Price of Victory

By Anthony Carbone

This story, written in the genre “Alternative History,” is about two people, residents of Heidelberg Germany, in the early 1900’s betrothed and planning their future.

At this time in Germany, the autocratic rule of Kaiser Wilhelm II allowed some civil disobedience, particularly from social democrats. However, when he thought the threat too great, retribution in the form of deadly force against the demonstrators, whether or not they be innocent bystanders, would be swift and decisive.

In the U.S. by 1912 progressivism had lost some of the advances gained in the recent past under the leadership of Congressman, then Governor, then Senator Robert M. LaFollette. At this same time, Teddy Roosevelt’s splitting of the republican party by starting his “Bull Moose Party” resulted in giving the democrats an overwhelming advantage in the 1912 U.S. presidential election.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Dec 30, 2016
• ISBN: 9781365646195

Book preview

Price of Victory

THE PRICE OF VICTORY

By

TONY CARBONE

Santa Barbara, California

Copyright May 1997

This story, written in the genre Alternative History, is about two people, residents of Heidelberg Germany, in the early 1900’s betrothed and planning their future.

At this time in Germany, the autocratic rule of Kaiser Wilhelm II allowed some civil disobedience, particularly from social democrats. However, when he thought the threat too great, retribution in the form of deadly force against the demonstrators, whether or not they be innocent bystanders, would be swift and decisive.

In the U.S. by 1912 progressivism had lost some of the advances gained in the recent past under the leadership of Congressman, then Governor, then Senator Robert M. LaFollette. At this same time, Teddy Roosevelt’s splitting of the republican party by starting his Bull Moose Party resulted in giving the democrats an overwhelming advantage in the 1912 U.S. presidential election.

With the start of World War I in 1914, German military successes on the eastern front with Russia, the western front with France and England, and with their submarine force on the high seas saw diminished civil liberties throughout Germany and greater military control. Anti-Semitism in early 1900 Germany is described via the characters of the family Saloman Meyer.

As implied by the title of this novel, Germany wins WWI but the German populace is also the loser because of the loss of many civil liberties.

A global view of military power in the early 1920’s clearly identifies Germany and the U.S. as the two competing superpowers in an arms race.

ABSTRACT OF CHAPTERS 1-6

Chapter 1 – Progressive era in the United States – Robert M. LaFollette progressive leader – Theodore Roosevelt the Bull Moose party and the 1912 election – Woodrow Wilson’s biased neutrality – LaFollette’s isolation position on neutrality – U.S.A. De Facto ally of England, France, and Russia

The opening of Chapter 1 looks out on a Germany of 1912 under the autocratic rule of Kaiser Wilhelm II. Demonstrating under the banner of the radical left wing of the German Social Democratic party (Sozialdemokratische Partel Deutshlands) was at times tolerated by the government. Periodically however, the iron fist of the Kaiser would descend upon demonstrators and innocents alike.

Kaiser Wilhelm, who had been on his yearly ocean cruise, returned to his palace in Berlin on July 27, 1914. Shortly thereafter he announced to his people the approach of a dark hour. Food prices were rising steeply in response to hoarding by worried citizens. Silver and small change began to disappear and paper money was being refused in many places. Bank customers stood in long lines to withdraw their funds in gold. Soon thereafter some banks suspended payments.

On the 31st of July the Kaiser had decreed a state of siege for all Germany except Bavaria. This Law of Siege declaration established the army Commander of each military district as the supreme government authority who reported directly to the Kaiser. All civilian authority ceased. Within hours the military had taken over. Soldiers with fixed bayonets guarded public buildings and banks while police actively enforced price regulations and the acceptance of paper money that was being refused by many shopkeepers.

The Meyer family – Saloman Meyer relocates his family from Breslau to Heidelberg – Anti-Semitism in early 1900s Germany – Emancipation of Jews in Germany – Yet Jews prohibited from being an officer in the military or being a professor in universities.

Chapter 3 – War comes to Germany – Fighting on the western Front – Introduction of protagonist and wife, Franz and Ellie Rudermann.

