Being Adolf Hitler - HoI3LP

Reserved

The voices, the voices were getting worse. The cacophony inside his head had started after the gas-attack that had nearly killed him but he survived. Survived, though now accompanied by the voices. The voices - always whispering, always in the background. Except they had grown stronger. Stronger and bolder. Stronger, bolder and angry, oh so angry. He had no choice, no choice but to obey - if only he could make out what the voices wanted. Sometimes they yelled one thing, only to yell something else immediately afterwards. But he had to obey, as soon as the voices would reach a consensus. Yes, obey the voices! OBEY!

Reichkanzler Adolf Hitler, one eyebrow twitching, emerged to an standing ovation that thundered in the conference hall, ready to rule the Thousand-Year Reich!

----------
Now that my crappy LARP-introduction is over, welcome to this Hearts of Iron 3 Let's Play! We are playing Historical Plausibility Project-mod, on top of Semper Fi. Germany has been chosen, difficulty is normal and all areas are human controlled. But there is a twist: we'll play Germany just like we played humanity in the Barbarian's magnificent LP.

Hitler cannot control everything personally and while his underlings will seek his permission, the sort of plans they will come up depends on their historical personality. Thus the first thing the screaming voices inside his head must decide is who will stay in the conference room and thus be elevated into Hitler's inner circle and who are tossed out. These choices are not permanent, we can always replace unsatisfactory advisors with new ones - unless Hitler has had them shot. Or sent to the camps.
----------

Here are the people waiting inside the conference room:
FOREIGN MINISTER CANDIDATES

This person is the face and mouth of Third Reich to the rest of the world. He will conduct all diplomatic efforts, including trading.

ARMAMENT MINISTER CANDIDATES



This person is the chief engineer and industrialist of Third Reich. He will allocate resources and industry output.

MINISTER OF SECURITY CANDIDATES


This person essentially runs the RSHA and is responsible for security, both inside the Reich and eventually outside it.

HEAD OF INTELLIGENCE CANDIDATES

This person is responsible for all spying efforts abroad.

CHIEF OF STAFF CANDIDATES

This person will decide the overall organization and disposition of all the armed forces and will plan the overall operations in any war.
He will mediate between armament ministry and the chiefs of the various branches of service if there are any conflicts. He also handles all major promotions.

CHIEF OF ARMY CANDIDATES

This person will organize the army, from army groups down to individual divisions and is responsible for requisition and training of the army.

CHIEF OF NAVY CANDIDATES

This person will organize the navy and will decide which sort of navy the Reich will have, including basing.

CHIEF OF AIR FORCE CANDIDATES

This person is responsible for organizing the air force and is responsible for requisitioning planes.

***********
As the biggest change between HPP and vanilla HOI3 is the tech-tree, here is the modified one for your perusal:














Also, the industrial situation of Germany:


And the preliminary report from RSHA and Abwehr:

*************

Now, sweet voices inside the head of Adolf, shout out and cast your votes please, in this order:

1) Foreign
2) Armament
3) Security
4) Intelligence
5) Staff
6) Army
7) Navy
8) Air Force

SS-Oberstgruppenfuhrer Lern reporting for duty.

1. Joseph Goebbels
2. Gustav Krupp
3. Reinhard Heydrich
4.Wilhelm Canaris
5. Ludwig Beck
6. Adolf Hitler
7. Erich Raeder
8. Hermann Goring

Will be following this LP closely, haven't played HoI3 yet.
how does the research work, from the screens it looks quite different from HoI2.

My votes:
1. Oskar Meissner
2. Hjalmar Schacht
3. Joseph Goebbels
4.Wilhelm Canaris
5. Fritz Bayerlein
6. Werner von Blomberg
7. Erich Raeder
8. Ulrich Grauert

1. Goebbels
2. Schacht
3. Diels
4. Canaris
5.Bayerlein
6. von Blomberg
7.Raeder
8. Grauert



Also, which mod would you suggest? HPP or ICE?

1. Goebbels, of course.
2. Ley
3. Frick
4. Canaris
5. Beck
6. Der Fuhrer
7. Raeder
8. Goring

Onwards, to Potato and a Pan-European Empire!

Research:
Each nation has a pool of "leadership", which is an abstract measurement of universities, military academies and so on. This is then divided amongst four sub-pools: Research - Espionage - Diplomacy - Officers

Each whole point in Research allows one project to be started - for the other three it gives you an X number of either spies, diplomats or junior officers a day. X depends on your country policies and technology. Usually you put some tiny amount in both spies and diplomats, little bit more in officers and then large majority into research. It's bit clunky but you should envision it as the how the state employs college/university graduates that it hires - directing them into different fields.

Adolf will not get to decide this slider on his own, rather his advisers will suggest some numbers and he will have to choose.

As to ICE and HPP, I haven't played ICE enough to give a fair overview of it, as my gaming laptop died and my "work" laptop does not have enough HDD-space to allow two installations of HoI3 simultaneously.

