new timeline of a Valkyrie-successful world.
Timeline:
1864 - The CS implement the Cleburne Memorial, providing critical manpower to achieve independence; Woodrow Wilson's family moves to Maryland to remain US citizens.
1867 - President Davis negotiates French withdrawal from Mexico, gaining Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Rio Grande, Durango, and Sinaloa for the young confederation, and purchases Alaska from Russia after the US fails to gain the land, Seward's attempts to convince Lincoln failing, as he is focused on his looming impeachment. Lincoln is impeached and removed.
1870 - The Dominican Republic approaches US President Grant to purchase the country for $1.5 million, and Grant is open to the idea, to send US Coloured Troops, to provide a safer place for them; the measure fails in the Senate. CS President Breckinridge finds out about the offer and the Senate agrees to the purchase, as they don't want the US gaining a southern foothold on them, fearing a new invasion of the US.
1871 - McCormick Reapers moves from Chicago to Birmingham, providing jobs for freedmen and helping reduce the manpower needed for agriculture, allowing more rapid industrialization.
1873-4 - CS is dragged into war with the Spanish due to some overzealous troops getting involved in the Cuban attempt at independence. Over 11 months, the Confederates manage to win a victory against the Spanish, gaining Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Mariana Islands. Spain sells the Philippine Islands to the USA to cover its war debts, and with the payments from the CS, they actually come out ahead. Hawaii, fearing US annexation, signs a treaty with the Confederates to become a state.
CS in 1874; Cuba is a State, per annexation treaty
1914-19 - Through diplomatic bungling and plenty of behind-the-scenes desire to eliminate a continental rival, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire are maneuvered into war with the French, British, and Russian Empire. To prevent North American powers from entering the war, Mexico is promised a 'reconquista' and enters the war on the German side, leading the CS into the war while the US remains out, but making plenty of money on arms sales. The CS remains in the war from 1915-1919, while the US is only able to enter in 1917 due to intentional placement of the Lusitania and 'civilian' ships carrying arms into known u-boat areas without escorts. However it's done, the US enters WW1. Versailles is almost as harsh:
Germany would lose Alsace-Lorraine to France, and most of Posen, aside from the counties (Kreise) bordering Brandenburg and West Prussia, to be added to those provinces. The Kaiser would abdicate, but several coups, including a communist coup plunged Germany into chaos until they finally declared the Weimar Republic, which though prosperous, would succumb to political instability by the early 1930s. Austria would takes its 'German Austria' borders but would be forbidden to merge with Germany. The Ottomans would, after the Armenian Genocide, be forced to cede Constantinople and the Aegean coast to Greece, and part of their land to a new Armenia and Kurdistan.
Germany would also face a plebiscite in Schleswig:
After losing most of Schleswig, even the tentative government refused Polish demands for a corridor and part of Silesia, threatening to walk out of the Versailles talks. As a result, Germany agreed to economic reparations in the form of coal, roughly 10% of output for 15 years to be given to Poland and France, aside from monetary reparations, paid to the allied powers as well. Poland, in place of a land corridor, gets free rail access to the port of Danzig without tariffs, and part of Silesia.
1919-1923 - Germany faces hyperinflation and political instability and a putsch in Bavaria that fails, but the young republic gets its act together enough that its fortunes are turning around by 1929.
1929 - A depression is sparked, beginning in the US, and spreading throughout the world.
1933 - Germany's fascist party, the NSDAP, takes power, promising to take back power for the Germans, and get even with the capitalists and bankers.
1938 - The leader of Germany sparks war with Poland, dividing it with the USSR, sparking the second world war. He has disarmed the people of Germany, forbidding the ownership of guns by the people, and implemented a harsh eugenics policy.
1938-1944 - WW2 goes largely the same, but with Mexico occupying part of the CS army for 2 years, while the US and CS fight in the Pacific and Europe together.
1944 - Operation Valkyrie goes down in July. The coup eliminates the higher-ups in the fascist party and begin withdrawal of western troops. The new regime conducts tense negotiations with the west to protect them against the USSR. The CS agrees, while the US, UK, and France want total surrender. By November, the western front is gone, German troops having retreated into Germany itself, and the western allies race to Berlin while the Soviets are stalled in the east, allowing the allies to reach Berlin first. They agree to reparations, admission of war guilt, and disestablishment of the fascist party in exchange for territorial integrity and self-determination. With a larger population under arms with their arms ready, now the US and CS agree, so they can get on with defeating Japan. Churchill and De Gaulle are harder to convince, but eventually US President Taft and CS President Peery get him to go along, and de Gaulle does too. Germans withdraw from Ukraine, reinforcing the east, but the USSR threatens to engage in war with the west if they don't agree to negotiate with Stalin present. Eventually the allies come to an agreement in December, 1944, whereby the CS, US, UK, USSR would occupy Germany to ensure their compliance with treaty obligations. Germany agrees to: return to pre-war borders; pay reparations to the allied powers; allow them to inspect to verify treaty obligations but allow self-government. Allied troops, now within Germany, would face massive casualties if they went back on their agreement at this point. Again, Austria is separated from Germany by the allied powers.
