Greater German Reich

**The German Reich After WW2**

**Leader: Adolf Hitler**

**Ruling Party: National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP)**

**Ideology: National Socialism link title**

**Capital: Germania (Berlin)**

**Category: Super Power**

**The Third German Reich was proclaimed in 1933 after the once unknown and otherwise insignificant Austrian painter, Adolf Hitler, became chancellor, and, eventually rose to dictatorship in 1934 when the Enabling Act was passed in response to the growing instability within German society, eventually culminating in the German Reichstag being set ablaze. For the next few years, Hitler pushed Germany to prepare for a coming conflict with the pursuit of living space in eastern Europe, and, the unification of the Aryan people. In 1938 and early 1939, Germany annexed Austria and Czechoslovakia into the Reich, rapidly deteriorating peaceful diplomacy into all out war with France and Britain after declaring war on Poland on the 1st of September, 1939. The Allies were hastily picked off by the mighty German war machine until Britain stood alone against the German Reich. In the Battle of Britain of 1940, Germany attempted to invade Britain, but was ultimately unsuccessful, although Germany dispatched the 'Afrika Korps' under the leadership of the renowned Field Marshal Erwin Rommel to assist in the faltering Italian campaign in North Africa. The Afrika Korps would remain mobile in North Africa until their defeat at El Alamein in 1942, in which they dug in until further reinforcements could arrive. By 1944, the Afrika Korps had been greatly expanded, launching an offensive into Egypt and aided by heavy Italian support, soon capturing Cairo and the Suez, forcing the British to withdraw from northern and eastern Africa.**

    **With further defeat at the hands of the British likely, Hitler turned his military ambitions towards the Soviet Union, starting what would become known as 'Operation Barbarossa' on the 15th May 1941, the greatest military operation ever carried out in the history of warfare. Caught by surprise, the Soviet military was pushed back to their capital city of Moscow along with their strategically vital city of Leningrad by late August. The Soviet's ferried across divisions from Siberia and prepared extensive defenses, however, the Germans came into artillery range of Moscow in which the city was heavily shelled. With a stalemate forming around the capital, a large German assault into the Caucasus was launched in mid-1942, code-named 'Fall Blau'. Its objective was the oil fields in Baku. German Panzers swiftly captured the poorly defended city of Stalingrad and effectively held off a string of Soviet counterattacks. The Caucasus were now cut off from the rest of the Soviet Union and by 1943 all Soviet forces in region had either been destroyed**

**During 1943, the Italians launched an offensive into Yugoslavia and Greece, being supported by a strong element of the German military, quickly seizing portions of territory for the Italian Empire.**

**With the new reserves of oil, the destruction of several Soviet armies and a massive blow to Soviet morale, the Germans swiftly occupied Leningrad in the winter of 1943-1944. Moscow now stood as a large bulge in the German lines, seeing its considerable defenses, German generals planned to siege the city, sending two large pincers to encircle it. In June 1944, the pincer maneuvers around Moscow were about to close when general Red Army general Georgy Zhukov ordered a massive retreat from the city, directly disobeying Stalin's orders. Moscow was now firmly in German hands and the Red Army was in the process of being routed eastward far into the Ural Mountains, where they entrenched into the easily defensible terrain and held off the Germans until the armistice in August 1946.**

    **With the Soviets hiding behind the Ural Mountains, Germany launched the 2nd Battle of Britain in 1944 in which thousands of German bombers relentlessly pounded the island nation. Almost immediately the RAF was overwhelmed, the Germans had learned from their shortcomings in th**

**e previous battle, and now with almost infinite reserves of resources available from the occupied regions of the USSR, the Germans could afford to trade losses. The Germans had been heavily bombed by British air raids during the course of the war, with many cities containing large civilian populations subjected to relentless air raids. Now the tides had turned for Britain and the Luftwaffe enacted their vengeance for the leveling of German cities, assaulting Britain with no mercy. In 1945, Great Britain was on its last legs, with much of its once dominant Royal Navy laying in ruin and the German naval blockade cutting off vital resources, making the situation in Britain increasingly dire. With support for the War severely waning as more and more of the British public begin viewing it as a lost cause at that point, Prime Minister Winston Churchill nonetheless remained adamant on carrying on the fight, an increasingly unpopular sentiment among the discontented masses. Outraged at Churchill's stubbornness, viewing such as an inevitable path toward Britains total destruction, a relatively small, reactionary faction within the ranks of the British Union of Fascists, a party which had recently been forced to operate underground following its outlawing along with the imprisonment of its leader, Sir Oswald Mosley, shortly after the outbreak of the War, moves were being made for the assassination of the Prime Minister. By mid 1945, the plot was successfully carried out, with Winston Churchill dying from an explosion whilst attempting to leave London via motorcade. In response to the assassination, the prime suspect for the plot was the Fascist leader Oswald Mosley, who was soon subjected to a series of harsh interrogations by the British secret service, however his testimonies proved inconclusive, with Mosley swearing his innocence, claiming he had no part in the plot. Deputy PM, Clement Attlee, who now assumed the role of leadership immediately after Churchill's death, decided to institute emergency powers in response to the country rapidly descending into chaos. Attlee, who was also reluctant toward the idea of suing for peace with the German Reich, decided to establish marshal law in hopes of restoring order. His methods however only proved to become increasingly harsh. Multiple incidents of violence occured at the hands of the British military police under orders of the government in a desperate attempt toward quelling the growing nationwide instability, Factions within both the military and government viewed Attlee and his reckless legislation intolerable, quickly seeking to overthrow his regime which was clearly becoming increasingly totalitarian. Facing the reality of impending annihilation at the hands of the Germans and retaliation by those from within the British military and government, Clement Attlee finally relented, officially signing an armistice with Germany by the end of 1945. The stipulations for the armistice spelled the end for the once mighty British Empire, being forced to either sell (for a greatly-discounted price) or relinquish Imperial rule over the majority of its colonies, transferring the land's administration over to Axis hands in exchange for peace.**

**Now victorious over Europe, the Greater German Reich formed a variety of puppet states in order to properly secure the newly conquored territory. However, not all went forward without a hitch. Relations with the Kingdom of Italy began to flare when Germany denied the Italians full control over the Balkan states and the Middle East, both which fell under Axis control during the course of the War. The reason for this was due to Hitler's fondness for the Croatians, who he granted their own independent state following the invasion of Yugoslavia, along with the Arabs as well, whom which Hitler admired for their warrior culture. Moreover, Hitler developed a perception of the Italians as being rather "incompetent", with the seemingly continuous stream of military and diplomatic blunders throughout the course of the War. Wielding almost total hegemony over the European continent, Hitler's dream of forging the ultimate empire now seems to be a reality. A Reich to last a thousand years. The Führer envisions the construction of colossal cities throughout the conquored lands intended to be harnessed for Lebensraum. The process of total Germanization of all lands within the Greater German Reich, from Calais to the Urals has begun. However, the Reich may only grow stronger, its Führer continues to grow weaker. Hitler's health now declines at a dangerous pace, mostly from the heavy amounts of stress and heavy consumption of prescription drugs during the course of the war. The transition of the role of leader is now of concern for the people. Hitler's potential death could mean the end of the Reich if the situation isnt handled correctly!**