Hmm, so far Goebbels, Canaris, Raeder and Grauert are strong candidates. I'll let the voting continue for a couple of days since this first decision is quite important.

Can you mod the flag?

Anyway ...

Foreign - Goebbels
Armament - Schacht
Security - Diels
Intelligence - Canaris
Chief of Staff - Bayerlein
Chief of Army - Ludendorff
Chief of Navy - Saalwachter
Chief of Air - Goring

1) Ludwig Kastl
2) Franz Seldte
3) Karl Sack
4) Carl Von Schubert
5) Fritz Bayerlein
6) Erich Ludendorff
7) Alfred Saalwächter
8) Karl Koller*

*Just another surname starting with K and it would be perfect.



Also

Drakron said:

Can you mod the flag?

Click to expand...

And Holocaust Events?

Brief derail: How is this mod compared to ICE, and how is ICE compared to that DLC that the ICE guy made? HoI 3 bros let me know.

Also, how important are the personalities? This is fairly decisive because if it's important enough it might be wise to forgo a superior bonus in favor of a more stable dude. Even if Goering gave +20% IC and leadership I still wouldn't hire that fucker. Also noting some strange choices...

Foreign - Goebbels (obvious)
Armaments - Schacht (IC too good to pass up even though Krupp would be manly, but does Speer become available?)

Security - Goebbels because leadership is handy as hell, Papen/Frick/Sack for brief periods if support, neutrality and Unity ever need adjustment for events

Intelligence - Frick, espionage bonus > intel

Chief of Staff - Bayerlein, although, how could be possibly be high enough rank to even be considered for Chief of Staff in 36? In 44 he was still a divisional commander. Anyway, supplies are great and Beck's a fucking quitter.

Chief of Army - LUDENDORFF. Blomberg has a better bonus but it'd just be cool having Ludendorff on board. I wonder what his plans and events are like?

Chief of Navy - Raeder. Not much choice.

Chief of Air Force - Grauert for sure. If we had to hire a fat bitch could we at least get Udet? He's got Goering's decadence but without his obliviousness to reality.

Mod seems to have some cool tech tree adjustments.

for Cassidy and Drakron voting for Ludendorff. Maybe the next Cassidy country LARP will feature the vastly superior HoI3 instead.

1) Goebbels (gots to have goebbels somewhere)
2) Krupp (gots to have mad tanks)
3) Heydrich (gots to have a hangman)
4) Frick (canaris is a dick he would surely betray mein fuhrer)
5) Bayerlein (no idea)
6) Hitler (mein fuhrer is a master of all things)
7) Raeder (no idea)
8) Goring (gots to have goring)




and lol ludendorff that guy had to be at least 2 million years old by the time world war 2 started if he hadn't died already

thanks for the research explanation garfunkel, can you go into detail how the tech tree works? hat do the numbers in the circles mean? not really sure about the symbols either. could you explain the differences to HoI2 in the system?

Numbers in circles = time multiplier. The number next to the same and the progress of the white bar indicates what 'level' the tech has reached. The date indicates the historic year for the next level. In HoI3 each tech upgrades linearly and you can upgrade different parts rather than getting a new model all at once (for example using 1944 guns with a 1938 engine). All the stuff down the bottom is your practical and theoretical experience, the higher the bar the faster a related tech will research and the faster a related unit will build.

Yes, the 1,2 or 3 icons on the left side of each teach show what fields are required and the one after the arrow shows the field that is improved after that tech is research - the more proficiency a country has in the required tech-fields, the quicker the research. The coloured number in circles shows the difficulty from 1 to 10, where 1 is easiest and 10 is most difficult, this only affects the time it takes to research something. There are some dependencies around - like medium armour brigade will only open once light armour brigade is high enough and some units require multiple fields, like mechanized infantry, the stats of which depends on both infantry tech and light armour tech.

Also, how important are the personalities?

Click to expand...

When things go well, not that important - when things go bad, quite a bit.

Seems you're playing with 1.8.4 or whatever the version is. Try not to skip to 1.9.*, I seriously don't like the leadership system in that one.

1) Von Papen
2) Schacht or Seldte
3) Goebbels
4) Canaris, you need a judas
5) Bayerlein
6) Von Blomberg
7) Raeder
8) Göring

That's going purely of the bonuses they provide, I always try to clear up as much supply as possible so you can focus more on production.

1. von Papen
2. von Siemens
3. Goebbels
4. Frick
5. Bayerlein
6. von Blomberg
7. Raeder
8. Grauert


Ze Reich must be efficient.

1. Franz von Papen
2. Robert Ley
3. Franz von Papen
4. Hjalmar Schacht
5. Wilhelm Gruner
6. Werner von Blomberg
7. Alfred Saalwachter
8. Karl Koller

1. von Neurath
2. Seldte/Schact/Xavier-Schwarz
3. Frick/Goebbels
4. Canaris
5. Bayerlein
6. Blomberg
7. Raeder
8. Goering

You should try to use all the same heads and succeed where his Fuhrership failed!