Occupied Germany; earlier plans to dismantle East and West Prussia were scrapped when the CS gained Thuringia and Saxony as occupation zones.
Occupation Zones:
CS: Saxony, Thuringia, Hessen, South Rhineland-Palatinate
US: Bremen, North Bavaria, South Bavaria, Wurttemberg, Baden
USSR: Brandenburg, Lower Silesia, Upper Silesia, Saxony-Anhalt, Mecklenburg, Pommerania, West Prussia, East Prussia
UK: Lubeck, Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Hannover, Oldenburg, Westphalia, North Rhineland.
Berlin was divided into zones:
The USSR requested changes to their zones at the same time as France, resulting in the Soviet Zone losing Mitte, their border going to Brunnenstraße, around Alexanderstraße along Prinzenstraße, Gneisenaustraße east to Hermannstraße, then due south. With that change, the other zones changed, with the CS getting Wedding, mitte, Tiergarden, Charlottenburg, and Spandau. The French got Reinickendorf and Wedding, the US got Wilmersdorf, Zehlendorf, and Schöneberg, and the UK the rest.
The Allied Powers agreed with this Germany to the following agreement:
-The coup government would be legally recognized as the legitimate government of Germany for a period of 3 years.
-Germany would repay a sum of 20 billion Marks to the allies over 45 years
-The allied powers would occupy Germany temporarily for denazification purposes, after which Germany would resume its place among the peaceful nations of the world.
-Prussia would be broken up into its constituent provinces
-Germany would become a presidential, confederated republic, with a single 6-year term for the President
-The rights of the people would be strongly protected from the government
-War criminals in the government and military would stand trial with a mixed Allied-German court (a concession to the coup government)
1945 - Japan is defeated in May through larger use of firebombing, with the US detonating a single nuclear bomb, and threatening the use of a dozen more over Japan and a land invasion, now that Germany has fallen. Germans in the eastern portion of Germany under Soviet occupation complain of the restrictions and dismantling of their factories, which violated the surrender agreement. In the western sectors, the allies worked with the civilian Germans to prosecute Nazi party members who engaged in war crimes, and began de-nazification - removing symbols, texts, laws, etc. - and involving anti-nazi Germans in the restoration of government, resulting in a 'light occupation.' The British agree to cede Bremen to the US so they would have a port, and the city-state of Lübeck to the Confederates so they would have a seaport. France gained an occupation zone with the creation of Saarland-Pfalz, along with the occupation of Baden.
1945 - The US and CS agree to merge their zones into the BiZone to coordinate their economies in March 1945. With Confederate urging, despite protests from several in the US military, Germans retain their arms and are required to keep a personal firearm for defense. The Confederates' belief is that the Soviets cannot be trusted, and the Allied powers might need to use the Germans for additional manpower. By October, long after the defeat of Japan, the British zone merged into the trizone, and France's zone followed in November. Polish troops march into West Prussia in response, claiming the annexation of both East and West Prussia (under secret Soviet orders), and stage a 23-day standoff with the west at the border of the Soviet Zone, while Confederate naval vessels sailed for Königsberg and Danzig to unload humanitarian aid, which, per treaty, they were allowed to do, but were stopped outside the port. Stalin finally allowed access to the ports, and the Polish withdrew, at which time the Confederates made a show of docking and unloading. In the US and CS, it was a huge show of resolve, praised in the press, while Stalin got positive press that he stood up for the sacrifice of the brave Soviet soldiers and the rights of occupation. The Soviets got to occupy Germany, a nation that had savaged them for years of war, and the west got to keep their promise of territorial integrity to the German coup government. Teschen was divided between the Polish government and the Czechoslovakian government, while Austria, as an occupied nation of Germany, was also allowed its 1919 territorial integrity under promise of national neutrality, something agreeable to Stalin and the west. Soviets deported the roughly 900,000 Volga Germans to their occupation zone.
The United States begins exfiltrating most German Nazi scientists in Operation Paperclip to accelerate their rocketry and military science, and Germany agrees to license its patents for a period of ten years; with this permission, Germany was to be vacated within 3 years by the allied powers of all troops, with the understanding the Germany was to continue punishment of war criminals within its judicial system, and not engage in aggressive action against any other nation.
1946 - The western powers finally approved a new German constitution within their western zones of occupation, introducing the new German Mark currency, and establishing the states of western Germany: Lübeck, Bremen, Hamburg, West Berlin; Schleswig-Holstein, Hannover, Westphalia, Rhineland, (occupied by France) Saarland, Palatinate, Baden, Wurttemberg, Bavaria, Saxony, Thuringia, Hesse. Temporarily, the capital would be in Bonn. France gave up is occupation zone in exchange for control of the Saarland and its coal deposits.
