German campaign to conquer the Eastern Front

The German campaign to conquer the Eastern Front is a campaign orchestrated by the German Empire to conquer the lands of West Russia (the Baltic States, Poland, Belarussia, Finland and Ukraine) and create a line of defense against the Russians, that consisted of Soldiers in trenches and a giant line of Bunkers used to fire upon Russian forces.

## History

### Before the Conquest

The front in the east was much longer than that in the west. The theater of war was roughly delimited by the Baltic Sea in the west and Minsk in the east, and Saint Petersburg in the north and the Black Sea in the south, a distance of more than 1,600 kilometres (990 mi). This had a drastic effect on the nature of the warfare.

While the war on the Western Front developed into trench warfare, the battle lines on the Eastern Front were much more fluid and trenches never truly developed. This was because the greater length of the front ensured that the density of soldiers in the line was lower so the line was easier to break. Once broken, the sparse communication networks made it difficult for the defender to rush reinforcements to the rupture in the line, mounting rapid counteroffensives to seal off any breakthrough.

Prior to the outbreak of war, German strategy was based almost entirely on the so-called Schlieffen Plan. With the Franco-Russian Agreement in place, Germany knew that war with either of these combatants would result in war with the other, which meant that there would be war in both the west and the east. Therefore, the German General Staff, under Alfred von Schlieffen and then Helmuth von Moltke the Younger, planned a quick, all-out ground war on the Western Front to take France and, upon victory, Germany would turn its attention to Russia in the east.

Schlieffen believed Russia would not be ready or willing to move against and attack Germany due to the huge losses of military equipment that Russia had suffered in the Russo-Japanese war of 1904–1905, its low population density and lack of railroads.

However *Generalmajor* Paul von Hindenburg preferred a reverse Schlieffen as they would invade The West Russian States known as the Baltic States, Poland, Ukraine, Belarussia and Finland first and then invade France with help from Italy. Moltke the Younger was pleased to help with the efforts of the reverse plan and the German staff was pleased about it due to the fact they have fears of the French knowing of the original Schlieffen plan.

## Invasions

### Poland

The Polish invasion was easy as the Germans sent in Polish ethnic troops into Poland to be used as "liberators of Poland." The German Polish troopers gained allegiance of the Polish citizens in Russian Poland who were tired of Tsarist rule and Russification which was used to wipe out their culture and Catholic Heritage. The Germans then used their Polish ethnic Soldiers to train the soldiers of their Polish kin in Russian dominated Poland in German army warfare and then the forces liberated Poland by encircling Warsaw as they conquered, towns, villages and cities within Poland by fighting unprepared Russian soldiers and hijacking Russian bases.

The encirclement of Warsaw was complete as the German Army then closed in and crushed Russian fortifications in Warsaw with the aid of Polish resistance. The Russians tried to get back Poland, but they were sadly still preparing for war.

Russian citizens in Poland did not retreat for they have lived in Poland their whole lives as it was their home, because of this the Russian citizens were subjugated under German and native Polish rule.

### Baltic States

Germany invaded the Baltic States with ease due to the fact the region has a lot of Baltic Germans who believed their German kin to be liberators, the Germans decided to liberate them and asimilate them into German dominance as Baltic German ethnic Russian soldiers switched to the side of Germany which the Germans approved of them doing so as they were the same ethnicity as the Germans themselves. The Baltic Germans like the Polish joined Germany due to Russification operations to suppress their cultural identity to make them more Russian. The Germans then used propaganda to get Baltic German citizens to prepare for war against Russia as some Propaganda used had the Baltic German crusaders saying "Fight Russia, Kill Russia and honor the warriors of your homeland." and "Russia ruined your culture because they hated your ancestors" which made Baltic Germans want to assimilate with Germany more as the Baltic German Soldiers got trained in the style of Prussian Military Training. The Germans then created trenches and pillbox bunker fortifications in front of the Trenches to prevent Russian invasion as the Russians were being prepared for war.

