Deutsche Welle - German News

[Kaiser Martens]

"Hm. Not a bad placement. Please move on. Grand Admiral Van Haken will have a closer look at this."

[Kaiser Martens]

[b]The New Stability[/b]
[i]The Union's Prosperity[/i]

Over a year since the end of the Southwestern Wars, things look much different in the Union. The Althing has announced a decrease of 3% to Military Budget which is to be divided among the Education and Health ministries. Lord Martens commented, "We have reached a point in our development in which we no longer need to make constant investments in warfare related material, and we have a large enough weaponry stockpile that we do not need to produce as much anymore. Three percent may seem little, but in reality will make a vast difference in terms of Schools, Universities and special institutes for the mentally impaired as well as for the exceptionally bright. We are also devoting more money to have better health facilties and more research possibilities. We have made enough Soldiers, now, for our future, we need something else."

Additionally the last batch of Reconstruction Aid will be sent to Elsass-Lothringen, Denmark and the Swiss Area in order to allow those areas to catch up with development. Most of the western damage is already fixed, so the new funds will be used to improve beyond the pre-war situation. The most problematic zone has been Denmark which had been, for all purposes but culturally, a third world country. "We are planning massive investments in Denmark as well. The zone had been neglected by their government, we are starting with the basic things: Roads and Infrastructure, but also had to send Army Food Supplies there, for 16% of the population was empoverished due to the old Regime there. We are working to give them homes and then education as well as health. By the time we are done, it will be once more an area rich enough that it could exist by itself. It was a wonder that the land did not collapse earlier. We will fulfill our duty to our brothers."

Other announcements consisted of a huge Technoviking Show over at Altona, Hamborg, to raise funds for aiding victims of the Franco-German war, a huge success, and the sending of General Langkjaer over to Cochin in order to act as a military advisor to the nation, together with blueprints and documentation to be used for the further development of such a nation. Additionally, 10k (One division) of Franco-German volunteers has moved to that country to train themselves in the local variety of warfare, to then bring back the experience to the North.

The most relevant news would be the returning of the majority of the territory formerly known as Belarus over to Slavorussia, as described by the following map, the Northwestern Zone would remain under German Rule while the rest would go to our Rus Allies.

[img]http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii29/voxpopuli_album/fgssfd22.png[/img]

"It is unfortunate that we were in no position to give them all of Belarus. What happened in the region was that the insane regime which ruled it before we did had started to commit genocide against the Belarussians. Therefore the parts of the country we are ceeding to Slavorussia are, for the most part, empty, as the people managed to escape. Still, we have found several mass graves of evidence. The people of Valkurheim, which is the part that we own, settled there when the North was at its worst time ever, but were horrified to see what had happened and soon complained to Berlin, which helped when possible. Although these people technically sit on lands not belonging to them originally, they are the 85% of the Population at three million and relocating them would be as bad as what the Belarussian government had done. We hoped to trade the region for Aaland, which we would like to own, however this was no sufficient offer to Moscow, and although we regret it we're still ceeding the Slavic Part of Valkurheim, which is to be renamed Belarus again, to them to show them that even if we cannot get what we wanted out of it we still do what's right. Like Warsaw-Martensheim, the city of Minsk will be divided and called on our side Valkurheim, probably to show up on new maps as Minsk-Valkurheim." - Lady von Glücksburg.

This move was congratulated by many in Germanic Society, although others as expected angrily complained about Moscow's decision not to give the Germanic Territory of Aaland to the Union.

Finally it was announced that Germanic Union would one-sidedly protect Norway-Sweden.

Edited October 5, 2010 by Kaiser Martens

[Kankou]

"Moving on the the Army.

One can say that Germany's land force is the most expereinced in the world, having been through countless conflicts. Of particular notice is the massive use of the Nebelwerfer M, since the plains of northern Germany allows fast movements after a firing. This contrasts with the use of mortar in Koryo, which is a mountainous place and therefore having the need for hiding of the origin of fire. The long range, combined with the powerful shells, makes them a dangerous weapon for enemies.