1947 - The growing restoration of services in the west, and reconstruction begin a 'brain drain' from the Soviet sector, which begins obstructing traffic to and from West Berlin, in spite of promises not to do so, leading to the Berlin Air Lift in October, which forces the Soviets to back down; a rail and highway corridor are agreed to by treaty between the USSR, the Soviet Zone of occupation, the western Quadrizone government, and the Allied Powers. After the Air Lift, the Soviet Zone declares itself to be the German Social Democratic Republic, commonly called 'East Germany.' The Quadrizone declares itself the Confederation of German States, or West Germany.
1948 - Germany assumes its own sovereignty, with much stronger personal liberties and rights than it had ever enjoyed - free speech, the right to bear arms, the right to jury trials, the right to homeschool, the right to privacy, and more. The Chancellor became a simple cabinet member in charge of cabinet meetings, maintaining the budget, and efficiency, while the President became head of government and state, with a Vice President to run the Landtag and assume the presidency if necessary. With influence of the treatment in the Soviet zone, socialists in the west were not trusted, and it became very difficult for socialists to get elected. The Liberal Party was restored, advocating strong states' rights, strong liberty for the people, very small national government, and German unity and self-determination. The Center Party returned, along with the German Democratic Party, which advocated some government social services for all Germans, (the Liberal Party wanted welfare at the state level only). The Conservative Party was founded by members of the resistance who wanted no welfare at all, but business-provided retirement investment accounts through profit sharing, traditional values (pre-fascism), strong liberty and strong states. Communists could not form a party in most states, due to lingering distrust in the western zone, and the inability to get above 5% in elections. Given the continued Soviet presence, West Germany asks the US, CS, and UK to maintain defense bases within its territory and for troop training and arms, hoping such presence would deter soviet aggression or interference in West German politics.
1945-1948: Western Allies pump massive amounts of money into rebuilding western Germany, intent on having it as an ally against the USSR, while the USSR was initially looting eastern Germany, by 1946, it saw the writing on the wall and stopped looting the land, but began building up the factories and farms. By 1950, the Berliner Dom, Berliner Schloß, and other landmarks in West Berlin were nearly completely rebuilt. German Socialist leaders head east, finding a more sympathetic audience with the Soviets. Socialists like Otto Remer, Fritz Dorls, Gerhard Krüger, and others left for eastern Germany, leaving the SPD and CDU with fewer socialist leaders.
1953 - Saarland is incorporated into West Germany, merging with the Palatinate. Rhineland and Westphalia remain separate states as well.
1961 -
A young JFK is elected in the United States, and Khrushchev, the Soviet Premier, with a massive inferiority complex, wants to try him. US Presidents Truman and MacArthur maintained a strong foreign policy, which included the threat of nuclear attack. Soviets feared US nuclear superiority which was not simple paranoia. West Berlin was deep within East Germany, and Khruschev felt that East Germany should not have a port from foreign powers within it, announcing on June 4th in the neutral state of Vienna that he would sign a peace treaty with East Germany incorporating all of Berlin into that state. President Kennedy understood such a thing would prevent western access to that city and terminate the rights of the four western powers to access West Berlin.
What Khruschev wasn't saying was he wanted all of Berlin to prevent the continued brain drain, as by summer a thousand east Germans a day were fleeing their country. While East Germany had 20 million people in 1944 (about 2 million casualties, but with addition of millions of refugees), thousands of people fleeing the repression had meant 6 million fled, leaving about 12 million remaining Germans. The East German middle class was being gutted, with teachers, lawyers, professionals, scientists, and others fleeing the communist state. Between 1959-1961, 3500 physicians alone left East Germany. Unless Khruschev halted this, East Germany was definitely in danger of collapse in the near future. The question behind it all was, how could Communism be on the march if East Germany collapsed in front of everyone?
President Kennedy couldn't allow the abrogation of western treaty rights or he'd be branded an appeaser. President Thurmond was worried about Kennedy's national security establishment pushing him towards war, and made his concerns known while at Vienna with him and Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. The Confederates were much more isolationist than the United States, in that they would only attack a nation if they were attacked, but would not pre-emptively attack, aside from their NATO obligations, entered into after the war in the face of possible nuclear confrontation with the USSR. Kennedy couldn't yield on Berlin incorporation, or he might destroy the NATO alliance in the face of such an aggressive move. It would be easy, since West Berlin was surrounded by East Germany, and had only a token force of 15,000 Allied troops.
