Merkels Operation Walküre - Story Only

Can ya guess my name?

Berchtesgaden, 31.05.1944, 04:32

She slept good. Her boyfriend slept with her and she had a good dream, when she suddenly woke due to noises outside their room. Her boy friend did not react at first, most likely because of the pharmaceuticals. But something went on. The noises sounded like combat and felt like it was closing in on their room. So she decided to wake him. He somehow awoke just as the the door opened. Instinctively, she threw herself out of the bed. She heard her friend open fire with his Walther PPK, but only seconds later a flash and a bang stunned her.
She didn't realize, what was going on, until two men took her out of the room and out of the building, despite the fact she was naked. In this moment she saw the men completely disguised in a strange uniform. One of them spoke into a small radio, that Etzel was dead. In a last moment she saw Adolf Hitler’s dead body. Eva Braun thought she would be shot as well.

Operation Walküre had started in a chaotic manner. When Stauffenberg had contacted his team it was a huge task to respond rapidly. Nevertheless it worked. Wehrmacht soldiers acted very fast and imprisoned Speer and Göring. Himmler was shot and Goebbels took poison. His wife Magda was shot, when she tried to poison her children. Bormann successfully fled, but was caught and then shot a few hours later. Ribbentrop was captured alive the next day.

The KZs in the ISOTed area were liberated within hours after the start of Operation Walkure. In the other areas it lasted up to the next day. The SS crews were mostly overwhelmed and did not fight. Only at Auschwitz, Göth tried a last stand but was soon killed with most of his men. In some cases SS men were shot by the liberators or killed by the inmates.

The situation in the cities was that of complete chaos, many Wehrmacht and SS units were hesitant to believe that Hitler was killed with some small fire fights breaking out. But in a few hours it was made clear that the NS regime was dead and the FRG had taken control of the country. Only in Nuremberg and Gleiwitz the NS forces were able make a last stand, but were defeated soon the day after. Paris and Prague were soon under direct control of the Wehrmacht and SS and Gestapo captured like top Nazis.

As it was a Saturday many people were at home, when they got to know, what was going on. At 09:30 Angela Merkel made a speech to the nation.

 

Berlin, 31.05.1944, 11:00

At first the event came across as an amusing joke to the German public. Many thought it was a belated April Fools‘ joke, but that soon was replaced by shock once the German Chancellor made her speech to the nation. Not only was Germany back in the darkest hour of her history, she was in danger. Despite her speech many questions went unanswered as the Chancellor herself didn't know the answers to them.

Yes, Germany was back in 1944. Yes, Adolf Hitler was dead. Yes, she wanted to contact the Allies and ask for peace talks. No one had any idea so as to what happened and how to reverse it. Yes, she would have to take emergency action. She announced that another speech would be made in the evening after the conclusion of the Cabinet's meeting.


Now she needed information which is why she called for a cabinet meeting.


Angela Merkel (AM): We need to deal with many problems. I have no idea, why and how this could happen. Johanna?


Johanna Wanka (Minister of Science; JW): I have no idea. I just talked to the Max Planck Institute and they also have no idea. If there were no other consequences some could think about a certain time effect, but...


AM: What effects?


Wolfgang Schäuble (Minister of Finances, WS): Well, several tons of gold appeared in the Bundesbank, approximately all of out gold reserves stored in foreign banks.


Thomas de Maizière (Minister of the Interior, TM): It seems all Germans, even the ones living abroad, were, well, teleported with us so to speak, along with their families.


AM: Okay, I will soon come to everyone of you. At first, thank you, Johanna. I guess this problem can wait for the moment. Any solution to this problem will take a significant amount of time to be found and time is what we don't have at the moment.

The main problem is the current situation we are in. Frank can you please inform us of the diplomatic situation we have now?


Frank Walter Steinmeier (Minister of Foreign Affairs, FS): The situation is complicated. We do want to make a peace deal or at least an armistice. Therefore I have sent ambassadors to Switzerland to talk to the Allied powers.


AM: Couldn't our ambassadors help?


FS: They vanished, as well as most foreign military personnel as well.


Ursula von der Leyen (Minister of Defence, UL): Indeed. There are only few soldiers left. All of them are married to Germans. However, the equipment and military bases are still there. I have ordered the Bundeswehr to take control over these bases.


AM: Okay. On this point we can wait until we get further answers. How much will these bases cost us?


At this moment a secretary entered the room with an old radio. He whispered some words to Dr. Merkel which caused her to become grim faced and pale.


AM: Ladies and Gentlemen, I just got notice that the Allied governments have declared our actions against Mr. Hitler as an illegal coup. They don't recognise us and demand unconditional surrender.


TM: I feared that.


AM: This situation has become even more difficult. She pauses. So we have to defend ourselves. Ursula, what's the situation?


UL: The military situation is bad, at the point in time in time we have arrived at. The Allies will land in Normandy in a week and soon afterwards the Soviets will launch Operation Bagration. This already has and can lead to a catastrophe for Germany in this world.


AM: Do we have the forces to keep them at bay?


UL: Alone? No. With the Wehrmacht? Only if we can inflict enough damage. The Bundeswehr no longer has sufficient armament to defend Germany in such a scenario. Ten years ago we had 1,800 Leopard 2 in the inventory. Now they are down to 393, more in stores. It seems all of them are fully operational though. It seems all equipment we have is fully operational and repaired. Even some design flaws were corrected. Some ships were even completed. However, it will take some time until they are ready for battle. Nonetheless I gave the order for full mobilisation.


AM: As Germany has effectively received a declaration of war, I will ask the parliament for the declaration of Verteidigungsfall. I have sent out instructions to call back the members of the parliament. Ursula, it is better if you go to the Bendlerblock to make plans for the war.


UL nodded and went out of the room.


AM: So what is our economic situation?

Sigmar Gabriel (Minister of Economy and Vice Chancellor, SG): We have lost many suppliers and markets. We are under blockade of an enemy much stronger than we are. The economy will see a severe downturn. 30% I fear. Perhaps even more. In medium and long term we might prosper, as we have the most advanced products. That is if we are able to make peace with the Allies. Also, many firms have suffered heavily due to losing foreign assets.


Andrea Nahles (Minister of Labour, AN): Can't we surrender unconditionally? I am against fighting this war.


TM: I don't think you realise what the ramifications of such an action will be, Minister Nahles. An unconditional surrender would mean millions of Germans being forced to leave their home. We have about 145 million people living in Germany's borders as of 1990. Furthermore the Allies would strip us of everything we have. Also it is unclear if they still regard us as a threat and if the knowledge of a future Germany will encourage a harsher treatment than history. Stalin will definitely try to influence the Allies to do this and might even succeed in doing so. No, we can't unconditionally surrender.


SG: I agree. We need to force them to accept negotiations.


AM: Well, now it is clear, we have economic problems. What about finances?


WS: Given the situation our foreign debtors have vanished. This will reduce the level of foreign debt significantly. Also, I heard gold was found in the Bundesbank. It seems, the gold stored in foreign banks came with us. On the other hand we have to consider the Third Reich's foreign debt and the question of war reparations.


AN: Before we talk further about the finances, I want to ask, how should the Nazis be dealt with. We have to punish them severely.


Heiko Maas (Minister of Justice, HM): Oh, we will. We have arrested several people and will deal with them according to the law.


AN: So we will make a Nuremberg style tribunal?


HM: Yes.


WS: No. They can, like everyone, look into the constitution. The constitution mentions that special courts are forbidden. Exile to another country would not work for the German nationals either. As many potentially face the death sentence, this would be another hurdle to overcome.


HM: We could alter the constitution.


WS: I foresee problems there. This might not work in the case of the special courts and will not work in the case of the extradition. Also the altered law will not apply retrospectively and will only be applicable to new cases.