Voting situation so far:
(people who had two names for one position gave 0,5 votes for each. If there are more than two, I ignore the others.)

Foreign Minister
Neurath 1
Goebbels 6
Meissner 1
von Papen 3
Kastl 1

Armament Minister
Hess 0
von Blomberg 0
Göring 0
Schacht 5
Xavier-Schwartz 0
Ley 2
Thyssen 0
Curtius 0
Hugenberg 0
Von Siemens 1
von Epp 0
Seldte 2
Hierl 0
Krupp 2

Security Minister
Frick 1,5
Goebbels 4,5
von Papen 1
Trendelenburg 0
Hugenberg 0
von Bernstoff 0
Sack 1
Gürtner 0
Heydrich 2
Diels 2

Intelligence
Frick 3
Canaris 7
von Hindenburg 0
Schacht 1
von Schubert 1

Chief of Staff
Beck 2
Bayerlein 8
Grüner 1

Chief of Army
Hitler 3
von Blomberg 6
von Fritsch 0
Ludendorff 2
von Lüttwitz 0

Chief of Navy
Raeder 8
Saalwächter 3

Chief of Air Force
Göring 6
Koller 1
Grauert 4

Okay, gonna give this a few more hours and then it's update-time, just in case someone still wants to vote.

Slamming his hand agains the table, Adolf Hitler raised his voice and said what the voices commanded:
"The following persons will form my cabinet. As foreign minister, I appoint...

Joseph Goebbels!

Goebbels earned a Ph.D. from Heidelberg University in 1921, writing his doctoral thesis on 18th century romantic drama; he then went on to work as a journalist and later a bank clerk and caller on the stock exchange. He also wrote novels and plays, but they were rejected by publishers. Goebbels came into contact with the Nazi Party in 1923 during the French occupation of the Ruhr and became a member in 1924. He was appointed Gauleiter (regional party leader) of Berlin. In this position, he put his propaganda skills to full use, combating the local socialist and communist parties with the help of Nazi papers and the paramilitary Stormtroopers, aka, Brownshirts, SA. By 1928, he had risen in the party ranks to become one of its most prominent members.
Goebbels rose to power in 1933 along with Hitler and the Nazi Party and he was appointed Propaganda Minister. One of his first acts was the burning of books rejected by the Nazis. He exerted totalitarian control over the media, arts and information in Germany.
From the beginning of his tenure, Goebbels organized attacks on German Jews, commencing with the one-day boycott of Jewish businessmen, doctors, and lawyers on April 1, 1933. His attacks on the Jewish population culminated in the Kristallnacht assault of 1938, an open and unrestrained pogrom unleashed by the Nazis all across Germany, in which scores of synagogues were burned and hundreds of Jews were assaulted and murdered. Further, he produced a series of anti-Semitic films (most notably Jud Suss). Goebbels used modern propaganda techniques to psychologically prepare the German people for aggressive warfare.

Click to expand...

As the armament minister, I appoint...

Hjalmar Schact!

By 1926, Schacht had left the small German Democratic Party, which he had helped found, and was increasingly lending his support to the Nazi Party (NSDAP), to which he became closer between 1930 and 1932. Though never a member of the NSDAP, Schacht helped to raise funds for the party after meeting with Adolf Hitler. Close for a short time to Heinrich Brüning's government, Schacht shifted to the right by entering the Harzburg Front in October 1931.
Schacht's disillusionment with the existing Weimar government did not indicate a particular shift in his overall philosophy, but rather arose primarily out of two issues: first, his objection to the inclusion of Socialist Party elements in the government, and the effect of their various construction and make-work projects on public expenditures and borrowings (and the consequent undermining of the government's anti-inflation efforts); second, on his fundamentally unwavering desire to see Germany retake its place on the international stage, and his recognition that "as the powers became more involved in their own economic problems in 1931 and 1932 ... a strong government based on a broad national movement could use the existing conditions to regain Germany's sovereignty and equality as a world power." Schacht was convinced that if the German government were ever to commence a wholesale reindustrialization and rearmament in spite of the restrictions imposed by Germany's treaty obligations, it would have to be during a period lacking clear international consensus among the Great Powers.
After the July 1932 elections, in which the NSDAP got more than a third of the seats, Schacht and Wilhelm Kepler organized a petition of industrial leaders requesting that President Hindenburg appoint Hitler as Chancellor. After Hitler took power in January 1933, Schacht was re-appointed Reichsbank President on 17 March.
In August 1934 Hitler appointed Schacht as his Minister of Economics. Schacht supported public works programs, most notably the construction of autobahnen (highways) to attempt to alleviate unemployment - policies which had been instituted in Germany by von Schleicher's government in late 1932, and had in turn influenced Roosevelt's policies. He also introduced the 'New Plan', Germany's attempt to achieve economic "autarky", in September 1934. Germany had accrued a massive foreign currency deficit during the Great Depression, which continued into the early years of the Third Reich. Schacht negotiated several trade agreements with countries in South America and southeastern Europe, under which Germany would continue to receive raw materials, but would pay in Reichsmarks. This ensured that the deficit would not get any worse, while allowing the German government to deal with the gap which had already developed. Schacht also found an innovative solution to the problem of the government deficit by using mefo bills. He was appointed General Plenipotentiary for the War Economy in May 1934 and was awarded honorary membership in the NSDAP and the Golden Swastika in January 1937.
Schacht disagreed with what he called "unlawful activities" against Germany's Jewish minority and in August 1935 made a speech denouncing Julius Streicher and Streicher's writing in Der Stürmer.
During the economic crisis of 1935-36, Schacht, together with the Price Commissioner Dr. Carl Friedrich Goerdeler, helped lead the "free-market" faction in the German government. They urged Hitler to reduce military spending, turn away from autarkic and protectionist policies, and reduce state control in the economy. Schacht and Goerdeler were opposed by a faction centering around Hermann Göring.