The tensions grew at this time, as the Americans and Confederates both knew that if the USSR used conventional military to take West Berlin, the US would feel compelled to respond with tactical nuclear weapons, which would quickly escalate into full nuclear war. At Vienna, Kennedy warned Khruschev that his stance on Berlin threatened world peace, and if nuclear war erupted, 55 million West Germans and about 13 million East Germans would die in the first ten minutes, and they both had a responsibility to prevent that from happening. Thurmond added that a loss of that size would discredit communism for all time as murderous instead of liberating. It didn't help the US that Kennedy's national security establishment viewed the entire thing as an international game of 'chicken' between the US and USSR, with much of the recommendations advocating declaration of a state of emergency, preparations for war, and use of nuclear weapons if and when necessary; they viewed any negotiations as weakness.
On the 8th of July, Khruschev announced that USSR defense spending would not be cut, but increased by 1/3. In response, the US increased its defense spending request by $3.5 billion, and increased the draft to increase the army to 1 million men. The Confederate President asked the states to increase their militia strength, each responding by increasing their drafts and funding by 1/4 to 1/3 across the board.
On the 25th of July, both Thurmond and Kennedy addressed their nations about the crisis in Berlin.
Excerpt of Thurmond's speech: In 1944, a coup ended the horrific war that had engulfed the world. Then, the German heroes who helped us end the murderous regime invited us in to ensure us and all of our fighting men of their veracity and to help remove the cancer that was fascism, national socialism, from their country, so that Germany could once again resume its place as a free nation amongst the free republics of the world. Under our agreement, the Confederacy was allowed in to several German states with our armed forces to help round up the villains and bring them to justice, not revenge. We rebuilt Germany, not with pallets of cash, but with charity and with free markets working as they do without top-down over-management. In our agreement, we were allowed in to Berlin to monitor the situation, to rebuild their capitol, and to remind them how free republics operate. Our victory in Europe gave us the right to be there, and our agreement with the new transition government of Germany. Our rights to be in western Berlin were repeatedly confirmed and recognized in several agreements with the Soviet Union.
Berlin is not part of East Germany, but is a separate territory under supervision of the allied powers. That being the case, our presence in West Berlin and our access thereto cannot be ended by any Soviet action. West Germany joined NATO long ago to protect itself from Soviet aggression, which means that any attack upon that city must be regarded as an attack upon the Confederacy.
West Berlin, lying 110 miles within East Germany, surrounded on all sides, has many roles to play. It is a showcase of freedom, an island of liberty in a dark and dreary communist sea. It is a link with the Free World, and a beacon of hope behind the Iron Curtain, an escape hatch for refugees yearning for freedom. And now, in this hour, it has become the testing point for Western resolve and courage, and Soviet ambitions. It would be a grave mistake for any nation to look upon Berlin and see a tempting target for aggressions.
Let there be no mistake. The Confederacy and the Union are in agreement upon the point that no communist nation will drive us out of Berlin, either gradually or by force. Our pledge to that city was made in 1944, and by our honor we will live up to that pledge to the German people to protect their freedom from encroachment by outside powers. Western Germany and West Berlin are protected.
We understand the Soviet historic concerns in central and eastern Europe over invasion from the west, and believe we can work towards an arrangement to meet those concerns. Twice the Confederacy has been involved in wars in Europe, and both times she has been deeply scarred by misjudgments caused by imperial and financial ambitions of those behind the wars, in the lives of the soldiers, cities ravaged, and in the cost to the civilians during and afterward. Now, in the thermonuclear age, any misjudgment by either side about the other could result in more devastation in mere hours than has been wrought in all the wars in human history.
The Southern President had coordinated his message with Kennedy so that their two nations and the Russians would see a unified front. While this happened, another 30,000 East Germans escaped in July to refugee camps in West Berlin. So, by August 13, the East German government, in coordination with the USSR, erected a wall on East German territory, stopping short of cutting off Allied air traffic into the city by Khrushchev. Overnight, the wall went up, the supplies having been stockpiled secretly for some time. With this, the USSR avoided the collapse of East Germany, and the US and CS gained a propaganda victory. Five days later, Thurmond and Kennedy sent their Vice Presidents, Davis and LaRouche, Confederate General Lucius Clay of Georgia, and US General Walter Smith of Indiana through the 110-mile corridor to West Berlin, along with a convoy of 820 US and 610 CS troops. It was a token reinforcement, but was greeted by West Berliners with enthusiasm as a symbol of western support.
In response, the USSR resumed aerial nuclear weapons testing on September 1, while the US resumed underground testing. Tensions continued. Clay was very popular in Berlin, as he spoke German fluently due to time spent in Texas amongst the German-speaking population there, and the Berliners believed he was with them. US Generals didn't like him as much, however, when he asked them to remove their replica section of the wall to stop provoking the Russians. On the 27th of October, US and Confederate tanks approached Checkpoint Charlie (blue on the map below)
The two powers' tanks stared at each other, loaded with live munitions for 4 hours. US President Kennedy offered to go easy on Berlin in the future if the Soviets removed their tanks first, which Khrushchev agreed to.