I believe that the Elektro-thermisch-chemisches-Geschütz of the Leopard IV can be improved to make a more poewrful gun, and I shall contact the Koryo Defense Development Administration to see if there can be a joint development project.

All in all, there isn't much to say about land defence, except in one location: Island. The new defenses recently built will be of no use when faced with a deteremined invader. In any amphibious operation, the defender has two options for defensive strategy: strong defense of the beaches, or defense in depth. In modern warfare, beach defenses will most likely be destroyed by either by naval bombardment or strategic bombing. At teh same time, defense in depth would also not work since Island cannot hold enough a large defense force to fight when the enemy had fully landed and organized themselves. In short, under the current methods, Island is vulnerable."

Edited September 30, 2010 by Kankou

[Kaiser Martens]

"While it can be improved, it already is the strongest gun around. It begs the question, is it wortwhile to invest massively to do it? Maybe we'll research it, but only implement it if things get out of hand someday. Hm. Iceland has always been vulnerable, but do not underestimate them, they have their own population and factory big enough to constitute a nation on its own and fight any invaders on even terms. Still, it has always been the weakest link. Any suggestions?"

[Kankou]

"Actually, the version of the ETKG that the former Reds used was found to be inadequate. Tests showed that the muzzle velocity reached slighty over 1,800m/sec, meaning it is no better from the Rheinmetall 120 mm, a non-ETK cannon. It seemed that the Reds, in their belief of superiority, forgot that a conventional cannon was as effective as their failure of a weapon. Koryo had been researching the physics, and with Germany's help, we are sure that we shall be able to develop a much powerful gun using a smaller caliber, so that more ammo can be carried.

The geography of Island makes only the following areas as the possible landing positions: Reykjavík along with its harbour and seaplane landing site Vatnagarðar, nearby landing grounds at Sandskeið and Kaldaðarnes to the east, the nearby anchorage at Hvalfjörður to the north, Hafnarfjörður to the west, the harbour at Akureyri in the far north and the nearby landing grounds at Melgerði, and finally, Húsavík and Raufarhofn in the northeast.

For the area around Reykjavík, I suggest an intermediate posture, with the bulk of the defensive forces a few kilometres inland from the shore—back far enough to avoid complete exposure to naval gunnery or bombing, but close enough that the invaders could not establish a secure foothold before engaging them. The counteroffensive forces are to be placed still further back, prepared to move against whichever landing seemed to be the main effort. This is possible because there are high mountains in the behind for the forces to bunker in until they are needed. Estimated forces needed would be around 10,000 for the initial defense, and 25,000 for the counterattack.

It is Hvalfjörður, Húsavík and Raufarhofn that we have a problem. These locations open right into the marshy lowlands of Island, meaning while it would be hard going for any landers, it also means that once landed on, it would be very hard for us to push the invaders out. In order to solve this problem, special missiles should be deployed in the mountains, which would unleash steel rain upon the enemies. Koryo is also developing such a missile, and when it is completed, Germany shall be the first one to receive it."

Edited September 30, 2010 by Kankou

[Kaiser Martens]

"You should however keep in mind that there literally are not "Landable-on" areas other than the fortified Reykjavik. We didn't just place one or two walls and some mines and hedgehogs, we built so that anything resembling a beach would no longer exist. Yes, this fortification can be destroyed, but then, the regular geography could too be destroyed. In any case our defense is both Coastal and In Depth. The doctrine would be similar to the Franco-German war, in which the captured cities acted as poison pawns that wrecked the enemy."

[Kaiser Martens]

[u][b]More Germanic Union Investments[/b]
[i]And Functional Monuments to be Built[/i][/u]

Berlin has announced the construction of a "high-complexity Hospital-Medicine School-Medical Research-Red Odal Center" complex styled with a monument fassade at Amsterdam, built to resemble the architecture of Valhalla Temple but featuring small towers on the outside and surrounding with statues of famous Germanics known to have contributed to medicine efforts, combined with a central monument of the deceased House of Orange, the name of the institution will be "The Castle of the All-Germanic Health Society". Its construction is expected to take five years and demand many resources.

