"Thus do we now and forever entrust this our ship with the memory of our great Reich
. Let it be preserved in perpetuity, as a monument to the sacrifice and bravery of the sailors of the Kaiserliche Marine
. Let the spirit of the birth of our great nation be enshrined here, for the generations to come to witness and be inspired by.""With Iron and Blood have we forged Germany; and there is nothing that expresses this more than our fleet. Let us never forget; and if we do, let this proud ship forever remind us. Heil Deutschland!"
-Excerpt from the speech of Reichskanzler Johann Albrecht von Mecklenburg, for the opening of the Deutsches Marinemuseum, Wilhelmshaven
November 1918: And Italy approaches the
Admiralität with a proposal for sale of their rather respectable 13-inch rifles.
The
Admiralität actually considers it. The fact is that the
Zähringens have proven to be an effective design and, with AON armour designs allowing for considerable weight savings in armour, it is conceivable that the new generation of super-
Zähringens might be armed with 13-inchers for that
extra heavy shotgun approach. And, if the Italian designs were
just a bit better-performing, the Germans would have bit the bullet and gone for the deal. The problem is, however, that the deal, as proposed, would drain the
Admiralität budgetary reserves by half, in a period where the
Admiralität was running a 3-million-
Reichsmark monthly deficit.
And
that made the deal just a
little too expensive for Tirpitz and Galster.
And, of course, German R & D is never idle. Shortly after the
Neujahr, new ways to calculate weight distribution and bracing are introduced in German shipyards; and, following that, the new Mk. IV depth charges are issued to the
Piepers. Like I said, it's
precious seeing the Russians and the Japanese think they can effectively utilise submarines against the people who bloody
invented submarine warfare.
Oh. Oh, Nicky. Oh, you
shouldn't have.
This the
Admiralität cannot pass by. Work on the
Bismarck is frozen for a month, just to economise the funds necessary. After all, German
Zerstörer are stuck using 4-inch guns, because of the inferior 5-inch designs Germany has to deal with. This upgrade will
massively improve German light forces, not to mention the dramatic increase in effectiveness for capital ship secondary batteries.
It also underlines...interesting developments in Russia. Von Mecklenburg is concerned. The British mutiny / revolution is somehow...
echoing in Russia; there is considerable unrest amongst the population. Socialist troublemakers are on the rise and the state's coffers are empty. Russia has to
sell gun designs to keep her fleet maintained...
Oh God.
Oh-ho-ho-ho. Who needs 13-inch guns, when 12-inchers can now rip through 15 inches of belt armor at 8k yards?
Ahahahaha.
Forget the overland route via Balkans and Austria-Hungary. Germany now owns
Gibraltar.
Tankers are now a valid option for transporting oil from the Rhodes fields to the harbours of the Baltic; and Germany industry
explodes.
Ahahahaha. 1919 and the Italians don't even have directors. No, Spaghettis.
After all, you don't need a navy anymore. Germany is here to maintain
Ordnung in the
Mare Germanicum. Go have some Pizza or Pasta or something.
FFFFFFfffffffffyyyyyesssss. Dat inclined armour, in particular.
Oh mein Gott, das ist wunderbar. 
Well,
Scheisse.
Germany does not want war at this point. What she wants - what
Mecklenburg wants, is to consolidate. By now, he is a tired, worn-out man, exhausted by almost twenty years of the Great Game. He wishes to impose peace, make sure that Germany can dig in, fortify herself and her new holdings; move her economy from a war- to a peace-footing. Deal with the internal socialist threat, even.
But the assassination of the Austrian Ambassador to Serajevo knocks all that out the window.
Emperor Franz Ferdinand is, understandably, livid, but he urges caution. There is potential Russian influence here, he thinks; and it is better to play safe than to rush into a potential war pell-mell. But it is important that Austria-Hungary demonstrates her willingness to pursue justice and to protect her citizens. Demands
must be made.
Is Germany -
the Power in Europe - willing to stand behind Austria in this matter?
Mecklenburg, sadly, confirms that they are.
Wait, what the ****?
OK, the Russians get prissy, but that's expected. It happens every time someone messes with 'their' Balkans. And the Italians...OK, Mecklenburg had no intelligence reports that might have implied that the Italians may have been involved, but they're, arguably, Balkan neighbours as well; it's understandable that they may wish to capitalise on the situation.
But what has put a bee in the bonnet of the F...?
Could the assassination have been a French-mandated operation?!
Mecklenburg
immediately goes to high alert.
If so, this could not have been a more fortuitous timing. Welcome to the fleet,
Wettin!
And all of this is, of course, very welcome...
Unffffff.....
Hello there, high-grade optics.
Yes, you bet your
ass we want you on the
Bismarck.
Well, crap.
In all honesty, the
Admiralität are not surprised. The
Hansas were a testbed for oil-fired boilers, after all; and it's not unreasonable to experience some teething problems. And 31 knots for a heavy cruiser of their caliber is not bad at all. Welcome to the fleet!
Krupp want to sell guns to the Austrians - primarily 4-, 5- and 6-inch field artillery conversions of the German naval guns. It would be folly to hinder them; Germany now lives and profits off her industry and Mecklenburg has always been a firm supporter of German industrialisation. Plus, Austria-Hungary is a close ally, with a less-than-optimal industrial base of her own. She must be kept supplied, to maintain her grip on the Serbian Beast.