Timeline:
1864 - The CS implement the Cleburne Memorial, providing critical manpower to achieve independence; Woodrow Wilson's family moves to Maryland to remain US citizens.
1867 - President Davis negotiates French withdrawal from Mexico, gaining Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Rio Grande, Durango, and Sinaloa for the young confederation, and purchases Alaska from Russia after the US fails to gain the land, Seward's attempts to convince Lincoln failing, as he is focused on his looming impeachment. Lincoln is impeached and removed.
1870 - The Dominican Republic approaches US President Grant to purchase the country for $1.5 million, and Grant is open to the idea, to send US Coloured Troops, to provide a safer place for them; the measure fails in the Senate. CS President Breckinridge finds out about the offer and the Senate agrees to the purchase, as they don't want the US gaining a southern foothold on them, fearing a new invasion of the US.
1871 - McCormick Reapers moves from Chicago to Birmingham, providing jobs for freedmen and helping reduce the manpower needed for agriculture, allowing more rapid industrialization.
1873-4 - CS is dragged into war with the Spanish due to some overzealous troops getting involved in the Cuban attempt at independence. Over 11 months, the Confederates manage to win a victory against the Spanish, gaining Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Mariana Islands. Spain sells the Philippine Islands to the USA to cover its war debts, and with the payments from the CS, they actually come out ahead. Hawaii, fearing US annexation, signs a treaty with the Confederates to become a state.
CS in 1874; Cuba is a State, per annexation treaty
1914-19 - Through diplomatic bungling and plenty of behind-the-scenes desire to eliminate a continental rival, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire are maneuvered into war with the French, British, and Russian Empire. To prevent North American powers from entering the war, Mexico is promised a 'reconquista' and enters the war on the German side, leading the CS into the war while the US remains out, but making plenty of money on arms sales. The CS remains in the war from 1915-1919, while the US is only able to enter in 1917 due to intentional placement of the Lusitania and 'civilian' ships carrying arms into known u-boat areas without escorts. However it's done, the US enters WW1. Versailles is almost as harsh:
Germany would lose Alsace-Lorraine to France, and most of Posen, aside from the counties (Kreise) bordering Brandenburg and West Prussia, to be added to those provinces. The Kaiser would abdicate, but several coups, including a communist coup plunged Germany into chaos until they finally declared the Weimar Republic, which though prosperous, would succumb to political instability by the early 1930s. Austria would takes its 'German Austria' borders but would be forbidden to merge with Germany. The Ottomans would, after the Armenian Genocide, be forced to cede Constantinople and the Aegean coast to Greece, and part of their land to a new Armenia and Kurdistan.
Germany would also face a plebiscite in Schleswig:
After losing most of Schleswig, even the tentative government refused Polish demands for a corridor and part of Silesia, threatening to walk out of the Versailles talks. As a result, Germany agreed to economic reparations in the form of coal, roughly 10% of output for 15 years to be given to Poland and France, aside from monetary reparations, paid to the allied powers as well. Poland, in place of a land corridor, gets free rail access to the port of Danzig without tariffs, and part of Silesia.
1919-1923 - Germany faces hyperinflation and political instability and a putsch in Bavaria that fails, but the young republic gets its act together enough that its fortunes are turning around by 1929.
1929 - A depression is sparked, beginning in the US, and spreading throughout the world.
1933 - Germany's fascist party, the NSDAP, takes power, promising to take back power for the Germans, and get even with the capitalists and bankers.
1938 - The leader of Germany sparks war with Poland, dividing it with the USSR, sparking the second world war. He has disarmed the people of Germany, forbidding the ownership of guns by the people, and implemented a harsh eugenics policy.
1938-1944 - WW2 goes largely the same, but with Mexico occupying part of the CS army for 2 years, while the US and CS fight in the Pacific and Europe together.
1944 - Operation Valkyrie goes down in July. The coup eliminates the higher-ups in the fascist party and begin withdrawal of western troops. The new regime conducts tense negotiations with the west to protect them against the USSR. The CS agrees, while the US, UK, and France want total surrender. By November, the western front is gone, German troops having retreated into Germany itself, and the western allies race to Berlin while the Soviets are stalled in the east, allowing the allies to reach Berlin first. They agree to reparations, admission of war guilt, and disestablishment of the fascist party in exchange for territorial integrity and self-determination. With a larger population under arms with their arms ready, now the US and CS agree, so they can get on with defeating Japan. Churchill and De Gaulle are harder to convince, but eventually US President Taft and CS President Peery get him to go along, and de Gaulle does too. Germans withdraw from Ukraine, reinforcing the east, but the USSR threatens to engage in war with the west if they don't agree to negotiate with Stalin present. Eventually the allies come to an agreement in December, 1944, whereby the CS, US, UK, USSR would occupy Germany to ensure their compliance with treaty obligations. Germany agrees to: return to pre-war borders; pay reparations to the allied powers; allow them to inspect to verify treaty obligations but allow self-government. Allied troops, now within Germany, would face massive casualties if they went back on their agreement at this point. Again, Austria is separated from Germany by the allied powers.