TM: Yes, I agree.


AN: But we can't let them off the hook!


AM: Oh, we won't! We will denazify thoroughly. But we have to integrate the more moderate elements of them as well. We need to remain balanced in our handling of former Nazis.


She sighed.


AN: Will the Wehrmacht be part of the Bundeswehr?


AM: Yes. This is a necessity.


AN: And the people, who were involved in war crimes?


AM: They will have to face a court. Although we might need to find another solution, as there would be tens thousands of them. We already discussed that minor cases will be moved into penal military units. One month there means one month less imprisonment or so. If one is wounded, further time will be slashed off.


AN: You can't be serious! I...


SG: Andrea, it is good. I discussed that already with...


AN: You too? We need...


SG: Stop it! Don't tell me anything. I broke off relations with my father because he was an old Nazi!...


AM: Perhaps we should go for a small break and come back in 10 minutes to this discussion?

 

Münster, 31.05.1944, 12:30

While the Bundestag made several emergency laws, including the declaration of the State of Defence, the Left had mostly boycotted the sitting and prepared a special party rally. Only in the Congress centre of Münster one could barely find rooms in the chaos, as due to the large numbers of soldiers in Berlin it was found unsuitable for a demonstration forcing a change to Münster.

Gregor Gysi was arrested for about two hours before being released. Someone had thought he was a Gestapo man on the run. So he missed the train to Münster. As did Dietmar Bartsch, who tried to get Gysi out of his imprisonment. Therefore several Greens made the journey to Münster to talk about the situation. Among them was Anton Hofreiter and Claudia Roth. In the Greens the rift between Realos and Fundis had started a new conflict on how to deal with the situation. Some wanted to support the war, under conditions, until the Allies were forced to the negotiation table. The Fundis however wanted to make peace, as they believed, the Allies would see the new Germany. Later that day demonstrations were planned against the war together with the peace movement.

 

The Air Battle of Münster, May 31st 1944

Since early dawn German pilots were ordered to remain in a state of high alert to be ready for any hostile air intrusion. At 14:00 o'clock the bells rang and 85 Eurofighters scrambled to intercept a group of several hundred aircraft spotted by ground radar. The Eurofighter would get the first runs on the enemy before the fighters of the Reichsverteidigung were to attack. From an AWACS the interceptors were guided to the intruders.

The first signs of attack that the US bomber crews received was when several bombers exploded without reason. The bomber crews never saw this happen before. Only when a second wave of German AIM-120 missiles were fired the bomber crews were able to see "rockets" fly towards them. Not that this changed much, as again dozens of bombers were shot down. A third salvo of missiles hit as well, before they could see the enemy fighters. Yet again another salvo of missiles struck the bomber formation. The escort fighters engaged the enemy. But the Eurofighters were too fast and their pilots ignored them mostly. Even then some of the escort fighters were shot down with Eurofighters engaging the bombers with IRIS-T missiles and their cannons. Again dozens of bombers were hit. Whole bomber groups went down in flames.

Now the Eurofighters turned their attention towards the escort fighters, who desperately tried to catch up with the German planes. At this moment the Bf-109 and FW-190 received the order to attack. And it worked. The escort fighters, mostly P-51 Mustangs, were caught off guard and many made the mistake to follow the Eurofighters, who lured them away. In the dogfights the P-51 was completely outclassed as the P-51s were unable to close into gun range. One P-51 managed to nearly end up behind a Eurofighter when it launched a missile which looped back and destroyed the P-51.

In the meantime the bombers released their payload in panic. They were over Münster when doing so. The areas around the Congress centre and the railway station were the most heavily hit and only one train managed to get through unharmed. There were 3,694 civilian causalities on the ground, major Die Linke party members being amongst them, including people like Oskar Lafontaine.

After the enemy attack force left the city the downtime Luftwaffe aircraft attacked. It was another slaughter, but this time the US gunners shot down 18 German fighter aircraft. Of them 11 pilots were killed, one injured and the rest parachuted to safety.

Out of the 428 bombers, 330 were shot down. All 98 survivors were heavily damaged out of which 28 were counted as a total loss.

 

Berlin, Bendlerblock 31.05.1944, 15:00

Ursula von der Leyen was an ambitious woman. She wanted to become the next chancellor after Merkel. Thomas de Maizière would be her only rival within the CDU, as his ministry had a very important role in maintaining internal stability and security. That could soon change, given the situation Germany found itself in.

The Federal Ministry of Defence was never a ministry without scandal and controversy and now, she had to lead her country into war. If all went well and Germany remained safe in the end it could greatly increase her chances of becoming Chancellor. A crisis manager in Germany was always seen in a positive light. But now she had to deal with some generals. She smiled when she entered the room thinking about the joke that her hair resembled a steel helmet.

Ursula von der Leyen (UL): "Good afternoon, gentlemen. Please remain seated, we have little time." she said while walking towards her seat. "General, erm, Feldmarschall Wieker, what is the situation?"

The rank of Generalfeldmarschall was reintroduced mere hours ago. The Inspector General of the Bundeswehr was the first to be promoted to this rank. All military personnel of the Bundeswehr and Wehrmacht would have to accept his seniority. For the time being he had to wear the insignia of a general though.

GFM Volker Wieker (VW): "We are currently fighting on several fronts. In the West the Allies will land soon in Normandy. GFM Rommel was contacted and is working on a plan how to defend the coast. We have sent him data and special supplies. More materiel will follow soon."

UL: "But will the enemy attack there? In our world the Allies landed in Normandy but our presence in this world must have caused a change in their plans. They might attack Pas-de-Calais perhaps?

VW: "Good points. We don't know exactly where the Allies will invade. However, if they are going to invade they must do so soon. They can either skip Normandy and try to find a new location to attack, which will cost them months, or they will execute it like it was planned originally, if they don't want to lose more time. We will see. June 6th will still be a good date because of the weather."

UL: "I see."

VW: "Another possibility would be destroying Allied bases in Southern England."

UL: "Well, if they want to invade, we should attack them on the English side of the Channel. That should catch them off guard as they will not be expecting an attack especially so soon after the failure of Operation Steinbock. Until then we won't carry out offensive actions, as talks are still going on. What's the situation in Italy?"

She did not talk about the political turmoil that Germany would go into a BoB 2.0. She knew it had to be done and would give the orders to prepare for that. After this meeting.

VW: "General Kasdorf will replace GFM Kesselring there. Rome is an open city and preparations for fortifications behind the Gothic Line are being carried out. We are considering this front the least important and only useful to prevent Allied incursions into Northern Italy and Southern Germany.

UL: "I agree. What's the situation in the East? Stalin will launch Operation Bagration soon. We need to stop him."
VW: "The situation on the East Front is difficult. GFM v. Manstein has taken command and can explain our defence strategy. Herr Feldmarschall?"

Von der Leyen at first had scruples when she accepted former generals of the Wehrmacht, but Germany needed them, so she acted accordingly. It was Merkel's decision in the end...but she was curious, how an officer of the Wehrmacht would react to orders given by a woman. But v. Manstein was too much of a professional soldier to show, is what she thought.

Erich von Manstein (EM): "Madam Minister, I received notice of my appointment just this morning so I don't have any detailed plans. However, Feldmarschall Busch's plan to retreat is the best solution we have at the moment. We will perform a tactical withdrawal while causing maximum damage to the enemy as we retreat. This will have the effect of shortening the front and stopping the Soviet advance but without assistance from the Bundeswehr we can't do more than that. How many men and equipment can you send to assist us and when?

UL: "A good question." she looked at GFM Wieker.

