| Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) | |
| |
| |
| Country | |
| Continent: | Europe |
| Capital: | Bonn (1949-1990); Berlin (1990-present) |
| National Language: | German |
| Government: | Parliamentary Republic |
| Status in OTL: | Active; see Germany |
West Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG, and also called the Bonn Republic, was a nation that existed from 1949 to 1990. It was created from the American, British, and French occupied sections of Germany after its defeat at the end of World War II, largely in opposition to the Soviet-backed German Democratic Republic, or East Germany, a communist state. With the USSR exerting heavy influence in East Germany, the West German government established ties to NATO very early in the Cold War. During the reunification of Germany in 1990, East Germany effectively ceased to exist, while Federal Republic of Germany absorbed the territory of East Germany and gained sixteen states, becoming the only "Germany".
West Germany in The Hot War[]
West Germany was the unwilling battlefield of the European theater of World War III.
West Germany was still quite fragile under the chancellorship of Konrad Adenauer when the country was dragged into the new world war on 1 February 1951, after the Soviet Union dropped atomic bombs on several European cities, including Bremen and Augsburg in retaliation for U.S. attacks in Manchuria.[1] On 20 February, the Soviet Red Army, along with several allies, invaded West Germany proper.[2] Using their numerical superiority to their fullest, the Soviets made substantial gains in West Germany, Austria and northeastern Italy, despite huge casualties inflicted on them by Allied forces.[3]
Adenauer immediately went into a bunker in Bonn, and sent a cable to U.S. President Harry Truman, begging Truman not to use atomic bombs in the western zone. He also emphasized that the damage caused by the bombs would outweigh any advantage, and that West Germany could not remain friends with a country that deployed atom bombs against West German territory.[4] Truman agreed to Adenauer's request at the time, though it hobbled the Allied war effort.
Just after the atom bomb attacks, Adenauer established an emergency militia in anticipation of a Soviet invasion.[5] While it couldn't be called an army for political reasons, the militia members wore uniforms supplied by the U.S. and carried American weapons. As the Soviets moved west, more Germans entered into the militia.[6]
Throughout the remainder the first half of 1951, the Soviets and their allies continued to press west. By the end of May, the Soviets had taken Dortmund, in the heart of the German Ruhr.[7] By July 1951, Soviet forces had crossed most of West Germany and were approaching the borders with the Netherlands and Luxembourg.[8] In a desperate move, Truman authorized the use atom bombs on the Soviet forward positions in West Germany, disregarding Konrad Adenauer's pleas.[9]
Within days, U.S. bombers deployed bombs all across West Germany. Wesel, Hörstel, and a host of other towns were destroyed. The attacks destroyed most of the Soviet forward positions, forcing the survivors to retreat back east.[10] Throughout the remainder of 1951, NATO forces maintained a frantic drive east to regain territory. In short order, NATO troops retook Lippstadt,[11] Marsberg,[12] and Warberg.[13] Only in Warberg did NATO see anything like actual Soviet resistance. Further north, the town of Paderborn became a NATO stronghold,[14] as the Soviets made repeated and costly attempts to take the town.[15] Once the Soviet drive halted, U.S. troops attempted their own advance, but soon came to grief against the now-dug in Red Army.[16]
With Soviet satellites becoming increasingly unreliable and draining Soviet troops in West Germany,[17] Joseph Stalin ordered atomic attacks on Washington, DC, Boston, and New York City. While most of the U.S. government was killed, Truman survived.[18] Within a month, the U.S. successfully killed Stalin when it deployed the new hydrogen bomb in Omsk.[19] While Lavrenty Beria initially seized the reins of power in the Soviet Union,[20] his inability to secure loyalty at home or from his allies abroad meant that NATO forces continued the push through West Germany.[21] After a short reign, Vyacheslav Molotov toppled and replaced Beria with the backing of the Soviet government,[22] leading to a general ceasefire in the European theater.[23] In July, 1952, Truman, British PM Clement Attlee and interim French leader Charles de Gaulle met with Molotov at Versailles, securing a status quo antebellum.[24]
Once Soviet troops withdrew, West Germany began the process of rebuilding again just seven years after World War II ended, with the West Germany government scrambling (with some help from NATO) to house and feed its population. Perversely, East Germany was only mildly damaged in comparison.
West Germany in Joe Steele[]
West Germany was established under the direction of the United States on much the same model as South Japan.
Upon the death of President Joe Steele in March 1953, U.S. officials were concerned that Leon Trotsky's Soviet Union might make a move in West Germany.[25]
References[]
- ↑ Bombs Away, pg. 72, HC.
- ↑ Ibid., pg. 113.
- ↑ Ibid., pg. 134.
- ↑ Ibid., pg. 137-138, HC.
- ↑ Ibid., pg. 79.
- ↑ Ibid., pg. 250.
- ↑ Ibid., pg. 394.
- ↑ Ibid., loc. 1611-1641, e-book
- ↑ Ibid., loc. 1641-1688.
- ↑ Ibid. loc. 1751-1886.
- ↑ Ibid., loc. 3506.
- ↑ Ibid., loc. 4745-4768.
- ↑ Ibid., loc. 5446-5505.
- ↑ Ibid.,loc. 3766-3778
- ↑ Ibid., loc. 3766-3778, loc. 5083-5095.
- ↑ Ibid., loc. 6199-6257.
- ↑ Ibid., loc. 7116-7176.
- ↑ Ibid. 6620-6692.
- ↑ Armistice, pgs. 73-78, ebook.
- ↑ Ibid., pgs. 79-80.
- ↑ Ibid., pgs. 101-102.
- ↑ Ibid., pg. 118-119.
- ↑ Ibid.pgs. 123-124.
- ↑ Ibid., pg. 153.
- ↑ Joe Steele, pg. 431, HC.
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