Chapter 6 – German navy challenges the British navy – Unrestricted submarine warfare turns the tide in favor of Germany.   

Contents

PREFACE

BANNER

CHAPTER 1

The World of 1912

Germany’s autocratic rule -- Europe and its monarchs – The Germany Chancellor and the Prussian military – Kaiser Wilhelm II -- Progressive Era in the United States – Robert M. LaFollette – T. Roosevelt, the Bull Moose Party and the 1912 Election – Wilson’s biased neutrality – La Follette’s position on neutrality.

CHAPTER 2

War Comes To Europe

The Assassination -- Triple Alliance vs. Triple Entente – War comes to Europe -- The Schlieffen Plan in action – Wilsonian neutrality makes the U.S. a defacto ally of England, France, and Russia – U.S. neutrality under an isolationist president Robert M. LaFollette a loss to the world.

CHAPTER 3

Franz Rudermann

Franz’s wedding plans with Ellie Ritter - Professor and Frau Ritter – Franz’s military experience -- War comes to Germany – Law of Siege - Gerhardt off to War – Fighting on the Western Front – Ellie’s first hospital volunteer work -- Hindenburg defeats Russians on the Eastern Front – Franz and Ellie’s wedding in October 1914 – Stalemate on the Western Front.

CHAPTER 4

Christmas 1914

Ellie and Franz’s first Christmas – Heidelberg at war -- The Meyer Family: Saloman Meyer relocates from Breslau to Heidelberg – Anti-Semitism in Germany – Emancipation of Jews in Germany – Aaron Meyer and Franz Rudermann meet during conscript military service – Gerhardt missing in action – Eastern Front war of movement from January to October 1915 – Franz, Aaron, and Erich called to active duty.

CHAPTER 5

1915:  Ellie and Franz Separated

Ellie must find employment – Miriam Meyer asks help from Aaron’s father -- Franz and Aaron join 129th Battalion – Baptism of fire – Life and death in the trenches -- Allied and German strategies on the Western Front –- The German and British Fleets – Dogger Bank -- The German submarine as a weapon – Sinking of the Imperium – President LaFollette keeps the U. S. strictly neutral – Italy remains neutral.

CHAPTER 6

1916:  German Navy Challenges British

Letters from Aaron and Franz – Aaron is wounded – Franz visits Aaron in hospital – Erich captured – Verdun offensive -- Franz is decorated for bravery -- Unrestricted submarine warfare turns the tide in favor of Germany – Battle of Skagerrak -- Blockade of Germany broken – Karl is lost at sea – Aaron comes home.

CHAPTER 7

The War at Sea

German surface navy deploys Battle Squadrons to Atlantic – British Fleet leaves Scapa Flow to defend supply lines – La Follette re-elected president – La Follette refuses Britain’s plea to mediate peace -- Second major sea battle in North Sea – French Mediterranean Fleet forced to deploy to Atlantic – Turks drive on Suez Canal – Germany aids Lenin -- Russian revolution starts – Truce between Russia and Germany – Peace treaty of Grodno between Russia and Central Powers signed December 2, 1916 – King Haakon VII of Norway brings about peace conference between British and Germans  – Britain capitulates; Peace treaty of Oslo signed on December 8th.

CHAPTER 8

The War Ends

Franz in the trenches; his thoughts and rumors of peace – Ellie, Miriam and Aaron at home – Elias Meyer learns of peace between Germany and Britain from brother Leo -- British troops evacuate trenches and abandon French -- Germany demands France’s surrender – France in turmoil because of socialist agitation, rioting, looting, and mutiny of troops – France surrenders – War is over! -- 129th ordered home to Mannheim – Aaron at Mannheim seeking news of Franz – Aaron’s anti-Semitic experience – Ellie learns of Franz coming home by Christmas – 129th arrives at Mannheim – Feldwebel Franz Rudermann goes home on leave.