VW: "We currently have 289 Leopard 2 MBTs active. A further 379 are in reserve. Additionally we have 147 Leopard 1 MBTs stored. First reports indicate that they are fully operational despite being remaining inactive for a long period of time.

EM: "I have also reports of a very low rate of broken down or damaged vehicles. This is very mysterious..."

VW: "Also it seems we got about 600 tanks of the types Panzer IV, Panther and Tiger I, which seemed to appear from nowhere."

Von der Leyen looked at her officers. She was astonished. But before she could speak, Wieker continued.

VW: "We have further vehicles, as listed here. It seems all of the stored vehicles are operational. We also found supplies, which should be sufficient for battle operations till the end of this year. Furthermore we have the equipment of our Allies, who vanished nearly completely. And yes, we control the depot at Büchel air base."

UL: "How fast we can start using them?"

VW "Well, we never expected to be attacked so quickly..."

UL: "How long?"

VW: "Three months."

Manstein did not look well when he heard that.

VW: "We can still use the Luftwaffe. Our aircraft should be able to hurt the Soviets severely. It should give us at least some time."

UL: "General Müllner, what's the status of the Luftwaffe?"

Karl Müllner (KM): "We have currently 1,650 Bf 109 and FW 190 fighters ready. 850 of them are fighting over Germany, 135 in France and 520 in Russia. We have 89 Tornado bombers and 109 Eurofighters ready. Furthermore we have 48 F-4F, 48 Tornados, 48 F-16C and 24 A-10 Warthog stored or taken over and under our control. Furthermore I got notice of 24 MiG-29 fighters and 1,250 aircraft being "found" in storage and downtime factories. With these aircraft we can do considerable damage, for at least seven months. Most of the aircraft can be activated within a few weeks. Also it seems to be that the aircraft do not require maintenance and are fully operational. Furthermore we have 53 C-160 Transall transports; 18 C-130 Hercules, 3 C-17 Globemaster and 4 An-124 were taken over together with some other aircraft of foreign civilian origin.

UL: "What about Operation Demonstration?"

KM: "The preparations for Operation Demonstration are nearly complete and it will start in less than an hour."

UL: "Excellent. What's the situation of the navy?"

Generaladmiral, soon Großadmiral Otto Schniewind (OS): The fleet is ready. All ships are repaired and fully operational, at least as of this morning. This includes the battleship Gneisenau as well as torpedo boats with even UT museum ships in seemingly new build condition. We also had a number of ships in the process of being built, which are now fully complete. Apparently this happened to ships that were to be launched within one year. This includes both UT and DT ships in addition to ships in foreign yards.

UL: That means...?

OS: This means we have in Norway the Tirpitz and seven destroyers. In Germany we have the whole, erm, modern fleet, the battleship Gneisenau, five heavy cruisers, including the Seydlitz, which was finished as such, four light cruisers, ten destroyers and eleven fleet torpedo boats. In the Baltic we have five destroyers and five torpedo boats. In Rotterdam there is a light cruiser and three destroyers, in France there are six destroyers and six torpedo boats. In the Med. we have eight destroyers operational, resp. torpedo boats in the Aegean sea, 11 in the Adriatic in addition to 5 corvettes. In the Tyrrhenian Sea we have 21 corvettes, the battleships Provence, Cavour and Impero, the battlecruiser Strasbourg, the heavy cruisers Bolzano and Gorizia and six light cruisers. He paused And we have two aircraft carriers.

UL: From what I remember of history it should be the Graf Zeppelin and the Aquila.

OS: Erm no. These ships have vanished. They were replaced by ships identified as Midway class carriers. They are fully equipped. We also found crates with reserve planes, a modified FW 190 it seems.

UL shook her head. That couldn't be possible. A carrier force would play a major role in tying up enemy fleets, if they were fully manned.

OS continued: The modern fleet consists of 16 frigates, including the finished Baden-Württemberg, 5 corvettes, one Type 205, four Type 206 Uboats, 6 Type 212 Uboats and 10 Gepard class FAC. As far as museums vessels are concerned we can add a destroyer, the Mölders, the former Soviet submarines U-434 and U-461, the English HMS Otus and the East German corvette Hans Beimler. Additionally we have two Israeli submarines and two Algerian frigates ready. Also there are rumours about a battleship in Brest, but I am awaiting confirmation about that.

UL: And what about Großadmiral Dönitz?

OS: He gave the Uboats the order to return home. More importantly as Engima has been broken....

UL: ...we have to react. Also we have about 120 new Type XXI and XXIII Uboats ready.

OS: Still, the enemy will need fewer resources to secure the sea lanes...

UL: Only for some time. I will not send out men into death traps, if not needed anyway.

She made a small pause.

UL: Okay, and now we come to the production of weapon systems. I have a list of the production models...

 

Operation Demonstration, May 31st- June 1st 1944

The Operation Demonstration was just that, a demonstration. Once the German government thought it was needed to show that they were willing and capable of defending Germany, they did so by ordering this. The operation was split into two parts, and one could consider Operation Vinland as part of it a few days later, then there were indeed three parts.

The first was against Britain. Here a show of force was made. Four Tornado jets flew to Betchley Park at high altitude, attacked the houses there and flew back home while over London at Mach 1 only 1.000 feet off the ground. The enemy flak was too surprised to act. By the time they fired their guns the German aircraft were out of range. The shockwave generated by the German aircraft hit the ground. Much glass was broken and the booming sound stunned many. No interceptor was able to catch the Tornados. The only one who managed to come close was downed by an IRIS-T missile.

The other part of Operation Demonstration was more strategic in nature. This time the targets were the Volga hydropower plants and Tankograd. Both targets were bombed by Tornados and heavily crippled. For months Tankograd was out of action. But the total loss of the turbines was much more critical. They had been built by AEG. Given the obvious circumstances AEG or Siemens would not accept orders for turbines. Replacement turbines from GE needed time for manufacture and delivery.

Stalin was shocked.

 

Berlin, May 31st 1944, 20:00

The TV and radio speech of Chancellor Angela Merkel. Nearly all stations broadcasted this speech, uptime or downtime.

"Meine lieben Mitbürgerinnen und Mitbürger,

Last midnight an event took place that no one would have expected to occur. Anyone who would have told me this before the event would have been called a lunatic. However, there is no denying an event has taken place. For reasons unknown to us at this time, Germany has time travelled to the year of 1944. We all know the dark times that we have landed in.

In the early morning hours after the time shift we took control over the situation, aided by the group around Oberst Claus von Stauffenberg. The attempt to arrest Hitler failed as he responded with violence forcing the officers involved to kill him. -Again she mention, that there was a secret order to kill him.-

The Nazi party is now banned and the individuals, who committed crimes, have to face a trial. Until now we have arrested several high ranking Nazi officials and officers. Some others were killed as they resisted or committed suicide. The KZs were all liberated. I thank all people and organisations helping the liberated inmates in these times.

We are trying to end this war as fast as possible. However, we will not surrender at any cost. We will do our share to help the people, who suffered due to Nazi aggression. We attempted to make peace with the Allies and put forth the following points to them.

Firstly, we will not allow any occupation of Germany or plundering of our country whether it be our resources, intellect or technology. The troops from the western Allies, who will invade soon, aren't the forces we know from the time of the Berlin Air bridge. We all know the forces of the Soviet Union came into our country raping, murdering and looting.

Secondly, the territorial integrity of Germany may not be questioned. We won't accept any partitions. This includes annexation by foreign countries as well. We will not accept the forced displacement of more than twelve million German civilians. However, the areas, which were annexed by Germany may conduct a referendum to stay part of Germany or become part of their former state again. On this way we want to honour the rights of the people as accepted by the signatories of the Atlantic Charter 1941, which was accepted by every enemy state.

