I became a fan of alternate history many years ago. Turtledove was a major reason for me becoming interested in the genre, with his Southern Victory and his Worldwar series being the ones that really drew me in. But there was one collection of stories that introduced me to the concept of alternate history. It was Third Reich Victorious: Alternate Decisions of World War II by Peter G. Tsouras as editor. I occasionally re-read this novel that holds 10 alt-history stories detailing how the Nazis won the war, or in the case of a few, delayed their defeat for a couple of more years.
While most deal with victories on land (almost always using Rommel in some way) or victories in the air, my favorite of the short stories is actually the first in the novel, called The Little Admiral by Wade G. Dudley. It is a story that centers on a young Adolf Hitler joining the German Hochseeflotte rather than the German Army. prior to the outbreak of World War One. In this story, Hitler ascends the ranks, first as a common sailor to petty officer to a ship commander's adjutant, and eventually second-in-command of a U-boat. Over the course of WW1, Hitler becomes close with Erich Raeder and Karl Dönitz (particularly the latter) and loses his Antisemitism in the Navy but this anger is re-directed at England, becoming a fierce Anglophobe. WW1 ends the same but Hitler remains apart of the Navy as part of the secretive Ship Design Bureau where he draws up plans and theories for the German Navy to center around U-boats and carriers.
Hitler goes on to create the Nazi Party, retiring from the Navy in 1922, and uses his blueshirts to enforce his will and his charismatic speeches to garner a following. He isn't imprisoned for the Beer Hall Putsch, as that blame is put on Ludendorff's shoulders, and wins the German election for president in 1932. He then unites the two offices into the Führer in 1933, and in 1934 when he publicly denounces the Versailles Treaty the lion's share of the Third Reich's military budget goes to the newly created Kriegsmarine. The Rhineland was remilitarized in 1934 and Austria and Sudetenland was integrated into the Reich in 1936.
The German Navy rapidly expanded (at great cost to the German Army, limiting its size and armored forces). By 1939 the German Kriegsmarine consisted of 4 capital ships (battleships, pocket battleships and battlecruisers), 4 carriers, 3 cruisers, 53 destroyers, and 131 submarines. The Schutzstaffel was created as a bodyguard to Hitler and as the Marines for this new navy. On September 1st, 1939 while the German Heer and Luftwaffe invaded Poland, the Kriegsmarine conducted a Pearl Harbor-like assault on the British naval base at Scapa Flow. Following that the Kriegsmarine began to systematically hunt down Royal Navy vessels, only attacking merchant ships if the opportunity presented itself.
What followed was 2 years of almost non-stop German victories at sea, a combination of luck, skill, training, and unit coordination that saw the Royal Navy greatly diminished and in 1941 (the Low Countries and France fell to Germany in 1940 though it took a bit longer due to a smaller Army) the Germans invaded Britain and occupied it.
Since the concept of a Navy Hitler and a pro-Navy Third Reich is fascinating and largely ignored as it is seen as unrealistic and wasteful, I find the concept nonetheless intriguing. Are there any timelines/stories out there on this website (or elsewhere) that features a pro-Navy Nazi Germany and/or one where Hitler joined the Navy and not the Army?
How large could the Kriegsmarine have become if Hitler prioritized it at the cost of the Army? The Heer would still be strong, just smaller and not as well equipped or having as many panzers as they had OTL when WW2 broke out, if it breaks out in 1939. Would a story set in a similar universe and concept be something that people here would enjoy?
While most deal with victories on land (almost always using Rommel in some way) or victories in the air, my favorite of the short stories is actually the first in the novel, called The Little Admiral by Wade G. Dudley. It is a story that centers on a young Adolf Hitler joining the German Hochseeflotte rather than the German Army. prior to the outbreak of World War One. In this story, Hitler ascends the ranks, first as a common sailor to petty officer to a ship commander's adjutant, and eventually second-in-command of a U-boat. Over the course of WW1, Hitler becomes close with Erich Raeder and Karl Dönitz (particularly the latter) and loses his Antisemitism in the Navy but this anger is re-directed at England, becoming a fierce Anglophobe. WW1 ends the same but Hitler remains apart of the Navy as part of the secretive Ship Design Bureau where he draws up plans and theories for the German Navy to center around U-boats and carriers.
Hitler goes on to create the Nazi Party, retiring from the Navy in 1922, and uses his blueshirts to enforce his will and his charismatic speeches to garner a following. He isn't imprisoned for the Beer Hall Putsch, as that blame is put on Ludendorff's shoulders, and wins the German election for president in 1932. He then unites the two offices into the Führer in 1933, and in 1934 when he publicly denounces the Versailles Treaty the lion's share of the Third Reich's military budget goes to the newly created Kriegsmarine. The Rhineland was remilitarized in 1934 and Austria and Sudetenland was integrated into the Reich in 1936.
The German Navy rapidly expanded (at great cost to the German Army, limiting its size and armored forces). By 1939 the German Kriegsmarine consisted of 4 capital ships (battleships, pocket battleships and battlecruisers), 4 carriers, 3 cruisers, 53 destroyers, and 131 submarines. The Schutzstaffel was created as a bodyguard to Hitler and as the Marines for this new navy. On September 1st, 1939 while the German Heer and Luftwaffe invaded Poland, the Kriegsmarine conducted a Pearl Harbor-like assault on the British naval base at Scapa Flow. Following that the Kriegsmarine began to systematically hunt down Royal Navy vessels, only attacking merchant ships if the opportunity presented itself.
What followed was 2 years of almost non-stop German victories at sea, a combination of luck, skill, training, and unit coordination that saw the Royal Navy greatly diminished and in 1941 (the Low Countries and France fell to Germany in 1940 though it took a bit longer due to a smaller Army) the Germans invaded Britain and occupied it.
Since the concept of a Navy Hitler and a pro-Navy Third Reich is fascinating and largely ignored as it is seen as unrealistic and wasteful, I find the concept nonetheless intriguing. Are there any timelines/stories out there on this website (or elsewhere) that features a pro-Navy Nazi Germany and/or one where Hitler joined the Navy and not the Army?
How large could the Kriegsmarine have become if Hitler prioritized it at the cost of the Army? The Heer would still be strong, just smaller and not as well equipped or having as many panzers as they had OTL when WW2 broke out, if it breaks out in 1939. Would a story set in a similar universe and concept be something that people here would enjoy?