The Russians finally prepared for war tried to stop Germans from annexing the Baltic states, but they were unsuccessful as German soldiers gunned them down easily due to Russia's equipment and war gear. The Latvians, Lithuanians and Estonians tried to help with rebellions, by mass murdering Baltic Germans, but the Germans suppressed their rebellion hardcore and the Baltic natives surrender and accept German domination. Russian citizens in the region fled to St. Petersburg to find a new home in the Russian homeland as some who lived there their whole lives remained in the German occupied Baltic States rioting against the Germans. The Germans suppressed their riots by massacring those Russians which was criticized but the Germans apologized for the violence to the critics to still win the hearts of the non-Russian peoples and still be seen as liberators.

### Finland

After the Skirmish in the Baltic States, the Germans decided to invade Finland to extend their defenses northward as they would later extend their defenses South into Belarus and Ukraine. The invasion of Finland was pretty hard due to the fact the Finnish people fought hard, winter, and the involvement of Sweden, Norway and Denmark who tried to prevent German hegemony in the Scandinavian Countries. Despite hardships, the Germans won after they were given winter gear from the people they liberated and the German citizens. The Finnish people surrendered as they accepted German dominance, but the Russian citizens in Finland rioted against the Germans, by killing the Finnish citizens to make Finland, purely Russian. The Finnish people tired of the second Russification of Finland which started in 1908 and this monstrosity immediately joined sides with the Germans. This action was a blow against the Russians who now lost territory to the Germans. The Russians then surrendered Finland to the Germans. The Germans then extended the Defense line all the way to Finland's northern border with Russia proper.

The Norwegians, Swedish and Danish governments condemned Russia for it's actions of surrendering Finland to the Germans and the massacre of Finnish citizens.

### Belarussia and Ukraine

The Belarussia and Ukraine campaigns were hard due to the fact the natives were loyal to the Russians since they are of the same Slavic kin and have the same culture. Belarus was hard due to the fact that the Belarusian nobility and middle class had a firm footing in the regions and Stolypin's reforms allowed the peasants standard of living to greatly increase. Because of this the Belarussians show loyalty to Russia and it would be hard to invade Belarus and Ukraine to extend the defense line to keep Russia out of the war. However the Germans trying to find a way to make an easy invasion of Belarus discovered that there were Belarusian nationalists who feared that the growth of the Russian influence and feeling that Nicholas II officially recognizing Belarusian language as independent and allowed its teachings was not enough. The Belarussian Nationalists joined the side of the Germans as they were trained by the Germans to fight in the style of the German Army and they then recruited more for their movement by using propaganda targeting Russia and making Germany out as liberators. A majority of Belarus people joined the Germans as some remained loyal to the Russians which divided the nation into a civil war.

The Germans fought on the side of their loyal Belarus opposition forces as they were fighting against the loyalists of the Tsar. The Civil War was mostly consisting of street fighting in various Belarussian cities like Minsk. The Germans got aid from their Polish, Baltic German and Finnish allies with aid from Austria-Hungary's soldiers. The loyalists of the Tsar then got aid from the guards and police forces in service of Russian nobles and Aristocrats and Russian soldiers. Sadly due to a lack of equipment and essential war gear, the Loyalists lost as the Germans who were better equipped won the war. The Germans then extended their massive defense line through the Belarussian border with Russia Proper.

The invasion of Ukraine however was half easy and half hard. The half hard parts were that 3.5 million Ukrainians fought with the Imperial Russian Army, while 250,000 Ukrainians fought for the Austro-Hungarian Army. Ukrainian Nationalists from Austria were hired to stir up the Ukrainians loyal to Russia on their side in promise of creating a Government in Ukraine were they can represent themselves. The Nationalists used propaganda such as "remember the Russian famine of 1891–92" and "The Tsar never cared about you" 2 million Ukranians then joined the German and Austrian Armies as the rest remained with Russia. Ukraine then erupted in a civil war. However Germany decided to sneak on the border of Ukraine and Romania and conquer Crimea and then go to the border of Ukraine and Russia proper to create their line of defense against the Russians which would cut off help from Russia to their enemies. The operation was a success as the Ukranian soldiers on Russia's side with Ukranian soldiers were cut off from help from the government. The Germans then gained an easy victory as they bombarded, occupied and conquered cities, towns and villages in Ukraine.