Thirdly, we will not accept any disarmament of Germany, unless the other belligerent states do the very same. -She knew, that this statement would be effectively meaningless.-

Lastly, we will help the other states to undo the wrongs by the Nazis, but we will not pay reparations like the Weimar Republic did.

These points were not accepted by the Allies, who still demand an unconditional surrender, therefore we initiated limited offensive actions against these states. Should they still be not willing to negotiate or attack Germany again, we will retaliate in kind.

Because of this situation a general mobilization was called. This also means a rationing of several items, especially fuel and food.

I know, this will be difficult on all of us. There are also other economic problems one of which involves the ownership of land. Many land owners have lost land due to the Event. Because of this the Federal Republic of Germany will provide compensation. All new owners, however, have to repay the price within 20 years. -She did not say, that there will not be payment of interest and that much land was agricultural land and thus not worth much. Also the prices would be in 1944 Reichsmark-

The Reichsmark will be accepted as currency. One Reichsmark will be 3.50 Euro.

As for the other areas of Germany not directly affected by the Event we will introduce new offices as fast as possible. Today, for example Mr. Carl Friedrich Goerdeler accepted to become acting minister-president of the Land Preußen.

Germany is in difficult and dark times, but we will be able to stand this test of history and prevail.

Thank you."

 

Near Konstanz, May 31st 1944, 21:30

She had been planning something like this since the very beginning. Given the chance, she was sure that she could achieve something great.

Once she had been a bishop and leader of the Lutheran Church, but her career had come to a sudden end when she had been involved in a car accident while driving drunk. Since then she had been an ordinary priest, making preparations for the 500th Reformation Day.

But right now, all that was irrelevant. She had never been one to sit idle and as a staunch pacifist she simply knew that the time to act had come. That was the reason why she had taken the last train out of Münster. She had been lucky that she had been able to make it out of the city. And thanks to her contacts she had gathered quite a bit of information about the current status of the Bundeswehr which she had written down in her notebook.

On the train to Münster she had met Katrin Göring-Eckhardt who later on introduced her to Anton Hofreiter, Agnieszka Brugger, Jürgen Trittin and Claudia Roth as well. All of them had agreed that this terrible war had to be ended as soon as possible. Shortly thereafter Brugger had given her a memorandum about the situation of the Bundeswehr, armament, operational readiness and so on. Only a little bit later Hofreiter, Trittin and she had come together again and discussed how they should continue. All of them had agreed that they had to move things further along; meaning that they had to somehow contact the Allies.

Already contact between UT and DT “branches” of the Lutheran Church had been established. She could use one of their contacts in Konstanz to cross the border between Germany and Switzerland where she could get through to the Allies.

The journey down to Konstanz had been absolutely nerve-wracking. If she were to be detected she would be arrested and charged with high treason due to the data she had with her. Once or twice she had been close to being discovered, but luck was on her side. The chaos that erupted after the attack on Münster had proved to be unexpectedly helpful, as controls weren’t as tight as they should have been. She would pray for the souls of the lost later.

Once she had reached Lake Constance she just had to wait for the contact to transport her across to Switzerland. But this would only be possible if her messages had made it through and if the other side had done its work. Several tense minutes later she breathed a sigh of relief as a boat appeared out of the darkness and landed at the pier she was waiting on. She stepped on board the boat and a few minutes later they made their way across the lake.

Yet again luck proved to be on her side for they managed to avoid Swiss border patrols completely. But when she stepped on Swiss soil there was no car waiting to take her to Bern. She cursed. She needed that car that her contact had promised to provide in order to continue her journey, otherwise she had to make it on her own, which was quite dangerous as she couldn't predict how the Swiss police would react if they discovered her.

So she waited. It seemed like an eternity to her – minutes or hours could have passed – when she heard a voice from behind her.

“It is late,” the male voice said.

“Yes, but not as late as in New York,” she answered.

“I am Agent Lynch, Mrs. Käßmann,” the man introduced himself. “If you would follow me, please.”

 

A Nation Shocked, May 31st 1944

The event on May 31st had been a complete shock for nearly everyone between Rhine and Oder with its effects causing ripples of change world wide.

There were several problems – many of which were solved in the first few days – but others still remained. Solutions for legal and property issues had been found rather quickly: The party whose real estate stood in the location after the Event was the owner of said estate but had to compensate the former owner in an amount equivalent to the displaced estate. In agriculture and forestry, the party with modern crops and animals on the fields could lay a claim on them before someone who did not have any modern means of farming could with the dispossessed party being compensated. Where there was no conflict between DT and UT claims the registers of 1944 would be applied.

Foreign owners of German property were regarded as legally dead, unless they were affected by the Event as well. Thus, many factories, firms and shops, which were now ownerless, were transferred into the Zweite Treuhand, which was tasked with the handling of these assets. This included foreign patents, as well. Patents that had elapsed between 1944 and 2015 were reintroduced, with the notable exception that German corporations were allowed to licence them for free.

Even though these problems had been tricky to solve, there were others which presented a greater danger to Germany. The German UT economy was badly hit by the Event: Being a large importer of raw materials and an even larger exporter of its own goods, Germany needed trade to survive; which simply wasn't possible right now. Not only was the still ongoing war a great obstacle for normalising trade relations, the loss of all former trade partners was an even bigger problem.

However, many hoped that after the war economic growth would set in. After all Germany was the only country in the world which could produce modern utilities such as computers or medical equipment. It was even predicted by some that new factories had to be built in order to meet the worldwide demand for the new German goods. It was a dark time for the German economy, but there was light at the end of the tunnel. And as many factories would needed workers, even unskilled ones – not to speak of the military – the unemployment rate was predicted to sink.

For Wolfgang Schäuble the situation was both good and bad. Good as 40% of the German debts could be deemed null and void as the creditors no longer existed – or didn’t even exist yet? Semantics. Therefore, there were 800 billion Euros that weren't required to be paid back. Bad, because the war and the reparations afterwards surely would be costly – and the war already had already devoured over 100 billion Reichsmark. Additionally, there would be less income tax collected due to the economic crisis.

Political, legal and economic problems were not the only things that plagued Germany: There were personal conundrums as well. People who had been long dead in 2015 suddenly were alive; some existed even twice as a young and an old version. This led to tearful reunions but also to trouble and fights within families.

Furthermore, many minorities that had long lived peacefully in UT Germany had been brutally persecuted in DT Germany. This led to many hate-crimes against them, carried out by DT Germans or UT Neo-Nazis before the police forces gained the upper hand and clamped down on such crimes. Right-wing crime rose significantly before it dropping ju again. This was achieved by people willing to commit such hate-crimes either volunteering to fight for the ‘Glory of the Fatherland’ or simply being conscripted.

Church attendance rose to heights unseen before as many people believed divine intervention to be the reason behind the Event. Theologians of every religion agreed that the event was a divine sign; a chance to prevent the mistakes of the past and steer the world on to a better course. Yet, for some churches the Event caused new tensions between the UT and DT “branches”, as dogmas had changed drastically over the decades after the war. Especially within the Catholic Church the differences between the ‘old’ and the ‘new’ dogma would cause
irreconcilable rifts between reactionaries and progressives. Interesting times laid ahead.

 

Karlsruhe, June 1st 1944

Roughly an hour after midnight a fax of about three dozen pages arrived at the German Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht). Only a little bit later another fax arrived. The first one was from the Left Party (Die Linke), the latter one from the Greens. Both demanded an interim injunction to stop the war. A bigger law suit followed soon after, in which both parties attempted to impeach President Gauck for the signing of the emergency laws and the declaration of the status of defence (Verteidungsfall, V-Fall). On June 6th the court ruled over the injunctions and decided to dismiss them.