Occupied Germany; earlier plans to dismantle East and West Prussia were scrapped when the CS gained Thuringia and Saxony as occupation zones.
Occupation Zones:
CS: Saxony, Thuringia, Hessen, South Rhineland-Palatinate
US: Bremen, North Bavaria, South Bavaria, Wurttemberg, Baden
USSR: Brandenburg, Lower Silesia, Upper Silesia, Saxony-Anhalt, Mecklenburg, Pommerania, West Prussia, East Prussia
UK: Lubeck, Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Hannover, Oldenburg, Westphalia, North Rhineland.
Berlin was divided into zones:
The USSR requested changes to their zones at the same time as France, resulting in the Soviet Zone losing Mitte, their border going to Brunnenstraße, around Alexanderstraße along Prinzenstraße, Gneisenaustraße east to Hermannstraße, then due south. With that change, the other zones changed, with the CS getting Wedding, mitte, Tiergarden, Charlottenburg, and Spandau. The French got Reinickendorf and Wedding, the US got Wilmersdorf, Zehlendorf, and Schöneberg, and the UK the rest.
The Allied Powers agreed with this Germany to the following agreement:
-The coup government would be legally recognized as the legitimate government of Germany for a period of 3 years.
-Germany would repay a sum of 20 billion Marks to the allies over 45 years
-The allied powers would occupy Germany temporarily for denazification purposes, after which Germany would resume its place among the peaceful nations of the world.
-Prussia would be broken up into its constituent provinces
-Germany would become a presidential, confederated republic, with a single 6-year term for the President
-The rights of the people would be strongly protected from the government
-War criminals in the government and military would stand trial with a mixed Allied-German court (a concession to the coup government)
1945 - Japan is defeated in May through larger use of firebombing, with the US detonating a single nuclear bomb, and threatening the use of a dozen more over Japan and a land invasion, now that Germany has fallen. Germans in the eastern portion of Germany under Soviet occupation complain of the restrictions and dismantling of their factories, which violated the surrender agreement. In the western sectors, the allies worked with the civilian Germans to prosecute Nazi party members who engaged in war crimes, and began de-nazification - removing symbols, texts, laws, etc. - and involving anti-nazi Germans in the restoration of government, resulting in a 'light occupation.' The British agree to cede Bremen to the US so they would have a port, and the city-state of Lübeck to the Confederates so they would have a seaport. France gained an occupation zone with the creation of Saarland-Pfalz, along with the occupation of Baden.
1945 - The US and CS agree to merge their zones into the BiZone to coordinate their economies in March 1945. With Confederate urging, despite protests from several in the US military, Germans retain their arms and are required to keep a personal firearm for defense. The Confederates' belief is that the Soviets cannot be trusted, and the Allied powers might need to use the Germans for additional manpower. By October, long after the defeat of Japan, the British zone merged into the trizone, and France's zone followed in November. Polish troops march into West Prussia in response, claiming the annexation of both East and West Prussia (under secret Soviet orders), and stage a 23-day standoff with the west at the border of the Soviet Zone, while Confederate naval vessels sailed for Königsberg and Danzig to unload humanitarian aid, which, per treaty, they were allowed to do, but were stopped outside the port. Stalin finally allowed access to the ports, and the Polish withdrew, at which time the Confederates made a show of docking and unloading. In the US and CS, it was a huge show of resolve, praised in the press, while Stalin got positive press that he stood up for the sacrifice of the brave Soviet soldiers and the rights of occupation. The Soviets got to occupy Germany, a nation that had savaged them for years of war, and the west got to keep their promise of territorial integrity to the German coup government. Teschen was divided between the Polish government and the Czechoslovakian government, while Austria, as an occupied nation of Germany, was also allowed its 1919 territorial integrity under promise of national neutrality, something agreeable to Stalin and the west. Soviets deported the roughly 900,000 Volga Germans to their occupation zone.
The United States begins exfiltrating most German Nazi scientists in Operation Paperclip to accelerate their rocketry and military science, and Germany agrees to license its patents for a period of ten years; with this permission, Germany was to be vacated within 3 years by the allied powers of all troops, with the understanding the Germany was to continue punishment of war criminals within its judicial system, and not engage in aggressive action against any other nation.
1946 - The western powers finally approved a new German constitution within their western zones of occupation, introducing the new German Mark currency, and establishing the states of western Germany: Lübeck, Bremen, Hamburg, West Berlin; Schleswig-Holstein, Hannover, Westphalia, Rhineland, (occupied by France) Saarland, Palatinate, Baden, Wurttemberg, Bavaria, Saxony, Thuringia, Hesse. Temporarily, the capital would be in Bonn. France gave up is occupation zone in exchange for control of the Saarland and its coal deposits.