Click to expand...

As the minister of security, commanding RSHA, I appoint...

Joseph Goebbels!

Like others who were later prominent in the Third Reich, Goebbels came into contact with the Nazi Party in 1923, during the campaign of resistance to the French occupation of the Ruhr. Hitler’s imprisonment following the failed November 1923 "Beer Hall Putsch" left the party temporarily leaderless, and when the 27-year-old Goebbels joined the party in late 1924 the most important influence on his political development was Gregor Strasser, who became Nazi organizer in northern Germany in March 1924. Strasser ("the most able of the leading Nazis" of this period)[18] took the "socialist" component of National Socialism far more seriously than did Hitler and other members of the Bavarian leadership of the party.
"National and socialist! What goes first, and what comes afterwards?" Goebbels asked rhetorically in a debate with Theodor Vahlen, Gauleiter (regional party head) of Pomerania, in the Rhineland party newspaper National-sozialistische Briefe (National-Socialist Letters), of which he was editor, in mid-1925. "With us in the west, there can be no doubt. First socialist redemption, then comes national liberation like a whirlwind… Hitler stands between both opinions, but he is on his way to coming over to us completely." Goebbels, with his journalistic skills, thus soon became a key ally of Strasser in his struggle with the Bavarians over the party program. The conflict was not, so they thought, with Hitler, but with his lieutenants, Rudolf Hess, Julius Streicher and Hermann Esser, who, they said, were mismanaging the party in Hitler’s absence. In 1925, Goebbels published an open letter to "my friends of the left," urging unity between socialists and Nazis against the capitalists. "You and I," he wrote, "we are fighting one another although we are not really enemies."
In February 1926, Hitler, having finished working on Mein Kampf, made a sudden return to party affairs and soon disabused the northerners of any illusions about where he stood. He summoned about 60 gauleiters and other activists, including Goebbels, to a meeting at Bamberg, in Streicher’s Gau of Franconia, where he gave a two-hour speech repudiating the political program of the "socialist" wing of the party. For Hitler, the real enemy of the German people was always the Jews, not the capitalists. Goebbels was bitterly disillusioned. "I feel devastated," he wrote. "What sort of Hitler? A reactionary?" He was horrified by Hitler’s characterization of socialism as "a Jewish creation", his declaration that the Soviet Union must be destroyed, and his assertion that private property would not be expropriated by a Nazi government. "I no longer fully believe in Hitler. That’s the terrible thing: my inner support has been taken away."
Hitler, however, recognized Goebbels’ talents. In April, he brought Goebbels to Munich, sending his own car to meet him at the railway station, and gave him a long private audience. Hitler berated Goebbels over his support for the "socialist" line, but offered to "wipe the slate clean" if Goebbels would now accept his leadership. Goebbels capitulated completely, offering Hitler his total loyalty – a pledge that was clearly sincere, and that he adhered to until the end of his life. "I love him ... He has thought through everything," Goebbels wrote. "Such a sparkling mind can be my leader. I bow to the greater one, the political genius". Later he wrote: "Adolf Hitler, I love you because you are both great and simple at the same time. What one calls a genius." Fest writes:
From this point on he submitted himself, his whole existence, to his attachment to the person of the Führer, consciously eliminating all inhibitions springing from intellect, free will and self-respect. Since this submission was an act less of faith than of insight, it stood firm through all vicissitudes to the end. ‘He who forsakes the Führer withers away,’ he would later write.

Click to expand...

As the minister of intelligence, commanding Abwehr, I appoint...

Wilhelm Canaris!