From the statement of grounds published in the official collection (BVerfGE vol. 136, pp. 277):

“…

28 The interim injunctions are only in part admissible.

…

36 The parts being legal are not justified.

…

43 a) The applicants state that Art. 26 and Art. 115a of the Basic Law (Grundgesetz, GG) have been infringed upon by the government by the government and the president of the Federal Republic of Germany. The court has dismissed this notion.

44 aa) Art. 26 GG determines that the FRG is forbidden from undertaking any action that can be labelled as war of aggression. A definition thereof is given neither in the GG nor in the penal code (Strafgesetzbuch, StGB). The UN General Assembly Resolution 3314 of 1974 cannot be applied here as the UN does not exist. All treaties signed by the FRG after 1949 are declared as null and void as the signatory parties do either not exist or cannot be held accountable.

45 The current International Laws do not give a clear definition of what constitutes a war of aggression. The Convention of the Definition of Aggression has not been signed by many states and violated at least once by a signatory power with the attack on Poland and Finland in 1939 by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (henceforth referred to as USSR).

46 bb) Whilst such a clear definition is missing, this can be left open, as the Federal Republic of Germany is not fighting a war of aggression.

47 The conduction of a defensive war does not constitute a war of aggression. While WWII was a war of aggression, the FRG did not continue this war. The FRG offered an armistice, peace negotiations and the withdrawal from occupied land within one month of their acceptance. The refusal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, The Third Republic of France, the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, henceforth referred to as Allied Powers or Allies, to such an offer is considered to be a new declaration of war. Therefore current military actions of the FRG are not a continuation of WWII.

48 World War Two as a war of aggression for Germany stopped at the moment the Großdeutsches Reich became unable to act. This happened on the morning of May 31st, 1944. The German Reich remains as state though, but as being unable to act without government and structures to rebuild it. While a V-Fall has to be stopped when the conditions are no longer the case to justify a declaration after Art. 115a GG, this has to be the same with a war of aggression, Art. 115l sec. 1 analogue.


49 The Federal Government did not break Art. 26 GG by preparing for war in the time during which the Allied Powers deliberated over the peace offer as an Allied attack was possible and did indeed happen in form of the attack on Münster. The repulsion of said attack is considered to be a purely defensive move. Thus, from the very beginning of the Event Federal President Gauck has been justified in declaring the V-Fall. The continued occupation of several countries is considered legal as well as negotiations with said countries’ governments failed and the withdrawal of German troops would have led to counter attacks on German land and people.

…”

The jurisprudence heavily debated about this decision.

 

Berlin, June 1st 1944

It had been a very long night. Indeed Angela Merkel had not slept at all. However, some things had to be done and adjusted. The question of Germany's allies was an important one. Well, the greatest part of that problem had been solved more smoothly than she expected. The governments of Slovakia and Croatia were only puppets and would do, what the German government told them to do. So a complete about face of the two countries' intentions and attitudes would not occur as long as the puppet governments remained in power. [comment: Changed it as the old text mentioned a 180 degree turn. Everyone would understand what it means (act against Germany) but I thought to make it much more clearer.]

The Croatians had great fears about becoming part of a Serbian dominated state. Here both uptime and downtime ambassadors had worked together very well. Angela Merkel was keen on preventing another war in the Balkans as it would further complicate Germany's existing problems. If it meant that Croatia got Bosnia, so be it. Especially as the Bosniaks were recognised in this state. She constantly asked herself, how to deal with this question further. Zagreb and Belgrade had a long standing enmity, it would not end any time soon.

But there were other allies to be thought about first. Finland was no problem at all. They would get more help and thus would stay on Germany's side. At least until a major defeat in the East. However, the two Luftwaffen would soon be in action to give Stalin a few headaches... Romania and Bulgaria would also stay on the German side. They seemed to be too terrified of what would happen if the the Russians won. The appearance of a strong future Germany rekindled their hopes. In Hungary a new government needed to be formed, but that seemed to happen with as few problems as could be given the circumstances. Still, a decisive blow against the Soviets needed to be struck to keep the quiet amongst the Balkan allies. Mussolini was arrested and his fascists were disarmed.

There was one "special" ally left. Japan. Within the government some left-leaning politicians were against talks with Tokyo and maybe declare war on them as well. This was such a reality defying, illogical proposal that even the always polite Chancellor Merkel answered with a "You are insane, aren't you?" Afterwards the politicians and bureaucrats in favour of this asinine idea were removed from their positions due to being unfit for the job.
But the problem still stood on how to proceed with Japan. Having them as an ally now and after the war would be good, but the way that parts of the Japanese forces fought was going to be a problem in internal politics. If Japan would change their way of fighting it would make an alliance more palatable to critical parts of the German population. So she decided to hold a meeting with the ambassadors Oshima Hiroshi (OH) and Nakane Takeshi (NT).

AM: Your excellencies. I guess the topic of the meeting is quite clear, given the current situation.

NT: Indeed, Frau Bundeskanzler. We heard that Germany's offer of negotiations was rejected by the Allies. Is that true?

AM: Yes, unfortunately, for all of us.

NT: Unfortunate indeed. After that no doubt you need allies in the ongoing fight.

AM: That's obvious. Our nations both do. The Allies were unable to accept the strange events that brought us into this time and attacked us despite our offer of negotiations and peace. The "uptimers" as our part of Germany is called in the press knew how the Allies were likely to act towards us and your nation Herr Borschtafter. After the attempted allied landings in France, our knowledge of how the Allies will act from now on will not be exact as our presence and actions have completely changed future events. We fear a far more belligerent response from the Allies, something similar to the atomic bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima or even worse.
[comment: I completely rewrote the dialogue here. Your intention with this dialogue probably was to tell the Japanese ambassadors about how UT Germany knew what the Allies were about to do when the event occurred. However from Normandy onwards UT Germany doesn't know exactly what the allies would do in the future and emphasise the fact that further actions "might" be worse (more for the Japanese rather than the Germans) while contrasting it with the next paragraph where Merkel uses this "fear" to have the Japanese put their war criminals on trial and remove them from power. If you don't like this change I can just clear up the grammar and leave the general dialogue alone.]
However, at this point in time we cannot accept an alliance with Japan. The actions of the Japanese government are politically ...

NT: Difficult?

AM: Yes, that's a good term. We cannot renew and continue the alliance the Reich had, without something to show to the concerned part of our population.

Both ambassadors looked at each other. Oshima sighed.

OH: Frau Bundeskanzler, we're ashamed for the mistakes some of our our forces did. My government and I spoke at length with my colleague Nakane-dono. His Highness and parts of the opposition in Nippon are willing to change the"political" situation. But please understand our position as well. Before his Highness orders such disruptive measures, we too need a token of support, so to speak. Here, my Tenno has given me the task to give you the beginning of his next speech, which he is going to make in twelve hours Berlin time. Please read it. The content of it depends on your governments decision. If you agree to continue and renew our alliance, his majesty will speak about the war situation, the continuing alliance and the changes Japan has to make to lead this war to a honourable end.

If you disagree, it will be a speech about how a strange event toppled Germany, but that we will continue on to lead this war to an end.

Angela Merkel read the speech:

"To our loyal subjects.

It is true what the rumours already tell about, that an event has happened in Europe. Many will call it a wonder. A sign of the gods. A Germany from the future has travelled back in time. This Germany has brought new technology, new wonders and new challenges with her. To our disturbance it seems our nation and our forces were misled, harmed and betrayed by factions from foreign countries and their lackeys in our beloved nation. [comment: I completely deleted the last sentence as you ended up repeating an earlier sentence in this paragraph. I combined this and left the 2nd last sentence which (imo) is a good way to end the paragraph] We do not know yet, if this information is true, since in part it comes from enemy sources.