Tensions climb, after the deal is struck; and Mecklenburg confirms that the French are being
much too vocal for someone who has no stakes on the Balkans. There are rumours that they are currently working together with the Anglophile Greek Prime Minister, Venizelos, to undermine the position of the German-friendly King Constantine I; this is
way too much involvement on the Balkans for Mecklenburg to feel comfortable. His Majesty, the Kaiser, is slowly gearing up his famous anger and gall; Mecklenburg is tearing out what little hair he has left.
But, for a brief few days in September 1919, all this is placed on the back burner. For Tirpitz and Galster, shortly before the former's formal retirement, decide to decommission and scrap the three surviving
Victoria Louises: SMS Hertha, SMS Vineta and
SMS Victoria Louise.
It is an emotional and sad moment for the
Admiralität. These were
old and obsolete ships, true; but they had served faithfully for almost twenty years; and they had safeguarded Germany in her darkest hours. Galster is devastated by the imminent scrapping of his old darling,
Hertha; in an impulsive moment, he semi-jokingly proposes a public subscription, to preserve the Old Lady.
The response is
staggering, and surpasses all expectations. Every officer, every rating, every engineer and dockhand, contribute
something to the cause.
But it is an unexpected benefactor who comes to
Hertha's aid. His Majesty, the Kaiser, finds out about the scrapping plans. He
immediately jumps to action, in a very characteristic, impulsive manner. This time, however, his actions earn him the loyalty of the
Kaiserliche Marine for life.
On the 15th of Semptember, His Majesty storms the
Admiralität buildings, unannounced.
"By God," he cries, his ire truly something to behold, "by God,
you shall not kill my Valkyrie when the Russians, the Italians and the bloody British failed to! "
What follows is a direct order:
Hertha is to be spared the breakers. She will be kept in permanent mooring in Wilhelmshaven, maintained by public subscription and funding from the Palace, and she will, eventually, be made into the centrepiece of a new
Marinemuseum, to celebrate Germany's sovereignty of the seas.
Let's be honest, the Old Lady is worth it. Her war record is more than impressive; and she is a
symbol of the very finest in German naval history.
The decommissioning never takes place.
Hertha is kept in active status; the opening of the new
Marinemuseum officially takes place on the fourth of October. Let it never be said that Germans cannot move quickly, if the need arises!
...And then, back to the Balkans' hell-pit. Serbia is making angry noises towards both Austria, to the north,
and Greece, to the south. Russia, France and Italy all support the Serbs, to varying degrees.
In response, Germany lays down her new superdreadnought.
The
Elsass (whoooooo, if that ain't taking the piss at the French, I don't know what is) is a major improvement over everything the
Bismarcks are. At 50.5k tons, she is as well armored as her predecessors, with a 17-inch belt and turrets, a 3-inch deck and an 18-inch conning tower; but her armor is
inclined, for extra protection (German turtleback FTW!) She bears the same secondary battery as the
Bismarcks (German engineers are not as familiar with the Russian 5-inchers as they would like, yet), but her main armament consists of 12 38cm SK L/45 rifles (this being the first time the German 15-inchers are fitted to a ship). The guns can elevate to 35 degrees; they are controlled by the new Improved German Directors; and the secondary battery is built to utilise a secondary director, for increased accuracy.
The
Elsass burn oil and can comfortably reach the standard 25-knots of the German battleline. All-in-all, they're
beasts, and the final (?) crystallisation of the
Bismarck doctrine of 'moving to close range and blowing your ****ing face off, Frenchy'. Two ships are laid down:
Elsass herself, and her sister-ship,
Schwaben, the name selected to honour the old pre-dread veteran of the Russian and Italian wars.
Damn right.
FFfffffffff.....
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU.....
What the
**** do the French care about the Germans putting down a revolution in Tanganyika? Look at the Italians - they don't give a **** (which immediately marks them to Mecklenburg as honestly concerned for the Balkan situation and
not as plotting to backstab Germany). But the French, and the Russians (wtf?) and the
British.....
Britain. What the
hell?.
Mecklenburg begins to draft his first round of responses. He plans to bully Britain into submission (it has been only a year and a half since peace was signed), impose sanctions on Russia and test the waters with France, in order to avoid a war. But he never has the chance to.
On the 14th of December, 1919, his weakened constitution finally fails him. On the way to his office, he suffers a stroke and collapses on the stairs of the Reichstag. He is rushed to a hospital, but predictions are grim.
He still lingers on, until the 16th of February, phasing in and out of consciousness, and ranging from completely lucid to insensate. He is visited by Kaiser Wilhelm on his deathbed; it is never revealed what the two men talk about, but the Kaiser leaves near tears and secludes himself for several months, in mourning for whom he claims to have been "Our only true friend and the best and most loyal German of our time."
In the afternoon of the 16th of February 1920, von Mecklenburg dies of a stroke-induced heart attack, in his
Schloss Wiligrad, in Lübstorf. He is only 62 years old.
In his eighteen years of service, von Mecklenburg has taken a promising, rising land power, and developed it into a colonial empire and sea Power to rival and surpass the British. In the best traditions of Bismarck, he has wielded German steel and blood like weapons of peace and war; and he has left his mark on German history.
The funeral procession for the 'Chancellor of the Seas'
(Meereskanzler), as von Mecklenburg came to be known, took place on the 18th of February. His body was laid in state; and then, moved to the Doberan monastery, in Mecklenburg, where it was laid to rest with his first wife. His funerary monument is still visible and visitable today; many thousands of Germans pay their respects every year.
...**** you, Americans, we're
mourning!
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