### Romanian intervention

The Romanians intervened as they tried to make the German efforts to keep Russia out of the war in vain and help out Russia so they can get Transylvania. Bulgaria who joined the war to fight against Serbia and the Ottomans met up with the Germans as the Germans with Bulgarian officials planned to fight Romania. The Germans decided to fight the Romanians in the North as Bulgaria fought the Romania in the South. The two nations started their two front invasion when Romania conquered Transylvania and Bessarabia which ruined Austria's effort to maintain it's empire in the war and caused problems for the Ukrainian nationalists. The Germans invaded Romania from the North as they invaded the Moldova region through Ukraine as Bulgaria invaded Romania through the Wallachia region. Romania then surrendered and lost it's oil fields to the Germans and Bulgarians. Romania was allowed to have Transylvania due to instability in Austria and Bessarabia. Sadly Ferdinand I of Romania was forced by the German occupiers to convert to Romanian Orthodox Christianity after they found out the King does not have the same religion as the Romanian people.

### Serbia goes stupid

Serbian Soldiers led by George, former Crown Prince of Serbia then invaded the Austro-Hungarian province of Bosnia and Herzegovina and when they saw gang violence against Serbians continue after the anti-Serb riots in Sarajevo which lasted from July 28 to July 29. George because of this then punished the non Serbians by killing them and executing Serbs who were angry at the nationalists for ruining their lives were beaten to death as "Traitors of Serbia" and "Austrian Dogs". This resulted in the non Nationalist Serbs in Austria in siding with the Austrians who tried to save Sarajevo but failed due to fact George called for reinforcements led by Radomir Putnik, Živojin Mišić and Petar Bojović. The success against the Austrians by Serbia infuriated the citizens of Sarajevo who then marched to Belgrade and demanded King Peter I stop the brutal invasion, takeover and occupation of Sarajevo as they rioted and caused Violence against Serbians in Belgrade. The Soldiers tried to stop them but it only made them more angry as the riots escalated and things got harder due to the fact Russia is unable to aid Serbia due to the massive fortifications made by Germany which is able to successfully block the weak and low morale Russian soldiers resulted in Peter I to surrender.

Peter I met with the Germans as they then said that Serbia can have Bosnia and Herzegovina, but Serbia must comply to two terms, 1. Serbia's heir cannot be George, Crown Prince of Serbia as he must be exiled to Russia as Alexander remains Crown Prince and 2. Serbia must become a Puppet State of Germany ruled by the King but governed by a Reichkommissar. Peter I then agreed to the terms so the Germans can tell the citizens to calm down and Serbia then stabilizes after the raids. Princess Helen of Serbia and her husband Prince John retreated back to Serbia as George headed there. As the two arrived Germany held them under house arrest as the Germans told the two that they wanted to use John and Helen to be the monarchs of Armenia because the Germans plan to annex the region and liberate the Armenians from Ottoman Genocide.

## Aftermath

After the raids the Germans had gained a vast amount of territory under German control and a great way to prevent themselves from fighting a two way war. There were many successes and failures that resulted in many deaths and the use of many resources. The Germans made it all up by forcing the Russian citizens in the area to work hard labor under supervision of the minorities of the West Russia region who were loyal to the Germans. The Russians were forced to adapt to the culture of the natives in the regions they live in or become German. Wilhelm and his ministers were dividing the West Russian states and finalizing the borders to create a new branch of Puppet States with rulers loyal to Germany, sadly these operations were delayed due to French troopers crossing through the border with Germany in Alsace-Lorraine and resumed after the German and Italian invasions of France.