Canaris remained in the military after the war, first as a member of the Freikorps and then as part of the Reichsmarine. He was promoted rapidly, becoming a Captain in 1931, the Executive Officer of the cruiser Berlin and then the Commanding Officer of the battleship Schlesien. At this time, he became involved in intelligence work again. He made a series of contacts with high-ranking German officers, politicians and industrialists for the purpose of creating order in German politics. During his Freikorps period, he was on intimate terms with the people such as Horst von Pflugk-Harttung who were accused of political assassinations of leaders of the left, and was even accused himself, although later acquitted, of being involved in the assassinations and other crimes (such as his alleged involvement in Rosa Luxembourg's "trial"). During the 1930–33 period, Canaris was following a course quite parallel to the one followed by the future Nazi party leaders although never a party member himself. Indirectly, though, he promoted the forces that later became part of the Nazi power structure.
After Adolf Hitler's rise to power in 1933, Canaris was made head of the Abwehr, Germany's official military intelligence agency, on 1 January 1935. Later that year, he was promoted Rear Admiral. During the period 1935–36, he made contacts in Spain to organize a German spy network there, due to his excellent Spanish. He was the moving force behind the decision that sided Germany with Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War, despite Hitler's initial hesitation to get involved in such an adventure

Click to expand...

As the chief of staff, commanding OKW, I appoint...

Fritz Bayerlein!

Fritz Bayerlein was born in Würzburg, Franconia, Germany. During the First World War, Bayerlein was drafted into the 9th Bavarian Infantry in 1917 and fought on the Western front. He was wounded and received an Iron Cross when he was in the 4th infantry regiment. After the war Bayerlein was briefly a member of a volunteer battalion but was transferred to Regiment 45 in May 1919. He went through officer training in 1921 and was one of the officers who remained in the diminished army. He had reached the rank of major

Click to expand...

As the chief of army, commanding OKH, I appoint...

Werner von Blomberg!

After graduating in 1907, Blomberg entered the General Staff in 1908. Serving with distinction on the Western Front during World War I, Blomberg was awarded the Pour le Mérite. In 1920, Blomberg was appointed Chief of Staff of the Döberitz Brigade, and in 1921 was made Chief of Staff of the Stuttgart Army Area. In 1925, Blomberg was made Chief of Army Training by General Hans von Seeckt. By 1927, Blomberg was a major-general and Chief of the Troop Office. In 1928, Blomberg visited the Soviet Union, where he was much impressed by the high status of the Red Army, and left a convinced believer in the value of dictatorship as the prerequisite for military power. After arguing with the powerful General Kurt von Schleicher in 1929, however, Blomberg was removed from his post and made military commander of East Prussia. During his time as commander of Wehrkreis I, the military district which comprised East Prussia, Blomberg fell under the influence of a Nazi-sympathizing Lutheran chaplain, Ludwig Müller, who introduced Blomberg to National Socialism. Blomberg cared little for Nazi doctrines per se, his support for the Nazis being motivated by his belief that only a dictatorship could make Germany a great military power, and that the Nazis were the best party to create a dictatorship for Germany. In 1931, Blomberg visited the U.S., where he openly proclaimed his belief in the certainty and the benefits of a Nazi government for Germany. Blomberg's first wife Charlotte died on 11 May 1932 leaving him with two sons and three daughters. In 1932, Blomberg served as part of the German delegation to the World Disarmament Conference in Geneva, where during his time as the German chief military delegate, he not only continued his pro-Nazi remarks to the press, but used his status of chief military delegate to communicate his views to Paul von Hindenburg, whose position as President made him Supreme Commander in Chief.
In late January 1933, Blomberg was recalled from the World Disarmament Conference to return to Berlin by President von Hindenburg, who did so without informing the Chancellor, General von Schleicher or the Army Commander, General Kurt von Hammerstein. Upon learning of this, Schleicher guessed correctly that the order to recall Blomberg to Berlin meant his government was doomed. When Blomberg arrived at the railroad station in Berlin, he was met at by Major von Kuntzen ordering him to report at once to the Defence Ministry on behalf of General von Hammerstein, and by Major Oskar von Hindenburg ordering him to report at once to the Presidential palace. Over Kuntzen's protests, Blomberg chose to go with Hindenburg to meet his father, who swore him in as Defence Minister.
In 1933, Blomberg rose to national prominence when he was appointed Minister of Defense in Adolf Hitler's government. Blomberg became one of Hitler's most devoted followers, and worked feverishly to expand the size and power of the army. In 1933 Blomberg was made a colonel general for his services. In February 1934, acting on his own initiative, Blomberg had all of the Jews serving in the Reichswehr given an automatic and immediate dishonorable discharge. In this way, 74 Jewish soldiers lost their jobs for no other reason than there were Jewish. The Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service had excluded those Jews who were World War I veterans, so Blomberg's discharge order was his way getting arould the law. In 1935, Blomberg worked hard to ensure that the Wehrmacht complied with Nuremberg Laws by preventing so-called Mischling from serving.

Click to expand...

As the chief of navy, commanding the Kriegsmarine, I appoint...

Erich Raeder!