CHAPTER 9

Franz Comes Home

Arrival in Heidelberg – Franz and Ellie embrace – First night – Franz and Ellie visit their parents – Franz and Aaron reunited – Early 1917 – U.S. aid to Britain, Russia and France – Erich Schloss returns to the 129th, a radical – Ellie is pregnant.

CHAPTER 10

1917:  A Year of Consolidation

Germany annexes British, French and Russian territory – Civil war in Russia – German hegemony spreads in Europe and the western Pacific – Mitteleuropa a reality – U.S. begins to arm – Leo Meyer goes to the U.S. – Ellie visits Franz in Mannheim – Franz, Erich and Ellie discuss Germany’s future.

CHAPTER 11

Franz and Erich Return Home 

Franz and Erich return to Heidelberg discharged from the army – Ellie’s baby due in early October 1917 – Erich joins the SPD Party – Franz’s new position at Heidelberg University – Reunion of Franz, Ellie and friends – Ellie in labor and the birth of Ernst Berthold Rudermann on October 1, 1917.

CHAPTER 12

Erich in Politics

Makeup of the Second Reich – Erich’s visit to the Reichstag – Erich’s activities as SPD district leader – Erich is arrested – Franz learns of Erich’s fears – Frau Ritter dies.

CHAPTER 13

Leo Meyer in New York

Saloman Meyer Company opens branch in New York -- Morris Hillquit meets Leo Meyer at socialist party meeting - Hillquit enlists Meyer’s aid in covert SPD contacts – Leo Meyer returns to Germany for visit, August 8, 1918 – Aaron interested in visiting the U. S. – Leo Meyer and Hugo Haase meet.

CHAPTER 14

Erich is Missing

The happy, married life of Ellie, Franz, Miriam, and Aaron -- German Police and Military harassing SPD and other Liberal Party members – Aaron and Miriam planning trip to U. S. – Erich is missing – Irma Seeks help from Ellie and Franz – With Leo Meyer’s help Erich found held in Detention Camp – Criticism of Kaiser Wilhelm II in U. S. Congress – Police and Military relax harassment and detention of SPD members – A physically abused and beaten Erich comes home.

CHAPTER 15

Germany Becoming a Police State

Ludendorff forms the Staatssicherheitsgruppen (State Security Groups) SSG – Erich still being victimized by the authorities – Rebecca’s fifth birthday – Franz and Aaron combine to help Erich and Irma emigrate to America – Leo Meyer will help Erich on arrival in America – Erich and Irma marry then emigrate to the U.S., April 1919.

CHAPTER 16

Trouble between the Superpowers

Aaron, Miriam and children vacation in the United States – Incident at sea – Strained relations between Germany and U. S. – Erich and Irma with Aaron and family in New York – SSG exerting repressive actions on German people – Bethmann-Hollweg protests activity of SSG – Ludendorff demands dismissal of Chancellor – Kaiser bows to Ludendorff, dismisses Bethmann-Hollweg, and appoints General Hoffman – After almost 50 years, the OHL and Chancellor no longer in disagreement – The Kaiser orders the Reichstag dissolved --  International incident in Philippines – Repression of German Press by SSG.

CHAPTER 17

Decline of German Parliamentary Government

A letter from Miriam in America – The SSG spreads its tentacles – Ellie and Franz fear the future – Major Schirrei in the SSG – Thoughts of emigrating to America – Franz seeks Elias Meyer’s help.

CHAPTER 18

Farewell to Germany

Departure from Heidelberg – Crisis between Germany and the U. S. – Assassination of German Ambassador to the Philippines – Franz and family take ship to America – SSG declares Franz a fugitive – Germany demands an apology and indemnity for assassination – Germany and the U. S. mobilizing – Welcome to America.

CHAPTER 19

CONCLUSION

BIBLIOGRAPHY

PREFACE

As with many monographs, the origins of this book are outgrowths of the author’s frustrations; in this case his disenchantment with partisan politics rampant in the U.S. Congress for too many years.  The destructive effects of partisan politics was responsible for his conjecturing what could have resulted if, in 1913, just seventeen months before the start of World War I, isolationist Robert M. La Follette had been sworn in as president of the United States instead of anglophile Woodrow Wilson.