The territories of Poland, Lithuania, the Brest Region, the Kingdom of Galicia-Lodomeria (the Germans annexed it to save Austria-Hungary from a riot), the Grodno Region and Northwest Ukraine territory were incorporated into a Puppet State known as the Polish-Lithuanian Empire which is ruled by Janusz Radziwiłł, a Polish ethnic German Politician as Emperor of Poland-Lithuania. The Southern portion of the Empire (Poland, Brest Region, Northwest Ukraine and Galicia-Lodomeria) became the Congress Kingdom of Poland ruled by Janusz Radziwiłł as Janus I, King of the Congress Kingdom of Poland as the Northeast Portion of the Empire (Lithuania and the Grodno Region) became the Congress Duchy of Lithuania ruled by Janus I as Grand Duke of Lithuania. The Congress Duchy and the Congress Kingdom have their own Parliaments and Armies whom all answer to the Reichkommissar of Poland who answers to the Kaiser and the Emperor of Poland Lithuania.

The United Baltic Duchy was created in the regions of Latvia and Estonia which were merged together into the state itself. The Duchy was created as a dual monarchy ruled by a Grand Duke who is known as the Duke of Latvia and the Duke of Estonia who rules as a Constitutional Monarch as government control is in the hands of a Reichkommissar who has authority over the two Parliaments as each Parliament represents Latvia and Estonia. The Parliaments consist of Baltic German, Latvian and Estonian Politicians, Military Officials, Religious leaders, Businessmen and Aristocrats. The Grand Duke was originally gonna be Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg, but after a succession crisis, he abdicated and became the Reichkommissar with Baltic German Military Strongman Pytor Wrangel as his prime minister. The two elected William, Prince of Hohenzollern as Grand Duke as he accepted the title. William was crowned William I, Grand Duke of the United Baltic Duchy, Duke of Latvia and Duke of Estonia as the people cheered his corination.

Finland was then turned into the Kingdom of Finland which is ruled by Fredrik Kaarle I, the brother in law of the Kaiser due to his marriage with the Kaiser's younger sister Princess Margaret of Prussia. Finland accepted the guy for the throne since he has heirs, but they were reluctant to be an independent state ruled by a German monarch due to Norway, Sweden and Denmark negative reactions and their demand for a "Scandinavian Monarch." However the Fins accepted the decisions to avoid Swedish or Danish hegemony.

Belarus was hard to create into a puppet state since they said they need to be a republic due to the fact there was no Belarussian monarch since the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Wilhelm purposed his brother Heinrich, but Belarussian officials said no due to the fact his heir has the same medical problems as Crown Prince Alexei of the Russian Empire. All hope for a Belarusian monarchy was lost until the Russian Revolution when Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich of Russia and his wife Xenia (the sister of Nicolas II) retreated to the region in exile. The Kaiser's forces captured them and made them monarchs of the Grand Duchy of Belarus as Monarchists cheered. The Republicans were pissed off about the descision since the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess are the sister and brother in law/first cousin of Nicolas II the enemy Tsar.

Ukraine was fine with whoever was their monarch since they never had a monarch in forever. The monarch who was elected was the Prince of Thumb and Taxis who became Don I. Don I had created a Reichkommissarat and Council run by the Don Cossacks and Cossack Council.

After the creation of these Puppet States, their forces then ended up serving in the rest of the War and fought against the Russian Revolutionaries. The Tsar of Russia himself after the conquest of St. Petersburg by German forces in Finland and the United Baltic Duchy was then part of Ingra as a Puppet State. Nicolas II was freed by Russian Monarchists loyal to the Germans as he was then brought to the capital and crowned Tsar of Russia. The Dowanger Empress Maria did not return and remained in Denmark before it's conquest as she welcomed her sister Queen Mother Alexandria and Alexandria's daughter Victoria, Princess of the United Kingdom in their private estate near the royal palace.

The Russians however suffered hell after the success of Germany in the campaign. There were riots throughout all of Russia and it's territories as people were destroying churches, orphanages, villages, cities and statues of the Romanovs. The riots then later on in 1917 started the Russian revolution as Russians revolted against the Tsar and created a republic. The Tsar then remained in St. Petersburg as the German forces in Finland and the United Baltic Duchy conquered the region it was in and declared it a Puppet State as the republic moved it's capital to Moscow. Nicolas II became the Tsar of Ingra as his brother in law and first cousin Grand Duke Alexander and sister Xenia became Yaroslav I and Grand Duchess Xenia of Belarus. The Russian Republic was overthrown and exiled to East Siberria under American control by the Soviets after a Civil war.