After the war, in 1920, Raeder was involved in the failed Kapp Putsch, and after its suppresion he was marginalized in the Navy, being transferred to the Naval Archives, where for two years he studied naval history. Raeder also was the author of a number of studies about naval warfare, something that resulted in his being awarded a Doctor of Philosophy decree honoris causa by the University of Kiel.
After this, Raeder continued to rise steadily in the navy hierarchy, becoming a Konteradmiral (Rear Admiral) in 1922 and a Vizeadmiral (Vice Admiral) in 1925. In October 1928 Raeder was promoted to Admiral and made Commander-in-Chief of the Reichsmarine, the Weimar Republic Navy. Although he generally disliked the Nazi Party, he strongly supported Adolf Hitler's attempt to rebuild the Kriegsmarine, while apparently disagreeing strongly on most other matters. On 20 April 1936, just a few days before Raeder's 60th birthday, Hitler promoted him to Generaladmiral (General Admiral). In his quest to rebuild the German Navy, Raeder faced constant challenges from Hermann Göring's ongoing quest to build up the Luftwaffe.

Click to expand...

And as the chief of air force, commanding the Luftwaffe, I appoint...

Hermann Göring!

He remained in flying after the war, worked briefly at Fokker, tried "barnstorming", and in 1921 he joined Svenska Lufttrafik, a Swedish airline. He was also listed on the officer rolls of the Reichswehr, the post–World War I peacetime army of Germany, and by 1933 had risen to the rank of Generalmajor. He was made a Generalleutnant in 1935 and then a General in the Luftwaffe upon its founding later that year.
Göring as a veteran pilot was often hired to fly businessmen and others on private aircraft. He worked in Denmark and Sweden as a commercial pilot. One wintry evening he was hired by Count Eric von Rosen to fly him to his castle from Stockholm. Invited to spend the night there, it may have been here that Göring first saw the swastika emblem, a family badge which was set in the chimney piece around the roaring fire.[
This was also the first time Göring saw his future wife. A great staircase led down into the hall opposite the fireplace. As Göring looked up he saw a woman coming down the staircase as if toward him. He thought she was very beautiful. The count introduced his sister-in-law Baroness Carin von Kantzow (née Freiin von Fock, 1888–1931) to the 27-year-old Göring.
Göring joined the Nazi Party in 1922 and took over leadership of the Sturmabteilung (SA) as the Oberster SA-Führer. After stepping down as SA Commander, he was appointed an SA-Gruppenführer (Lieutenant General) and held this rank on the SA rolls until 1945. Hitler later recalled his early association with Göring thus:
“I liked him. I made him the head of my S.A. He is the only one of its heads that ran the S.A. properly. I gave him a disheveled rabble. In a very short time he had organised a division of 11,000 men.”
At this time, Carin—who liked Hitler—often played hostess to meetings of leading Nazis including her husband, Hitler, Hess, Rosenberg and Röhm.
Göring was with Hitler in the Beer Hall Putsch in Munich on 9 November 1923. He marched beside Hitler at the head of the SA. When the Bavarian police broke up the march with gunfire, Göring was seriously wounded in the groin.
The 1925 psychiatrist's reports claimed Göring to be weak of character, a hysteric and unstable personality, sentimental yet callous, violent when afraid and a person whose bravado hid a basic lack of moral courage. "Like many men capable of great acts of physical courage which verge quite often on desperation, he lacked the finer kind of courage in the conduct of his life which was needed when serious difficulties overcame him."
Göring was one of the key figures in the process of Gleichschaltung ("forcible coordination") that established the Nazi dictatorship. For example, in 1933, Göring banned all Roman Catholic newspapers in Germany, not only to suppress resistance to National Socialism but also to deprive the population of alternative forms of association and means of political communication.

Click to expand...

Gasps of surprise were filling the conference room. Generaloberst Ludwig Beck was especially becoming red faced, as he rose up. "Mein Führer, you are promoting a mere MAJOR as the Chief of OKW! This is an insult to the whole officer corps!"
Hard-faced, Hitler waved his had dismissively. "The old Prussian generals are like dinosaurs - obsolete. I salute their experience but I will not stand their rigid thinking in OKW!"
Beck tried again: "Mein Führer, since you seem to be so certain, I can only offer my resignation from the Wehrmacht!" Unflinchingly, Hitler nodded his head: "You must do whatever you feel is the best course, Generaloberst." Without further words, Beck turned on his heels and stormed out, followed by the more subdued diplomats and less-senior officers.

As soon as the cabinet members were alone, Adolf Hitler issued his first order, on 1st January 1936, to his cabinet:
"I want situation reports of the state of our beloved Reich as soon as possible and in a week, plans for re-arming Germany and the best way to ensure our future, as outlined in Mein Kampf!"

Beck must go. I think a Blomberg-Fritsch-like affair is in order. This aggression against the mighty fuhrer of the sausage people will not stand!