Additionally, the All-Germanic Museum will be created at Aarhus, Jütland, but will not simply be a museum depicting the history of all Germanic Peoples from ancient to modern times, it will also be a Cultural Center, a History and Philosophy University, and an Anthropology and Linguistics research and learning area, where every Germanic Language ever documented will be taught, from Proto-Indo European, the stem of Proto-Germanic to Nordlandic and New Dutch/North German. It will be built as if to resemble a castle where many iron statues of different cultural icons of the Germanic Countries will stand, guarding and protecting the Fatherland. It will include an underground multi-story recreation of the World accordingly to Germanic Paganism.

Another institution will be built at the outskirts of Reykjavik: Valhalla. It will be built to resemble the Valhalla from the texts as much as possible, as such, the building in itself will be a monument. Its purpose will be to serve as a home for the most decorated veterans of all the Germanic Wars as a sort of five-star hotel, and also as a training facility for young warriors in formation. War with ancient as well as new tactics and weapons will exist there, and the great Hall will be Berlin's way of repaying the many veterans that still remain from the wars. A statue of Field Marshall Tambarskjelve, Destroyer of the Red Army, will be at the center, and a high speed train from there to Reykjavik's Center and Haven will be created.

Germanic Union continues to try and improve the situation of its citizens, now that it is no longer in a state of nearly-constant warfare or cold war. Large housing, economic and study incentives are being created for those of the Valkurheim Region if they should choose to move either to Valkurheim City, former Denmark or Iceland, areas which require more population in order to be developed further. It is expected that after several years of this policy, population at the target areas will grow, leaving the fields clear to allow Nature to take its course. "It will be a green paradise, and we will clean the environment there while supporting the growth elsewhere. We will provide Homes and Schools, Universities, Jobs and Money to those who agree to move to those more profitable areas."

[Sarah Tintagyl]

[quote]
[i][b]To: Dierik Martens, Ratsherr of the Germanic Union
From: Claire Delacour, President of France
Subject: A Slight Problem[/b][/i]
[i]
Excellency,

I apologize for the sending of this letter, but problems arising throughout Western Europe because of the movements of a German State known as Burgundsholm, or something rather, has done too much in light of causing problems to the states of Western Europe. Firstly, I would like to bring up satellite movements that my military has picked up around Wallonia. It would appear that legions of soldiers are marching into Wallonia from Germany and I must ask you Martens, is this some kind of game or a joke, or are you or your puppet states invading what was once the French Territory of Wallonia. I do know that remnants of the Burgundian regimes are probably not happy with an independent French Wallonia, but if this invasion is not stopped immediately, I am afraid I must declare war against Germany for allowing soldiers to attack Wallonia. If the invasion is stopped however or it is discovered that Germany had nothing to do with this invasion then we can together destroy this insurrection into Wallonian Sovereign Territory.

The other problem I have seen is the recent English Declaration of War against the Burgundians, because of a letter that was leaked allowing for nuclear retaliation against the English from a nation known as Timmistan. I expect the English to move quickly, but I know the Germans can move faster. I do not like to advise or tell you what to do Monsieur, you are a friend. But this chaos must be ended and that means the end of the Burgundians on Bornholm.

These failed regimes are too much, Europe is stable for once, and this cannot and will no happen so long as France stands.

Sincerely,

Claire Delacour[/i]

[/quote]

[Zoot Zoot]

[quote]To: Dierik Martens, Ratsherr of the Germanic Union
From: David Cameron, Prime Minister of England
Subject: Permission

I am writing to request permission to traverse German airspace and territorial waters to reach the Island of Bornholm to remove the Burgundian regime which was offering out money to nuclear nations to attack England with nuclear weapons in a retaliatory attack for killing 37,000 of their soldiers, and sinking their ships which were firing on London with V-2 rockets.

Given our state of war against the Burgundian regime, We need to pass through the Zeeland straights into the Baltic.

Our force is comprised of twenty seven warships, six of which are submarines.
We have 4100 Marines, 500 MBT's and 300 smaller support vehicles.