1947 - The growing restoration of services in the west, and reconstruction begin a 'brain drain' from the Soviet sector, which begins obstructing traffic to and from West Berlin, in spite of promises not to do so, leading to the Berlin Air Lift in October, which forces the Soviets to back down; a rail and highway corridor are agreed to by treaty between the USSR, the Soviet Zone of occupation, the western Quadrizone government, and the Allied Powers. After the Air Lift, the Soviet Zone declares itself to be the German Social Democratic Republic, commonly called 'East Germany.' The Quadrizone declares itself the Confederation of German States, or West Germany.
1948 - Germany assumes its own sovereignty, with much stronger personal liberties and rights than it had ever enjoyed - free speech, the right to bear arms, the right to jury trials, the right to homeschool, the right to privacy, and more. The Chancellor became a simple cabinet member in charge of cabinet meetings, maintaining the budget, and efficiency, while the President became head of government and state, with a Vice President to run the Landtag and assume the presidency if necessary. With influence of the treatment in the Soviet zone, socialists in the west were not trusted, and it became very difficult for socialists to get elected. The Liberal Party was restored, advocating strong states' rights, strong liberty for the people, very small national government, and German unity and self-determination. The Center Party returned, along with the German Democratic Party, which advocated some government social services for all Germans, (the Liberal Party wanted welfare at the state level only). The Conservative Party was founded by members of the resistance who wanted no welfare at all, but business-provided retirement investment accounts through profit sharing, traditional values (pre-fascism), strong liberty and strong states. Communists could not form a party in most states, due to lingering distrust in the western zone, and the inability to get above 5% in elections. Given the continued Soviet presence, West Germany asks the US, CS, and UK to maintain defense bases within its territory and for troop training and arms, hoping such presence would deter soviet aggression or interference in West German politics.
1945-1948: Western Allies pump massive amounts of money into rebuilding western Germany, intent on having it as an ally against the USSR, while the USSR was initially looting eastern Germany, by 1946, it saw the writing on the wall and stopped looting the land, but began building up the factories and farms. By 1950, the Berliner Dom, Berliner Schloß, and other landmarks in West Berlin were nearly completely rebuilt. German Socialist leaders head east, finding a more sympathetic audience with the Soviets. Socialists like Otto Remer, Fritz Dorls, Gerhard Krüger, and others left for eastern Germany, leaving the SPD and CDU with fewer socialist leaders.
1953 - Saarland is incorporated into West Germany, merging with the Palatinate. Rhineland and Westphalia remain separate states as well.
1961 -
A young JFK is elected in the United States, and Khrushchev, the Soviet Premier, with a massive inferiority complex, wants to try him. US Presidents Truman and MacArthur maintained a strong foreign policy, which included the threat of nuclear attack. Soviets feared US nuclear superiority which was not simple paranoia. West Berlin was deep within East Germany, and Khruschev felt that East Germany should not have a port from foreign powers within it, announcing on June 4th in the neutral state of Vienna that he would sign a peace treaty with East Germany incorporating all of Berlin into that state. President Kennedy understood such a thing would prevent western access to that city and terminate the rights of the four western powers to access West Berlin.
What Khruschev wasn't saying was he wanted all of Berlin to prevent the continued brain drain, as by summer a thousand east Germans a day were fleeing their country. While East Germany had 20 million people in 1944 (about 2 million casualties, but with addition of millions of refugees), thousands of people fleeing the repression had meant 6 million fled, leaving about 12 million remaining Germans. The East German middle class was being gutted, with teachers, lawyers, professionals, scientists, and others fleeing the communist state. Between 1959-1961, 3500 physicians alone left East Germany. Unless Khruschev halted this, East Germany was definitely in danger of collapse in the near future. The question behind it all was, how could Communism be on the march if East Germany collapsed in front of everyone?
President Kennedy couldn't allow the abrogation of western treaty rights or he'd be branded an appeaser. President Thurmond was worried about Kennedy's national security establishment pushing him towards war, and made his concerns known while at Vienna with him and Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. The Confederates were much more isolationist than the United States, in that they would only attack a nation if they were attacked, but would not pre-emptively attack, aside from their NATO obligations, entered into after the war in the face of possible nuclear confrontation with the USSR. Kennedy couldn't yield on Berlin incorporation, or he might destroy the NATO alliance in the face of such an aggressive move. It would be easy, since West Berlin was surrounded by East Germany, and had only a token force of 15,000 Allied troops.