We do not want to continue an unjust war. We do not want to harm innocent people. If actions were done against the Bushido, we will act accordingly. That means we must take steps to end this war as soon as possible. We need to stop a war, which was started due to seemingly unjust reasons. We are deeply disturbed about this, even moreso if it is true. The traitors are the one to only talk and not act according to the Bushido. They have brought great harm to many people and have greatly dishonoured us. We have asked the Supreme Court of Judicature to commence investigations.

Prime Minister Tojo feels ill from overwork and asked us to be relieved. We accepted his request. Admiral Suzuki Kantaro will become the next minister.

But -"
[comment: The grammar in the speech of the Japanese Emperor was....odd so to speak. I smoothed it out.]
AM: Does that mean a change of current policy to post-war policies?

OH: Yes, Frau Bundeskanzler.

NT: I would add, that we will implement 95% of Japan's post war policies.

AM: And the remaining 5%?

OH: Let's say, they are adjustments. This includes a well-phrased apology to certain "factions".

AM: And the Yasukuni shrine?

OH: The Shrine has always been for all war dead, even the messenger birds. Well, if we try our war criminals in fair trials we are part of, there is no need to see these trials as victor's justice. Which they were, at least partially, when I read about them.

AM: And Korea?

OH: We will carry out a fair referendum there.

AM: And why would you do so?

NT: I had spoken to many people in "old" Japan. And most of them are convinced we are on the road to destruction. I am also convinced the US would do again, what they did in 1945, erm... well, you know, what I mean. It is not clear, but it is possible they would impose a plan similar to the Morgenthau plan. And then there is Stalin. In addition, we have to regain honour sullied by the traitors of our nation.

Merkel nodded.

AM: Gentlemen, I have to consider several things and talk to my cabinet as well. However, we would need a proof of a change of your politics soon after our possible alliance renewal.

NT: After his majesty´s speech you will see several several high ranking officers imprisoned. More I can't tell you, even if I knew. As you know our communication with Japan is not secure, except those channels you graciously gave us. We only use it until further notice to send only data the enemy shall hear.

AM: Like your offer of negotiations.

OH: Exactly.

AM: I let you know how we will decide in short notice.

***

Only an hour later Frank-Walter Steinmeier (SPD), Peter Altmaier (CDU), Sigmar Gabriel (SPD), Ursula von der Leyen (CDU) and Gerda Hasselfeldt (CSU) met with Angela Merkel to discuss this topic. It had been a controversial discussion. In the end the decision was made to accept the alliance proposal with Japan. There were several reasons.

One main reason was, that if the Japanese did, what Germany was doing, they could hardly discount that. Another reason was, that no one knew, what the Allies would do later with Germany or Japan. If Germany did not manage to get them to enter negotiations it would not be clear, if they saw Germany as the main threat and thus making any resulting occupation even more harsh. Even in the case of a negotiated end Germany would need allies. And the Allied nations would likely remain hostile, at least for some time.

Later that day a historical speech was made by Emperor Hirohito, which while carefully worded (saving face is very important in Asia) was clear in regards to the prosecution of war criminals, the continuation of the alliance with old Germany and the renewal of alliance with new Germany. Only little later several high ranking officers were arrested. What was not known to the public was the disbandment and imprisonment of the commanding officers of Unit 731. Other units would follow soon.

 

Operation Cannae, June 2nd 1944

Operation Cannae was the first major offensive of the Federal German Luftwaffe in this war. Prepared in the days before, its objective was the destruction of the Mediterranean Allied Air Force. The plan was to use Tornado bombers to carry out three attacks on US and British air bases in Italy with the main aim being to shock the Allies into entering negotiations, as well as destroying the Allied air force which constituted a great danger to German cities. Furthermore it would prevent the Allies from gaining ground before German troops reached the safety of the Gothic line.

On June 2nd, shortly after midnight, the first attack commenced, when 86 Tornados started to bomb the US air bases near Foggia. The HQ and the runways were all destroyed, thus denying the Allies the ability to send their own machines into the air. The second attack at dawn led to the destruction of the aircraft and hangars. The third and last attack was conducted against targets in all of Allied occupied Italy. After those three attacks the Allies had effectively lost air superiority over Italy as the MAAF was completely destroyed. Also among the casualties was a Lieutenant General Ira Eaker.

The destruction of the air fields had consequences for the whole Italian campaign. Undisrupted by Allied attacks from the air, the German troops were able to retreat behind the Gothic Line in orderly fashion while the Italian forces of the Reichsluftwaffe could harass the enemy forces on the ground with little to fear.

The Allies were not able to take the now open city of Rome until June 6th; a success that paled against the events of Operation Cannae. Although unopposed on land, the Luftwaffe made the Allies pay for every kilometre they advanced. Said advance came to a complete halt at the Gothic line. No major offensives took place as the Allied forces were constantly attacked by the Luftwaffe's F-4F Phantom II planes which were based in Southern Austria as Taktisches Einsatzgeschwader 72.

For the rest of 1944 the front lines in Italy would not change.

 

June 3rd, Berlin, 22:45

Peter Altmaier was relaxing in his bathtub, with a glass of good wine and some music he liked. The last days had been chaotic and nightmarish, but now he finally had some time to relax – come to think of it, this was the first moment of relaxation he could enjoy since the Event.

While the soothing warmth of the water calmed his tense muscles Peter thought about the happenings of the days before. About sending Admiral Canaris to Lisbon so that he may talk to some people he knew there. As of yet, the Allied leadership didn't believe their story. But would he, if he was in their position? The idea of the Event sounded so impossible – incredible, preposterous.

And then there were the other tasks he had to conduct; unpleasantness all around. Some of the men Peter had to deal with, he would rather have shot – but he couldn't. People like Kammler were needed, unfortunately. That man had planned the KZs and yet he was about to make a deal with the current government that would save his hide. Hopefully the people in Greifswald would know what to do with him…

Peter was about to doze off when the doorbell suddenly rang.

“Oh, no! Not now!” he silently pleaded. But the ringing wouldn't abate, so with much cursing Peter put on a bath robe and went to open the door.

“They better have a good reason for ruining my evening,” he muttered under his breath. “Alas, I fear that in such a time there would only be a good reason for this.” He looked through the door viewer and when he saw the people standing in front of his door he opened it at once.

“Hello, Mr. Altmaier,” one of the women greeted him with a faint smile on her lips. “May we enter?”

“Hello, Mrs. Wagenknecht, Mrs. Brugger,” Peter greeted back. “Of course, please enter.” He gestured for them to walk through the door.

After they had settled in and began to talk Peter knew that he wouldn't get any further relaxation tonight.

 

June 4th, Paris, German HQ, 11:00

A group of high ranking officers was seated around a table, preparing for a war game.

Generalmajor Günther Blumentritt (GB): Hauptmann Berger, our simulation will commence in fifteen minutes. Perhaps you could repeat our positions?

Hauptmann Michael Berger (MB): Yes, of course I can. Our side will play the Allied forces. We work with the assumption that the Allies will attack, firstly because they don´t believe us and secondly in order to not let the Soviets advance too much. However, their plan of invading the Normandy coast is a non-starter as they know that we have knowledge of their plans. They won´t be so stupid and attack exactly in that location.

The deciding factor is time, the window of opportunity is closing soon, so there is a need to attack very soon. Furthermore, Stalin has his troops readied for Operation Bagration, but he will not order it to start without the Allied Forces attacking as well. Thus, we have determined that an attack will commence over the next few days. The Allies are still set on June 6th as D-Day because of the weather forecast, which means there should be only a change of place, not of time.