If permission is granted, overflights of Vulcan strategic bombers, numbering no more than ten at a time would fly over Denmark to deliver conventional payloads. Moreover, reinforcements in the form of two parachute regiments and an SAS brigade would be deployed from C-130's directly onto the Island.

We will pay for any damages the island recieves, and on the removal of Burgundian leadership, Bornholm will be returned to Germany.
Burgundian leadership will be taken to England to stand trial for conspiring to detonate nuclear weapons on English cities, and conspiring to commit warcrimes.

If permission is denied, we request that Germany remove the regime and hand over Burgundian leaders to England on the above charges.

Sincerley

David Cameron[/quote]

[Karl Martin]

[b][u]The Passing of a Great House[/b][/u]



Friedrich Wilhelm von Hohenzollern, King of Prussia and the Netherlands, was found dead in his hospital room. The cause of death has not been made public, but it is believed that he had not survived surgery.

The passing of the King meant that the House of Hohenzollern had come to an end. Friedrich Wilhelm had been the sole remaining member of the House of Hohenzollern following the death of his father, and with this, only three old families still survive: The Houses of Romanov, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and Habsburg.

Many across Germany mourned the death. A controversial figure due to his father's legacy, he still commanded respect from North Germans who saw him as the embodiment of the stern, uncompromising soldier of old. The founding family of the Iron Kingdom, and of the Second Reich, was what much of Germany wanted to restore. Yet now the twilight had come, and the flames of loyalty snuffed out.

The funeral was a grand affair, with a procession that wound through the streets of Königsberg before heading toward the shores of the Baltic. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people attended the cortege and flowers were thrown across the streets in such numbers that several days were spent cleaning up. Behind the cortege, the great and the good of the Prussians travelled in open-top jeeps, whilst the Preußische Eiserne Brigade contingent marched for the Armed Forces.

When the cortege arrived by the boat for final sendoff that had been built on the shore, the entire Königsberg Flight wing, of over 200 fighter planes flew in tight formation over, red and black smoke streaming out from canisters mounted on the side of their wings whistling as they went. Words were spoken, by several notables, eulogising the great man and a silence descended as the coffin was placed into the boat, which was towed out to a kilometer from the shore.

At this point, the wooden ship was shot at by a lone diving fighter that had been painted black for the occasion, incendiary rounds tearing into the material, and setting the ship - packed with flammables - alight in a fierce combustion, that cremated the remains of the last Head of Hohenzollern in a spectacle. The roar of the crowds, those who could see anyway was immediate, as the fighter wheeled around and flew toward the city and the airport. The flames continued to burn for about an hour before the ship, finally sank. The ashes of Friedrich Wilhelm von Hohenzollern were interred in the cold waters of the Baltic Sea, the precise spot unknown to any except the lone pilot, whose identity has never been revealed.

[Kaiser Martens]

[b][i]Germania Develops!
The first fruits of hard work[/i][/b]

The first batch of investments are ready and have begun to produce positive economic effects in the Union. Infrastructure has been raised by 1000, allowing for the country to have more income to further develop itself, but also enables it to field more troops and Panzer divisions to defend the great Fatherland.

"This is the culmination of our efforts in Elsass-Lothringen, Switzerland, Valkurheim, Denmark and Iceland as well as other minor investments all across Germany, now, finally the theory can be seen in practice and we are stronger" - von Glücksburg.

Additionally, Kettenheim Inc, the great weapons manufacturer has been made a legal company in Germany and plans were announced to purchase 101 new MBTs from them in order to prepare the new divisions. Berlin has offered them economic advantages to create a factory at Bornholm in order to help the area recover from the damage caused by the Hohenzollern Rule. This is expected to cause even further development in the future of Germanic Europe.

The Eastern Policies continue, as thousands have already moved from Valkurheim Fields to the City or to other parts of Germany. Now the incentives have also been added for Bornholm, to revitalize the broken Island and give it a new identity with new people. The formerly-Belarussian fields are slowly acquiring a ghostly quality as entire towns are left behind.

