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11-July-1918
To no one's surprise, my request to go east was approved a week after I sent it, once most of the Spartakusbund cells had been detected and dismantled by the police with the help of my men.
Without sorrow or glory, our return to Riga began. Under normal circumstances, that would have been a blessing, but in reality, it was one of the greatest defeats one could suffer: the impotence of not being able to do anything, no matter how much I wanted to.
I had had the damned bad luck of taking control of this Karl right at the beginning of the Great War. Unable to make quick changes, I had suffered the entire climb upward because, precisely, I was disliked by the group of idiots who held power.
I was so tired of trying to help a country that seemed not to want to be helped. And now, without the ability to do anything for Germany, the best thing was to prepare for the inevitable collapse.
With America investing everything in winning the war, it was only a matter of time before the already exhausted German and Austro-Hungarian empires began to collapse under all the internal problems they had been carrying. Problems that, only because I had done something, had been solved temporarily.
Any possibility of victory was now a distant dream. When the trenches froze again, Germany would begin to lose and would be dragged into a long war of attrition where all the lives that would have been saved with a shorter war in the east would be lost, taking advantage of the weakness of the Entente forces because of the Suez blockade and their failed campaigns in the Orient.
We had to prepare for Germany's collapse. And, with complete certainty, that collapse would drag all the Eastern States tied to Germany down with us, for obvious reasons.
I had been absent from Riga for many months, between the front and Berlin, so there were many things I wanted to review. One of them was the progress of the dam. As expected, there was a lot of movement, since the construction of the dam alone had around twenty thousand men working each day, guided by German architects who continued fulfilling their duties. The great advances were already noticeable.
With canals dug to divert the course of the Daugava, the river no longer passed through the area, but through several artificial channels that had been opened to move the natural course of the water aside. In addition, much of the less important structure was already under construction, preparing for the decisive phases, such as the installation of the turbines and other pieces necessary to turn the force of the water into electricity that would feed the city.
Speaking with the architects to check whether they were advancing according to the dates they had given me, I received the pleasant surprise that they were moving faster than estimated. Mainly because they always had an enormous quantity of construction materials available, avoiding dead time, in addition to having the great mass of workers in rotation from the Baltic State Construction Company.
Because of that, there was never any time wasted, neither by the architects nor by the laborers.
I began walking toward Riga while sending the men to their homes temporarily, since I doubted anything would happen. As I advanced, I observed the changes.
The city of Riga had received many notable renovations. There were new streets built together with apartment buildings, and those sectors were connected to electricity, water, gas and sewerage, something some old houses in the city still did not even have.
There were also renovations in the old sectors, taking advantage of everything that needed to be demolished and rebuilt to install the area's sewerage.
Although there was still not enough electricity to supply every house, at least when the dam was ready, the entire city of Riga would be electrified.
So, with little more to review in the areas still under construction, absorbing the budget that had been assigned to them, I went to the new palace of Riga. It had been built thinking of a future where a parliament would be established, so it was something simple: a central building that would serve as Riga's parliament and, beside it, the palace of the Herzog.
Being recognized by my men, I walked toward my chambers and soon encountered my regent, who had been occupying the place while I was absent.
''Manstein, how are things in the Duchy?'' I asked while removing my gloves and coat.
''Mein Herzog, I did not expect your return, considering your intention to remain at the front and without prior warning'' Manstein said, rising from his seat to salute.
''Do not worry about that. My time at the front seems to have ended for the moment, so you will not have to continue fulfilling those regent duties for much longer. I plan to stay here for a long season'' I said, returning the salute and walking toward my desk before sitting in the comfortable chair that had been prepared for me.
''Oh, truly? I have heard many things about what you did in France. In addition, Paris fell under the siege of the German armies after a great bombardment. I suppose everything is going well'' Manstein said, smiling, although his smile did not last long when he saw the seriousness of my face.
''No. The front froze again, although the offensive plans were fulfilled. We captured Paris and the surrounding areas, took almost half of France, and the entire south of the country was close to falling to Heeresgruppe Kronprinz, which took several French ports while their fleet was defeated in a battle in the Mediterranean. But the Americans are arriving by the millions. Although Germany is achieving great victories thanks to the lack of experience of the United States, it is only a matter of time before the advance ends and we find ourselves trapped on an exhausted front'' I said seriously, watching as many of the bureaucrats present were left with their mouths open.
''But… but… are you saying the Reich is going to lose? After reaching this far?'' Manstein said slowly, widening his eyes and showing a worried face.
''I fear so. There was an opportunity to break the front again, but it required our division to be well equipped and present on the combat line. However, we did not have authorization from the OHL to go to the front because, according to them, we were more necessary in the rear. That opportunity must be closing as more and more Americans fill the gaps in the lines with troops arriving in France every day'' I said, annoyed as I remembered everything that had happened.
