The Rhenish Wall
In the months and years after the war in Europe, many refugees in France and the Netherlands attempted to escape to the relatively free nation of Germany (despite its less than stellar record in eastern Europe). The border with Italy was already fortified; very few people could get across to Lombardy and Piedmont. President Cordonnier had every reason to therefore stop the tide of emigrants in France escaping his purges, or so he thought.
The decision was made by Minister of the Interior Isaac Desmarais to construct a wall along the Rhine, with artillery emplacements ready to strike cities such as Saarbrucken if the need arose. This wall would not follow the course of the Rhine exactly; as it went northwards, it would straddle the border between the Netherlands and Germany, with local headquarters at Liege and Assen. Military bases would be established in these areas with the goal of preventing as many French and Dutch citizens from entering Germany.
The Germans were acutely aware of this; Saarbrucken became a host of flurried military activity, as did Oldenburg and Aachen. Forces being brought back from the war in Russia would therefore be stationed in the western part of the country; compared to the misery of the Russian winter, this was seen as an absolute relief.
German domestic politics was found to be very distressed, with the constant accusations of Neiderhofferism of those at the target of whatever screed a politician needed to concoct. Hysteria pervaded society, with many in literature and the arts being arrested or blacklisted for being "Neiderhofferist sympathizers." Being pro-French was something that could ruin careers.
There had been the Treaty of Eindhoven, but there had been no exchange of ambassadors. Berlin and Paris had none of the other's diplomatic staff in their city limits, and so there was no formal communication. They were essentially blind, walking into a confrontation that could very well scar the continent once again.
In the months and years after the war in Europe, many refugees in France and the Netherlands attempted to escape to the relatively free nation of Germany (despite its less than stellar record in eastern Europe). The border with Italy was already fortified; very few people could get across to Lombardy and Piedmont. President Cordonnier had every reason to therefore stop the tide of emigrants in France escaping his purges, or so he thought.
The decision was made by Minister of the Interior Isaac Desmarais to construct a wall along the Rhine, with artillery emplacements ready to strike cities such as Saarbrucken if the need arose. This wall would not follow the course of the Rhine exactly; as it went northwards, it would straddle the border between the Netherlands and Germany, with local headquarters at Liege and Assen. Military bases would be established in these areas with the goal of preventing as many French and Dutch citizens from entering Germany.
The Germans were acutely aware of this; Saarbrucken became a host of flurried military activity, as did Oldenburg and Aachen. Forces being brought back from the war in Russia would therefore be stationed in the western part of the country; compared to the misery of the Russian winter, this was seen as an absolute relief.
German domestic politics was found to be very distressed, with the constant accusations of Neiderhofferism of those at the target of whatever screed a politician needed to concoct. Hysteria pervaded society, with many in literature and the arts being arrested or blacklisted for being "Neiderhofferist sympathizers." Being pro-French was something that could ruin careers.
There had been the Treaty of Eindhoven, but there had been no exchange of ambassadors. Berlin and Paris had none of the other's diplomatic staff in their city limits, and so there was no formal communication. They were essentially blind, walking into a confrontation that could very well scar the continent once again.