There are three other locations that are suited for an invasion. Pas de Calais – our most fortified position – Britanny and the Cotentin peninsula. As the latter two are peninsulas – the Cotentin even part of Normandy – it seems very unlikely that those will be chosen, as they can be closed off and given less room to land and manoeuvre their forces. Additionally, not many reconnaissance photos exist of Brittany, which makes it nearly impossible for the Allies to plan a ‘last-second’ invasion there.

Thus, there are only two possible sites left. And with the Normandy “burnt”, Pas de Calais is the one the Allies are most likely to attack.

GB: That sounds logical. We have detailed information about the strength of the enemy. They have about 156,000 men, nearly 7,000 ships – amongst them 1,200 warships – and about 12,000 aircraft.

MB: Exactly like in the original Normandy landing. There won´t be any big changes.

GB: I agree. It is our task to act out a diversion on the Normandy coast, while the real attack will be here: Boulogne. Alright, let´s go.

 

June 4th, Hamburg, 20:00

*Melody* "This is the Erste Deutsche Fernsehen presenting the Tagesschau. Moderating today: Jan Hofer."

Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen.

At about 6 o´clock this morning the police conducted two raids on the headquarters of the Left and Green parties. Additionally the residences of several members of both parties were searched and twelve people arrested, although three were subsequently released. I´m giving over to Rainald Becker in Berlin."

"Good evening. This morning several hundred policemen stormed the headquarters of the Left and Green parties. Dozens of computers and hard-drives were confiscated and several members of both parties were arrested. Until about an hour ago it hadn´t been clear what exactly was happening as the party leaderships were quiet on the matter and refused to give any kind of statement. Only rumours reached the journalists camping in front of the Bundespresseamt which were confirmed an hour ago by the Minister for Interior, Thomas de Maizière. Several members of both parties were involved in a plot to deliver secret information to the Allies. Half an hour ago Dr. Gregor Gysi – leader of the Left Party - and Cem Özdemir – leader of the Greens - made their statements.

Dr. Gysi: "As the current investigation has found out, yesterday several members of our party were contacted by colleagues of the greens, who told them of their plan to stop this war by delivering secret information to the Allies. My colleague Mrs. Wagenknecht did contact me and later minister Altmaier about this, which lead to the arrest of the responsible parties. Although the Left as a strong stance against war and imperialism, we do not condone high treason. We will stop this war – have no doubt about that – but not by these means. Thus, the Left will completely cooperate with the police and in order to not impede the current investigations, we will not comment further. Any member found out to have been part in this plot will have no future with the Left."

Cem Özdemir: "At 4 o´clock this morning I met Chancellor Merkel, who informed me about the current situation. I was shocked then, and I am still shocked now. As it seems, secret data was given to the Allies by members of the Green and Left party. I can confirm that the Mrs. Peter, Mr. Tritin and Mr. Hofreiter were arrested as well as Mrs. Kipping and Mr. Riexenberger of the Left. Yet, I have to make it abundantly clear, that the Green party as such is not involved in this heinous plot and that we will fully cooperate with the authorities to uncover the full extent of the crimes committed. The members involved have already been banned from the Greens. However, as the investigations are still ongoing, we will not comment any further.”

Becker: “This affair has a dimension that may even exceed those of the Spiegel Affair in the ‘60s, only that this time acts of treason have been committed, unlike in 1962. What data has been overturned to the Allies hasn’t been made public knowledge, so it can only be speculated what possible damage has been dealt to the German war effort.

The situation for both parties is now a very delicate one; more so for the Greens than for the Left as they were already engaged in wing fights between the moderate wing lead by Baden-Württembergian minister president Kretschmann and the leftist wing under Hofreiter. For the time being, the ‘Realo’-wing of the Greens will take the lead while the left wing will have to pick up the remnants left from this carnage. With the actions of those few persons the left wing has lost much of its credibility. The Lefts, on the other hand, had only a few members involved in this plot and can probably get away with only limited damage to their reputation.

As long as Germany is in a state of war there won´t be any elections; yet, you can only guess how these happenings will affect the outcome of the next one that will take place.”

Hofer: “Thank you. And now on…”

 

June, 4th, Berlin, Federal Chancellery, 22:15

Peter Altmaier sat in a small meeting room. Around him were the presidents of the several secret services that worked in and for Germany: Hans-Georg Maaßen of the Bundesverfassungsschutz, Gerhard Schindler of the BND, Ulrich Birkenheier of the MAD and Admiral Wilhelm Canaris of the Abwehr in which all DT secret services had been incorporated.

As tiredness threatened to overtake Altmaier´s mind he had to jerk himself awake every few minutes. He knew that this might become the most important meeting in his career and that he couldn’t screw it up. He just couldn’t.

PA: So, what´s the current situation? Do we have any precise information as to what data the Allies have been given and what the extent of the damage is?

HGM: Currently we have 26 persons under arrest; 18 of which are members of a circle around Jürgen Trittin and Anton Hofreiter. Those two seem to be uninvolved, but we will wait for further information before releasing them. 45 suspects were released today as it became clear that they weren´t involved at all. Six persons are currently under watch as we suspect them to be members as well. The most prominent members of the group are Claudia Roth, Jan van Aken, Katja Kipping and Jürgen Trittin. Several other members died in the air strikes on Münster. The majority of the suspects comes from the Green party, whereas there are only a few members of the Left. Both party leaderships did support our investigations, so we´re pretty confident that we´ll uncover the whole plot very soon.

PA: How was it even possible for this to happen?

HGM: As we´re all aware the attack on Münster led to chaos. Many people were missing, presumed dead or were killed. Furthermore, we had problems restoring the data of the railway station cameras.

Mrs. Käßmann didn’t use her real name was subsequently presumed to be in Münster, thus still missing. We only found out that she was alive mere hours before your alert when a camera in Stuttgart filmed her. Due to the chaos prevailing everywhere this wasn’t investigated further. We only know that she crossed the border to Switzerland later that day.

PA: And what did she handle over to the Allies?

HGM: The investigation shows that she had a full report on the current status of the Bundeswehr before the Event.

PA: Jesus Christ! What a catastrophe!

UB: It isn´t that bad. It´s a report on the Bundeswehr's status before the Event. The reserves, the repairs and the new supplies aren’t included, meaning that the Allies still don’t know about it yet and continue to underestimate us. They know that we have advanced weaponry, but they still work under the assumption that we have less numbers than we actually have.

WC: I can only add that just a few countries believe our story so far. Most still think that it´s a sophisticated cover-up for a coup. The messages that the xB-Dienst intercepted confirmed that.

PA: Hopefully they agree to a truce after we show our superiority.

GS: I wouldn’t count on that. Our strategy is to show our strength so that the Allies are forced to the negotiations table. But this strategy relies on the Allies thinking that they cannot hope to beat us. If they do think it is possible – albeit at a much greater cost – they may decide to continue the war. And once our stocks of modern weapons are depleted, they might be able to beat us.

PA: So we need to knock them out before that can occur.

WC: Yes, as fast as we can. We can conclude, though, that our position hasn’t changed much as the Allies now has incorrect information concerning our strength. Perhaps we can even use that to our advantage. From the people that were arrested but are seemingly innocent, is there someone we can use for some special information delivery to Switzerland?

HGM: Yes, Kathrin Göring-Eckhardt comes to my mind.

WC: Alright, I have a plan…

 

June 5th, 100 NM East of Bergen, Norway, 05:03

Captain Michael Gemein had been the last commander of the destroyer Mölders before its decommissioning in 2003. It bore a certain irony that he was now its commanding officer again after he and his crew had recommissioned the old destroyer only three days ago. As most of the crew had already served on the ship – now affectionately named “Opa Mölders” – before, he had ordered the ship to make a small voyage to Bergen and then back home. Gemein was sure of the abilities of his crew and so took a more liberal approach to the premise of “safe waters”.