[Uberstein]

Kettenheim INC confirms this deal, and shall be offering it's newest yet-to-be-revealed MBT design to Germany before any other customers. However, all customers will have the same high quality when it hits the open market.

[Kaiser Martens]

[b]The New Division
And Finland is One[/b]

One hundred and one tanks from Kettenheim Inc have arrived. One is currently being tested at the Prussian Testing Grounds in the far east, while the rest of the hundred have been assigned to form a new division. The tanks are called Steinhammers, like the traditional Übersteinian Scandinavia Tanks, and so the new division has been named "Überstein" to commemorate the German Reich - Übersteinian Scandinavia long term alliance and the later reapproachment of Übersteinian Finland with Germanic Union.

At that, it was announced that the Finnish ODP would carry on to their new Hanseatic Government, so as to avoid signing the same treaty for a third time with the same nation under different management. Lord Martens expects that European Stability will be lasting. With the construction of new Kettenheim Factories at Iceland, Luxemburg, Elsass-Lothringen and Nordheim, development continues, and workers from the Far East have been assigned to those duties, while at Valkurheim, to occupy job positions a large building is being constructed to serve as a Research Center for Electronics, both for Civilian and Military use.

[Kankou]

[quote name='Kaiser Martens' timestamp='1287202002' post='2485679']
workers from the Far East have been assigned to those duties[/quote]

A group of scientists from the Koryo Defense Development Administration arrived to help Kettenheim INC. They did have to keep themselvesfrom laughing at the "Main Battle" Tank, with all the flaws in its design.


A separate group, those of higher qualifications, also arrived in Berlin separately.

[Uberstein]

[quote name='Kankou' timestamp='1287456954' post='2487388']
A group of scientists from the Koryo Defense Development Administration arrived to help Kettenheim INC. They did have to keep themselvesfrom laughing at the "Main Battle" Tank, with all the flaws in its design.


A separate group, those of higher qualifications, also arrived in Berlin separately.
[/quote]
These "scientists" were promptly turned away. Kettenheim INC hires on a needed-for-project basis, and as all positions in R&D are filled, there are no jobs available. Factory work is only available for those who live near the factories to help provide local jobs.

OOC: Care to PM these flaws? I doubt it's any worse than anything else people in CNRP use.

[Kankou]

[quote name='BaronUberstein' timestamp='1287470515' post='2487543']
These "scientists" were promptly turned away. Kettenheim INC hires on a needed-for-project basis, and as all positions in R&D are filled, there are no jobs available. Factory work is only available for those who live near the factories to help provide local jobs.

OOC: Care to PM these flaws? I doubt it's any worse than anything else people in CNRP use.
[/quote]

The scientists were slightly confused at how such a low-tech company would turn away those that were hired by the German government, but they decided to just start bringing in the wonders of Korean weapons.

OOC: I'll just tell you one of the flaws (since the rest are to be exploited in war). Placing the engine at the front of the tank will not provide much protection against DU rounds, which go through even the most heavy armors in existence today. Take in the factor that ETC guns are getting very common, and you're just going to have balance issues. If you want to discuss more, send a PM.

Also, I might have misunderstood Martens's post: He could have meant workers from Belarus. I suppose it was confusion with the plans of my own tech sharing projects with him.

[Uberstein]

OOC: Double post, I hate slow internet.

Edited October 19, 2010 by BaronUberstein

[Uberstein]

[quote name='Kankou' timestamp='1287477005' post='2487580']
The scientists were slightly confused at how such a low-tech company would turn away those that were hired by the German government, but they decided to just start bringing in the wonders of Korean weapons.

OOC: I'll just tell you one of the flaws (since the rest are to be exploited in war). Placing the engine at the front of the tank will not provide much protection against DU rounds, which go through even the most heavy armors in existence today. Take in the factor that ETC guns are getting very common, and you're just going to have balance issues. If you want to discuss more, send a PM.