Background music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzeNj1vlzAk



The conference room was packed, as the various advisors along with their staffs had packed in, loads of maps and charts on their arms. Adolf Hitler, the voices quiet - for once - opened the meeting and nodded to Joseph Goebbels to start, in his dual-role responsible for both foreign policy and security of the Reich.
Clearing his throat, Goebbels started speaking:

"Meine herren, the current security situation of the Reich is as follows.

The Party is more organized and more popular than any other group. In fact, the others are almost meaningless at this time. Gestapo will maintain alert watch, just in case. I recommend no changes.

We have only few informants, however, dedicated to foreigners and the embassies of other countries. I would recommend increasing the number of informants inside the Reich and keeping them all at counter-espionage. This concludes my briefing. Heil Hitler!"

Rudolf Hess rose next and briefly outlined the current domestic policies:

"We can create a more efficient Reich, however, this will require additional funding. We can either raise the taxes or produce additional consumer goods and through sales tax increase the treasury. This concludes my briefing. Heil Hitler!"

Admiral Canaris stood up before Schacht could open his mouth:

"Mein Führer, currently Abwehr is concentrating on four states: France, Soviet Union, United Kingdom and Italy. I suggest we withdraw our agents in Italy and relocate them to the United States. I also suggest that we dial down our operations elsewhere, concentrating solely on Europe and North-America. That is all."

Schacht was again bypassed as Admiral Raeder followed hi fellow naval officer:

"Herr Reichskanzler, the Kriegsmarine currently has only a handful of ships as you can see. Our two, so called battleships, are Great War era relics, only fit to patrol the Baltic Sea. We have six light cruisers and four flotillas of destroyers - mostly obsolete. Handful of submarines round out the Navy. My suggestion is to scrap the submarines and start a heavy building program. I call it "Plan Z"!
Admiral Raeder unrolled a large poster on the table, laden with pictures of various ships.
"We will build EIGHT large battleships, these will from the right hook of future Kriegsmarine. TWELVE battlecruisers will from the left fist and the Royal Navy will be crushed between them! SEVENTEEN light cruisers will escort the capital ships, while TWO aircraft carriers will operate as the eyes of Kriegsmarine. Finally, FOURTEEN flotillas of destroyers will guard Baltic Sea and prevent British and French submarine operations and light raids! Granted, this will require priority over the Heer and Luftwaffe and it will take at least six years to finish, perhaps even more as our dockyards are in a terrible shape. BUT! This plan will surely grant us a force to break the British rule of the seas! And in order to facilitate this, I would direct our dockyards to concentrate on naval research, especially battleships."
Out of breath, Raeder sat down. Göring was fuming but it was von Blomberg who jumped up next:

"Herr Hitler, the Heer requires priority. Naval operations must be secondary, as we are surrounded by hostile powers. France, to the west, wields twice as many divisions and Poland, to the east, rivals our army. What good is a strong navy if the Fatherland will succumb under combined assaults from both directions, like it was in the Great War?"
Without waiting for comments, von Blomberg swiftly continued: "Thus I propose that the Heer is reinforced through two different programs. Firstly, our current infantry divisions will be expanded, by the addition of an artillery brigade. Secondly, we constitute TWELVE infantry divisions this year and TWENTY-FOUR next year. Thus by 1938, the Heer will be strong enough to successfully defend the Fatherland even against a combined attack from Poland, France and Britain!"

"As you can see, we currently have total of 118 brigades in our 40 divisions. This cannot stand. Furthermore, both our infantry weapons and our Panzertruppe require modernization. We must have a technological edge over our enemies to prevail!"

Göring rose next and nodded to Hitler.

"Luftwaffe is in decent shape thanks to our secret co-operation with the Soviet swine. However, to ensure the safety of our cities and to decimate the enemy, I, as the Fieldmarschall of the Luftwaffe, propose that Schacht builds us FIVE squadrons of fighters, ONE squadron of Stukas and TWELVE squadrons of bombers. When this build-up has finished, we can surely rule the skies of Europe, Mein Führer! Heil Hitler!"

The recently promoted chief of OKW, General Fritz Bayerlein, his epaulets so new that they still glimmered in the light, stood next.

"Wehrmacht is currently stationed in peace-time, training formations around the Reich. OKW proposes that units are moved to cover the French border firstly and secondarly the Polish border. It is the view of OKW that Danish, Austrian and the Czechoslovakian borders can be safely left with only frontier guards at this time. Furthermore, OKW recommends that Kriegsmarine is concentrated in Wilhelmshaven and Luftwaffe into the airfields of west-Reich. OKW asks for guidance from the Führer in determining the assignements of senior staff, should we prioritize SKILL or EXPERIENCE? Finally, OKW would like to add to Generaloberst von Blomberg's proposal the addition of another Panzertruppe and that all motorized formations be attached to a single army-level headquarters for maximum initiative. That is all. Heil Hitler!"