The tensions grew at this time, as the Americans and Confederates both knew that if the USSR used conventional military to take West Berlin, the US would feel compelled to respond with tactical nuclear weapons, which would quickly escalate into full nuclear war. At Vienna, Kennedy warned Khruschev that his stance on Berlin threatened world peace, and if nuclear war erupted, 55 million West Germans and about 13 million East Germans would die in the first ten minutes, and they both had a responsibility to prevent that from happening. Thurmond added that a loss of that size would discredit communism for all time as murderous instead of liberating. It didn't help the US that Kennedy's national security establishment viewed the entire thing as an international game of 'chicken' between the US and USSR, with much of the recommendations advocating declaration of a state of emergency, preparations for war, and use of nuclear weapons if and when necessary; they viewed any negotiations as weakness.
On the 8th of July, Khruschev announced that USSR defense spending would not be cut, but increased by 1/3. In response, the US increased its defense spending request by $3.5 billion, and increased the draft to increase the army to 1 million men. The Confederate President asked the states to increase their militia strength, each responding by increasing their drafts and funding by 1/4 to 1/3 across the board.
On the 25th of July, both Thurmond and Kennedy addressed their nations about the crisis in Berlin.
Excerpt of Thurmond's speech: In 1944, a coup ended the horrific war that had engulfed the world. Then, the German heroes who helped us end the murderous regime invited us in to ensure us and all of our fighting men of their veracity and to help remove the cancer that was fascism, national socialism, from their country, so that Germany could once again resume its place as a free nation amongst the free republics of the world. Under our agreement, the Confederacy was allowed in to several German states with our armed forces to help round up the villains and bring them to justice, not revenge. We rebuilt Germany, not with pallets of cash, but with charity and with free markets working as they do without top-down over-management. In our agreement, we were allowed in to Berlin to monitor the situation, to rebuild their capitol, and to remind them how free republics operate. Our victory in Europe gave us the right to be there, and our agreement with the new transition government of Germany. Our rights to be in western Berlin were repeatedly confirmed and recognized in several agreements with the Soviet Union.
Berlin is not part of East Germany, but is a separate territory under supervision of the allied powers. That being the case, our presence in West Berlin and our access thereto cannot be ended by any Soviet action. West Germany joined NATO long ago to protect itself from Soviet aggression, which means that any attack upon that city must be regarded as an attack upon the Confederacy.
West Berlin, lying 110 miles within East Germany, surrounded on all sides, has many roles to play. It is a showcase of freedom, an island of liberty in a dark and dreary communist sea. It is a link with the Free World, and a beacon of hope behind the Iron Curtain, an escape hatch for refugees yearning for freedom. And now, in this hour, it has become the testing point for Western resolve and courage, and Soviet ambitions. It would be a grave mistake for any nation to look upon Berlin and see a tempting target for aggressions.
Let there be no mistake. The Confederacy and the Union are in agreement upon the point that no communist nation will drive us out of Berlin, either gradually or by force. Our pledge to that city was made in 1944, and by our honor we will live up to that pledge to the German people to protect their freedom from encroachment by outside powers. Western Germany and West Berlin are protected.
We understand the Soviet historic concerns in central and eastern Europe over invasion from the west, and believe we can work towards an arrangement to meet those concerns. Twice the Confederacy has been involved in wars in Europe, and both times she has been deeply scarred by misjudgments caused by imperial and financial ambitions of those behind the wars, in the lives of the soldiers, cities ravaged, and in the cost to the civilians during and afterward. Now, in the thermonuclear age, any misjudgment by either side about the other could result in more devastation in mere hours than has been wrought in all the wars in human history.
The Southern President had coordinated his message with Kennedy so that their two nations and the Russians would see a unified front. While this happened, another 30,000 East Germans escaped in July to refugee camps in West Berlin. So, by August 13, the East German government, in coordination with the USSR, erected a wall on East German territory, stopping short of cutting off Allied air traffic into the city by Khrushchev. Overnight, the wall went up, the supplies having been stockpiled secretly for some time. With this, the USSR avoided the collapse of East Germany, and the US and CS gained a propaganda victory. Five days later, Thurmond and Kennedy sent their Vice Presidents, Davis and LaRouche, Confederate General Lucius Clay of Georgia, and US General Walter Smith of Indiana through the 110-mile corridor to West Berlin, along with a convoy of 820 US and 610 CS troops. It was a token reinforcement, but was greeted by West Berliners with enthusiasm as a symbol of western support.
In response, the USSR resumed aerial nuclear weapons testing on September 1, while the US resumed underground testing. Tensions continued. Clay was very popular in Berlin, as he spoke German fluently due to time spent in Texas amongst the German-speaking population there, and the Berliners believed he was with them. US Generals didn't like him as much, however, when he asked them to remove their replica section of the wall to stop provoking the Russians. On the 27th of October, US and Confederate tanks approached Checkpoint Charlie (blue on the map below)
The two powers' tanks stared at each other, loaded with live munitions for 4 hours. US President Kennedy offered to go easy on Berlin in the future if the Soviets removed their tanks first, which Khrushchev agreed to.
