Re: Blood and Iron - Chapter 829: Restoration of the Reich

Chapter 829: Restoration of the Reich

Kaiser Wilhelm II stood before his eldest son and heir, along with his grandson. Three generations of German royalty gathered, staring at the map laid out before them.

“The Greater German Reich.”

Wilhelm said… His voice was old, haunting, and yet still filled with the pride and glory an emperor was supposed to embody.

Crown Prince Wilhelm and his son, Wilhelm, stared at the map before them. Since the unification of Germany in 1871, the Empire had been separated from much of its historical territory.

Calling it a unified Germany was true only to such an extent. And in the years since the Great War, Bruno and the Kaiser had worked subtly to restore the maps to their natural order.

“The annexation of the Archduchy of Austria, the Bohemian Marches, the Rhine Princely States, the Alemannic Cantons, and the Baltic March-Frontiers had not been the conquest of foreign nations, but the restoration of older Germanic polities that Westphalia had once carved away by treaty.”

Crown Prince Wilhelm and his son Prince Wilhelm looked at one another in silence. They knew all that remained separated from the German nation were the Low Countries and Switzerland.

The Kaiser began to speak again, supporting himself on his cane as he walked about the large table emblazoned with the map of Europe and Germany’s ambitions.

“The Dutch and the Belgians already rely on German steel for protection, German blood for their sovereignty, and German gold for their wealth. All while asserting their independence… It is utterly distasteful.”

Prince Wilhelm stepped forward, and shifted the figurines representing the Reich’s forces within Belgium, from within them, to the Dutch borders.

“I have assurances from King Albert that when this war comes to an end, he intends to petition the German Reich for entry. Two generations of Belgian soldiers have fought beside their German brothers against the Allied menace. He can no longer deny that our people are one and the same, or that they have ever been anything but. The Netherlands, however…”

He quickly shifted the figure of a wolf pack, representing Werwolf forces, into Amsterdam.

“The Netherlands will need some convincing. They have been ’free’ and ’proud’ for too long. They have forgotten who they really are, and just how much they need us….”

Kaiser Wilhelm II gazed upon the figures that his grandson moved and remained silent for the longest time.

Werwolf Group answered to Bruno and no other. They weren’t just a mercenary force, but an extension of the Grand Principality of Tyrol. Wilhelm II had been around long enough to know who the wolves really answered to.

And because of this, he was quick to shift the figures back out of the borders.

“You will need to contact your father-in-law if you wish to make use of his forces. They won’t answer to us otherwise. Not unless we formally enter a contract. And for an operation like this, there should never be a paper trail….”

Prince Wilhelm frowned when he heard these words. He was just about to protest when his father, Crown Prince Wilhlem stepped forward and stopped him.

“Your grandfather is right. On paper, Werwolf Group is a mercenary organization that answers to the Reich. But the reality is they are a private army funded, supplied, and loyal to House von Zehntner, and though your wife is a von Zehntner, she holds no authority over her father’s men. You would be foolish to think you can co-opt Bruno’s men from him without his consent or knowledge.”

The Kaiser was quick to interject.

“We should have someone contact Bruno and suggest he begin such measures immediately. Psychological operations seem to be the specialty of that three-headed hound of his….”

Even the Kaiser dared not utter the name aloud. To do so was to make it a reality. And the Cerberus Brigade was better off left unmentioned. He only knew about its existence because Bruno was always transparent with him.

As for the Crown Prince and Prince, neither of them actually understood whom the Kaiser was actually referring to when he mentioned a three-headed hound.

Even so, they understood the meaning behind his words. Prince Wilhlem stepped forward and saluted his grandfather, all too happy to volunteer for the role.

“I will contact my father-in-law forthwith and request that he do something about this matter.”

Kaiser Wilhelm II returned his grandsons’s salute before dismissing the boy and his father.

“That will be all. I would very much hope to see our lands restored to their fullest extent before I enter the grave. If I were to be granted a last wish in this life well lived, that would be it.”

After his son and grandson were gone, Wilhelm stared at the map, and its painted borders. The lands of the German Reich before they were cut apart with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648.

There are six years before the three hundredth anniversary of that disastrous peace. And he did not know whether he would live to see the day.

—

Bruno received a call not long after the conversation was held at the Kaiser’s palace between the German Emperor, the Crown Prince, and the Prince.

The time between them was vast, but Bruno would always answer a call from a member of the House of Hohenzollern, no matter what time of day, or what he might be engaged in at that moment.

When he took the call aboard the SMS Bismarck. He heard his son-in-law’s voice on the other side.

“Reichsmarschall, it has been a while since we last spoke.”

Bruno nodded his head and sat in his cabin’s office seat. He was quick to look over at the clock to confirm what time it was before responding.

“You’re lucky I’m a lifelong soldier; if I were a civilian who enjoyed sleeping in, I would be complaining right now. So, to what do I owe the pleasure of a visit from the Prince of Prussia so early in the morning?”

Wilhelm scoffed when he heard Bruno’s flattering words. He decided not to mince words since Bruno was most certainly the type of man who would weaponized this call if given the chance.

“I’ll make this quick… I need you to do me a favor…”

Bruno had some idea of where this conversation was headed. If his son-in-law was asking for his favor, it was one of two things. Either Eva was mad at him, and Wilhelm wanted Bruno to calm her down… or he needed soldiers for some reason.

Because of this, Bruno leaned forward in his chair, his focus entirely on the discussion at hand.

“Go on…”

Wilhelm heard the tone in Bruno’s voice and felt chills down his spine. Nevertheless, he mustered his courage and spoke bluntly, and swiftly.

“I want to hire the Werwolf….”