''Mein Gott'' said one of the bureaucrats, setting his typewriter aside.
''That is why we have to keep working. I may be a pessimist, but Germany is going to collapse, and we have to prepare for that collapse. I doubt the Entente has enough power to impose many peace terms here. France is physically and economically destroyed, so I doubt it will try to force an agreement in the east. The United Kingdom is also quite battered by the closure of Suez. My only fear is the Americans, but we will have to solve that later'' I said, resting my head on my fist while settling into the armrest of my chair.
''And what would those preparations you mention be, Mein Herzog? What must we do in the face of that terrible future you say you foresee?'' Manstein said after licking his lips and looking at the other bureaucrats in the room.
''Prepare to control the local populations. The moment they believe they are free, they will go out into the streets to protest so the peace treaty is enforced. That is why we need total control of the weapons and broad reserves of men to impose order. We will begin properly: we will insist with the Eighth Army to attract its men and get them to settle in the lands of the Baltic Duchy. Once they bring their families, they will not run away, and they will be our hard core to control the territory'' I said, tilting my head from side to side while moving my right shoulder, because I still felt a slight discomfort.
''We have already done that. We have insisted a great deal on it, but even so, we have barely managed to recruit about four thousand men from the Eighth Army. We had a goal of ten thousand and have only fulfilled a small part of it. Either we extend recruitment to other populations, or what you ask will be impossible without overburdening the Germans who already live in the Duchy'' Manstein said, raising his voice a little after regaining his composure.
''Yes, I know. We have to spend more. We have abundant income from all the medical equipment sales, so we will increase the incentives even further. In addition, we will continue offering houses ready for immediate move-in and the construction of factories to attract working families…'' I said, settling my back against the chair, but one of the bureaucrats weakly raised his hand.
''There is no electricity, Mein Herzog. The coal power plants can barely supply the city and the factories producing construction materials. The electric furnaces consume too much, in addition to the machines intended for the manufacture of weapons and vehicles'' the bureaucrat said.
''I am aware. Not everything is lost. Luckily, we have many orders for submachine guns from the German army, in addition to orders for penicillin and bandages, so we can afford some pretty things while that income keeps coming, at least until Germany fills its antibacterial reserves. That is why we will install another power plant and give it urgency'' I said, looking at Manstein.
''I need to see the numbers for that money before committing funds to a fast project'' Manstein replied instantly, resting his arm on the armrest.
''As soon as the books arriving with the luggage reach me, we will begin with that. And the other thing is stealing men from the eastern garrisons that accepted contracts in Ukraine. Since they are under my control, I can advance their payment instead of waiting for them to fulfill the term of their contract, without them having to die in service, and offer them land here. They are already young men who were looking for land, so we can always attract them. They are trained and there are more than three hundred twenty thousand men we could draw from'' I said, nodding at Manstein's response.
''Most of them are Austrians'' Manstein said, raising an eyebrow before responding to my idea.
''Germans, above all. We need to maintain a linguistic circle with which we can operate. There is no problem with them being Austrians as long as they serve under the same flag'' I said, passing my hand under my chin.
''Most of them are Catholic'' Manstein added.
''And what is the problem?'' I said, trying to find the meaning of that statement.
''They can bring problems. Most Catholics vote for the Zentrum. They could create complaints among themselves and become another cultural group to govern'' Manstein said, straightening up.
''They are still Germans before anything else, and faced with the danger of losing everything, they will know whom to support. Besides, religion matters little. The only thing that matters is that they speak German so we can give orders and the same thing does not happen as with the Austro-Hungarian chaos and its multicultural armies'' I said, raising my hands and shoulders at his words.
''It is only an observation. It is preferable to have them before having to answer to the interests of multiple groups that can be very different. Like the completion of compulsory classes in German. There are many… very many complaints about that in the cities. They complain that German is mandatory'' Manstein said, searching for some documents.
My regent stood up and handed me a book. When I opened it, I saw that it was full of reports about protests in some cities against the mandatory use of German in all civil life.
''It was expected, but it is more necessary than ever. So ignore those protests, unless they become aggressive and put our position at risk. For now, we have to send trusted people to Ukraine to offer better conditions to the soldiers of the colonization garrisons and bring them with us. We have to try to have forty thousand armed men'' I said thoughtfully, interlacing my fingers and looking at everyone present.
''We have thirteen thousand men. It will be difficult. What incentives do we give the soldiers to come?'' Manstein said, looking worried at the goal.
''One thousand German marks immediately and a house, but they must bring their families as soon as possible'' I said, maintaining my seriousness.
''Understood… Come on, we have work to do'' Manstein said to the other bureaucrats, who stood up and followed my regent to begin their duties.
''At least I am not going to lose what is mine'' I said, clenching my teeth.
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