What Michael Gemein didn’t know was that the Royal Navy had started a small offensive against German convoys to and from Norway. The first success of said offensive was the sinking of the container ship Werder Bremen by a British submarine. Unfortunately for the British, by chance the Mölders had been near the attack site and subsequently fired an ASROC at the boat, which sank the HMS Terrapin with all hands.

Now aware of the British plans in the North Sea, Captain Gemein gave orders to sail home to Germany when his RADAR officer announced new contacts had appeared on the screen. A group of unknown ships was rapidly approaching a small convoy consisting of three freighters guarded by a gunboat, K4, and some smaller vessels. It was clear that the small convoy would have no chance.

Indeed, the RN had sent two light cruisers – the HMS Ajax and the HMS Argonaut as well as eight destroyers – to intercept the convoy. But now they were intercepted by a lone German destroyer. The Mölders, meanwhile, fired all of its Harpoon missiles at the incoming British task force. HMS Ajax was hit by both missiles and began to sink rapidly, whereas of the two missiles aimed at the HMS Argonaut only one exploded while the other only started a fire, which nevertheless soon spread to the rest of the ship. Later that day the submarine U-982 dealt the coup de grace to the critically damage ship.

The HMS Ulster exploded, HMS Jelvis was halved, the HMS Ulysess was capsized soon after the hit and the HMS Ursa was dead in the water.

The British crews were caught completely by surprise as they believed the attack to be an air strike but weren’t able to see any aircraft. This was due to the fact that the AGM-84 Harpoon missile is a sea skimming missile until the terminal phase, upon which it would ascend about 2,000 meters and then smash into the target from above in the so called “Pop-Up Manoeuvre”.

The British only saw one German ship with only two turrets and a single gun each; thus they decided to engage it. This proved to be a fatal mistake, as they soon learned, when accurate fire from the Mölders hit the HMS Undaunted. The destroyer began to burn and left the leading position in an attempt to retreat. All in vain as it capsized and sank. The HMS Urania was the next victim. Its commander heroically attacked the Mölders in order to give the other destroyers the chance to escape. While it was sunk soon after, its goal was achieved as the HMS Undine and the HMS Grenville managed to escape.

During the fire exchange the Mölders was hit twice, resulting only in light damage and minor injuries to three sailors. Captain Gemein decided against following the two fleeing destroyers as he was low on ammo. Instead, he ordered his men to rescue the survivors of the attack and then to continue on their way home.

But before they could reach German shores, the Mölders was attacked by 46 Bristol Beaufighters. Originally, they had been sent out with orders to disrupt German shipping but received the distress signal from the British taskforce, which subsequently also led them to the Mölders. Unfortunately for them, the Mölders was an air defence ship. Its SM-1 missiles downed 15 of the British planes before they even came in range of the RIM-116 RAM missiles. As one plane after another was downed, the other Beaufighters retreated only to be fired upon with the remaining SM-1s. Of the 46 fighters sent out only four came back.

After this fight, the Mölders finally reached its home port. 3,000 British seamen were rescued; the remaining British forces were ordered to vacate the area.

The first report of Captain Gemein:

“The ship´s systems were thoroughly tested and operated within normal parameters. The crew worked hard and efficiently. After some minor repairs the ship should be fully operational again.”

For their actions the crew was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd and 1st classes while Captain Gemein received the Ritterkreuz.

 

June 5th, 19:30 CEST, New Mexico, 5.000m AGL

The flight had been long, but now they were slowly approaching the target of their mission. Even though it had been clear from the beginning that it was a suicide mission he had volunteered immediately. The chances to even get in had been low – the probability to get back even lower – especially as he flew a prototype plane.

It had all started four day ago when he had been offered a new job. Vague statements had been made, about a dangerous but important mission – “getting an order…and a grave” – and yet he still had found himself agreeing to all of it. The very next day he had been shuffled to Prague in order to prepare himself for the mission. He was somehow proud of it, as well: Friedrich-Karl Müller, also called “the nose”, was to be piloting the prototype of the Junkers Ju 390 heavy bomber; the only plane in existence that had the range and the abilities to destroy the target: Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA.

The distance from Brest: Nearly 8,000 kilometres. The target: Obvious, the US nuclear weapon sites. For the other one at Oak Rich Tornado bombers firing Taurus cruise missiles would be used. These had a greater chance at success as they were faster, but they lacked the range to also attack Los Alamos. To add further complications, there was no time to design or build another aircraft that could carry out the mission. Thus, the Ju 390 had to be used.

An air refuelling system and additional fuel tanks had to be installed and the weapon systems onboard greatly reduced.To be honest, Friedrich had little to no clue as to what had been changed or how it even worked, but knowing things wasn't his job. If the plane was to be discovered by enemy planes they had no option but to fight to the bitter end. Therefore there were two BK-27 revolver guns mounted in the nose and the tail. The other weapons were more common to him, MG 151/20 at the two dorsal turrets and 4 13 mm turrets in the gondola and the waist. His crew of ten was a mix of UT and DT soldiers.

The flight had been uneventful so far.…if one didn’t count flying over New York City and Philadelphia as something worth mentioning. Their luck seemed to hold on as the Americans where not responding to them in any shape or form. The air defence was practically asleep and not only in a metaphorical way for sure!

“Unknown aircraft, identify yourself. This is Lt. John Pike from the USAAF.” Müller supressed a wince. Just when he had thought that they had made it. The target was only half an hour away!
“Zis is Dschörmän Luftwaffe fleit to destroij änämie sicret seits." Müller winced for real when he heard the radio operator responding like that. Was the man just an idiot or truly a traitor. There was a short pause, then all of a sudden the American radio operator began to laugh.

“Alright, I don´t buy that at all, folks,” he said. “You can tell Jimmy that you didn’t fool me! He can try again tomorrow. I´ll fly home now, my girl´s waiting for me. C’ya!”

“Schneider! What the hell where you thinking…” Müller was ready to blow the radio operator a new one, but then he just sighed and let it be. It had worked after all. Sometimes the truth was the best cover if no one believed it.

“Just don´t do that ever again,” Müller added as an afterthought.

Like he had predicted, half an hour later they finally reached Los Alamos. The attack itself wasn't that problematic at all. Like in training. Letting the weapons loose; hitting every building – a complete surprise to the Americans.

Now they had to retreat, though. The way they had come was blocked as the Americans were now alerted to their presence. However, the attack simultaneously happening at Oak Ridge did its job of distracting the Americans and so Müller was able to fly south to the Mexican border where he took course to the next possible landing site: Wake Island. Only 7,000 kilometers to go!

Indeed with a completely empty tank the plane could be landed on Wake Island. Unfortunately a US air strike did destroy the bomber before it could be refuelled. The crew therefore had "vacancies" on Wake Island for three weeks until they were picked up by a Boeing 777, which had been confiscated by the Luftwaffe.

The plane brought the crew to Japan and from there back home, together with 16 Wake Island rails.
The other part of Operation Höllenfeuer (Hell Fire) was not so exciting. The Tornado bombers had been air refuelled and had launched their Taurus missiles from a distance of over 1,000 km. The missiles hit their targets and destroyed the facilities at Oak Ridge.

For the USA the situation was an utter disaster. The air defences had failed completely. The Manhattan program was delayed by over a year! Several key scientist like Edward Teller were dead and many files had been burnt.

To prevent a panic, the German claims of having destroyed the sites were denied. It was said that there had been a test explosion of the army in New Mexico and a gas explosion in Tennessee. German planes would never come this far, the government assured the public. Nevertheless, the whole East Coast was to receive RADAR sites and interceptors. Next time, it would not be that easy.