Also, I might have misunderstood Martens's post: He could have meant workers from Belarus. I suppose it was confusion with the plans of my own tech sharing projects with him.
[/quote]
OOC: I don't recognize ETC guns if people haven't done extensive RP into getting them to work as they don't work outside of labs atm. That and ETC guns are incredibly dangerous and require more space because of the batteries and capacitors. You lose space and have volatile high charge capacitors and batteries in your tank. Not fun if a round penetrates. Where exactly people are putting these large batteries and capacitors I have yet to understand. *shrug*

Also, talk to the Israelis about putting the engine in the front. I think they know a bit more about tank design than you do.
I used exiting modern tech on my tank. Even the active defenses are pretty much a copy of what the Israeli's have done, just with better coverage.

Edited October 20, 2010 by BaronUberstein

[Kaiser Martens]

In any case, the scientists would be moved to a facility in Low Germany, previously belonging to its old government when the region was an autonomous country. They'd be allowed to research there. In the meantime, the union seemed to focus most of its efforts on the civilian realms. In spite of the recent army expansion, the budget was proportionally less than before, considering the new wealth.

[Kaiser Martens]

[u][b]As the war rages on...[/b]
[i]Technology advances by leaps[/i][/u]

As the war against Ireland rages on, the Germanic Union continues to develop and grow stronger by having constructed over 500 infrastructure points at Jutland, Gotaland and the Low Countries, but, more importantly, while technology continues to increase in the usual intervals, the construction of a new Weapons Research Complex has allowed to double the theoretical effectiveness of said technology. von Glücksburg has announced that the first improvements to be seen would be those in the field of Medicine. "We need more people, stronger, smarter, and that can live longer in improved conditions. We will research in medicine and explore also potential uses in the fields of education and economy before finally moving on to the military. The People will above all benefit from this. We will also research, given the current European situation, research in Radiation Cleanup Technology as well as means of fighting Radiation Poisoning."

The dumping of several new ships also took place, but was kept secret. The new Air Carriers and Landing Ships would soon join the defensive forces of the Kriegsmarine's surface fleet, while the submarine fleet was deployed for active combat elsewhere.

It was also announced that returning most of the territory inner divisions, the "provinces", to the traditional "Länder" and former-countries was currently being evaluated by the Althing.

Edited November 8, 2010 by Kaiser Martens

[Bacharth]

[b]Hamburg[/b]
[b]
[/b]
After losing contact with the Friedland Government, all of their land is reclaimed by the Germanisk Förbund, with Czechia to be handed over to the Slavic Republic authorities when the time comes.

[Kaiser Martens]

Following that, the traditional Länder of Germany but additionally other territories have been restored. A ghost looms over Europe as, in some form, Bavaria can exist again - this time without its older tendencies. There have been some exceptions, however. All of the Frisias have been united into one, there's only one Schleswig/Slesvig. The vast majority of the people have liked this slight turn towards Tradition even though in a practical sense there's little to be changed, as the Government is the same.

[Bacharth]

[b]Martenshaven, Germanic Aerospace HQ[/b]
Today, the Germanic Space Authority has announced their intent to start exploring the moon of Titan. At 3 AM GMT this morning, a probe was launched into space with the mission to orbit Titan. In time, the Aerospace Authority will converse with the government about laying claim to the moon of Titan.

[Bacharth]

[b]Vienna, Gothisk Military Headquarters[/b]
An announcement has been made regarding the change in uniforms for the Gothic infantry. They will be getting viking helmet-style horns on their helmets. This is made to mirror a recent announcement by the Nord-Germanic military authority that will give all Nord-Germanic infantry pickelhauben-style helmets. The thrall soldiers in Gothica will get only one horn on the front of their helmets, but it will be facing down in order to increase their embarassment.

Edited December 9, 2010 by Vince Sixx

[Bacharth]

[b]Aarhus, Department of Germanic Culture[/b]
Following approval from the Althing, civil engineers will begin work on removing all the roman script on all public writings and replacing it with runic script. The wait to restore runic script comes after a report from all schools across the nation, saying 98% of Germanic citizens can now read and write in runes fluently. The runes will replace all roman script on everything except monuments, so as not to deface cultural items for other mini-cultures within the union.