As Bayerlein sat down, all eyes turned towards Hjalmar Schacht, who used a napkin to wipe sweat off his temples. The former banker swallowed nervously before standing.
"Mein Führer, these plans are outrageous. Our current situation, while promising, is nowhere near as good as my collegues in uniform seem to think!"

"The Z-plan for Kriegsmarine would take all of our current industrial output for at least three years, possibly longer. The Luftwaffe plan, similarly, would stretch our industry to a breaking point. The Heer plan would be the easiest to put to place. However, I would recommend that, first, we strengthen our industry and simultaneously, implement the Heer plan to a realistic extent. We do not currently even have any dockyards capable of building aircraft carriers! But I will, of course, do as my Führer commands."
Schacht took a breath and then unrolled another schematic.

"As to our universities, I recommend a strong emphasis in research over espionage, diplomacy and military, with focus on basic applied research. I am certain that the Reich can support TWENTY different reseach projects. As industry does not require them all, I would prefer to concentrate on naval research, as Admiral Raeder wishes, so that when our industry is capable of fulfilling his, ahem, requests, we do not waste resources in building obsolete ships. That is all, mein Führer."

Silence descended upon the conference room. The voices were back with a vengeance in Hitler's head. "I will retreat for a moment, meine Herren. I will give my judgement shortly," Adolf Hitler stated as he left the room.

Okay, sheesh, that took a lot out of me. I suck at LARPing. Question - do people enjoy those little snippets or should I just ditch 'em and keep it completely business-like?

AND VOTING TIME BITCHES!

This is multi-vote time, as there are several categories. Note - alternate plans will advance game-time one week, as the various departments and ministries work, except for Goebbels who will require two weeks as he has two jobs. Keep this in mind.


A1) Accept Goebbels proposal of no changes to internal security.
A2) Demand alternate plan from Goebbels.

B1) Raise taxes to fund the legislative changes Hess has in mind.
B2) Fund them through increased sales-tax (increased consumer goods production).

C1) Accept Canaris' plan of focusing on the "big four" and to withdraw agents from elsewhere.
C2) Demand alternate plan from Canaris.

D1) Implement Plan Z as Raeder wants and assign it priority.
D2) Implement Plan Z as Raeder wants but assign it as secondary.
D3) Implement Plan Z but as tertiary, after secondary and priority production.
D4) Implement Plan Z but only when there is surplus industrial production.
D5) Demand alternate plan from Raeder.

E1) Implement Blomberg's proposal and assign it priority.
E2) Implement Blomberg's proposal but assign it as secondary.
E3) Implement Blomberg's proposal as tertiary, after secondary and priority production.
E4) Implement Blomberg's proposal but only when there is surplus industrial production.
E5) Implement Bayerlein's additions and assign it priority.
E6) Implement Bayerlein's additions but assign it as secondary.
E7) Implement Bayerlein's additions as tertiary, after secondary and priority production.
E8) Implement Bayerlein's additions but only when there is surplus industrial production.
E9) Demand alternate plan from Blomberg.

F1) Implement Göring's demands and assign it priority.
F2) Implement Göring's demands but assign it as secondary.
F3) Implement Göring's demands as tertiary, after secondary and priority production.
F4) Implement Göring's demands but only when there is surplus industrial production.
F5) Demand alternate plan from Göring.

G1) Accept Bayerlein's deployment plan and Panzertruppe-proposal.
G2) Accept Bayerlein's deployment but not the Panzertruppe-proposal.
G3) Accept Panzertruppe-proposal but demand alternate deployment.
G4) Demand alternate deployment and different organization for Panzertruppe.

H1) Focus on industry as priority.
H2) Focus on industry but as secondary.
H3) Focus on industry as tertiary.
H4) Focus on industry only when there is surplus production.

I1) Accept Schacht's proposal with research. Espionage, diplomacy and military get 1 point each.
I2) Demand alternate plan from Schacht.

J1) Direct Bayerlein to promote senior officers based on skill.
J2) Direct Bayerlein to promote senior officers based on experience.


NOTE: The primary, secondary and tertiary objectives are mutually exclusive, so you cannot vote D1, E1, F1 and H1, as an example but you could vote D2, E1, F4 and H3, for example. The other choices are not mutually exclusive so feel free to mix them as you wish. Okay, I think that's that. Hopefully the options are clear enough and I didn't miss anything.

A1

B2

C1

D5 (Raeder's 'Plan Z' seem excessive to me and he hasn't mentioned anything about uboat development and production, improving the aging navy is important but we should focus first on improving our industrial capacity and bolstering our ground forces)

E6 (Blomberg is right land forces are more important than sea and air power for now)

F4 (Goring himself said the luftwaffe is in decent shape, we should first focus on the parts of our military that are in less than decent shape)

G1

H1 (early industry progress should pay off in the long term right)

I1 (let's focus on technological advances early on, although some extra points in espionage and officers may not be a bad thing? not sure about this one)

J1