From the start of his political career in 1880, La Follette, congressman, governor of Wisconsin, and later U.S. senator, worked indefatigably to improve the lot of the American people. Woodrow Wilson had a career as an educator until 1910, just two years before he became President.  When the war started in 1914, the educator turned politician assumed the mantle of righteousness as he attempted to arbitrate peace among the belligerents.  Although he was unsuccessful he visualized himself as savior and arbiter of all the world’s ills.

There was an event in the United States shortly before World War I which could have prevented the Holocaust during WWII and the death of tens of millions of soldiers and civilians during two World Wars.   Could you imagine a world without Hitler? ---or no worldwide depression in the 1930s? --- No World War II? --- No nuclear annihilation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with more than 200,000 civilians incinerated?  --- No firebombing of the city of Dresden with more than 100,000 civilians burned to death?  There was one happening, one major event that could have prevented all these disasters.  It happened in the United States in 1912.

After completing his second term as president of the United States in 1908, Teddy Roosevelt, at the age of 52, returned to civilian life and spent the next eighteen months visiting foreign lands.  Having been president for two terms he vowed not to break the more than one hundred year precedent of no American President seeking a third term.  He traveled Europe where he was met with cheering crowds and then went to Africa for a yearlong safari.

On his return to America in 1910 Roosevelt became incensed with President Taft’s handling of a legal suit against the U.S. Steel Corporation that amounted to a humiliating attack on Roosevelt.  He responded angrily to Taft’s actions and the heretofore-good friends became enemies.  In retaliation against Taft, Roosevelt decided to disregard the third term precedent and seek the 1912 Republican Party presidential nomination for him.

At that time the contenders for the republican nomination were La Follette and Taft.  Taft had an insurmountable hold on the conservative wing of the Republican Party so Roosevelt chose to wrest leadership of the Republican Party progressive wing from Robert La Follette and in that way try to secure the republican nomination for president in the 1912 election. 

In 1911, after Roosevelt’s return to the U.S. Robert La Follette was the recognized leader of the progressive wing of the Republican Party.  La Follette had amassed an enviable political record as a governor, congressman and senator.  He had initiated and instituted many progressive reforms and continually fought against big business in their abuses of the public trust.  As leader of the progressive wing of the Republican Party he was the progressive star on the rise.

During 1911, using underhanded politics Roosevelt supporters with the tacit approval of Teddy Roosevelt wrested La Follette’s supporters away from him and challenged Taft for the Republican Party nomination for president at the 1912 republican convention.  After losing to Taft, who was nominated, Roosevelt started a third party, the Bullmoose Progressive Party, and became its nominee.  Because the American political system was based on two major parties, Democrats and Republicans, a third Party, the Bullmoose Progressive Party which was made up mostly of Republican Party defectors, virtually guaranteed victory for the Democrats.  The result of the election was indeed a predictable Democratic Party victory and Woodrow Wilson, the Democratic Party nominee, became president of the United States in 1912.

Europe was on the threshold of war and in the United States, Woodrow Wilson, the anglophile, was president.  Had Teddy Roosevelt remained a loyal Republican Party member, progressive leader Robert La Follette an avowed isolationist, would have been elected president of the United States in 1912 for the following four years.  The outcome of the War in Europe which started in 1914 would have been dramatically affected by the actions of isolationist president La Follette; a much different world would have evolved.

The effort and dedication necessary to write this novel would not have been possible without the support I received in many ways from my friends and family.  During more than three years of continuing academic research I was given encouragement and support for which I am grateful.  A great deal of moral support, especially during those periods of difficulty that march with us throughout life, was given me by Larry Carbone, number one son.  Numbers two and three sons, John and Tom, also receive and deserve my thanks for their continuing support.  Finally, to those others of my family and friends who gave me encouragement, during what seemed like a very long three years, my heartfelt thanks.

BANNER

Because of Theodore Roosevelt the 1912 presidential election saw the startup of the Bull Moose Party from splinters of the Republican Party, dilution of the Republican vote caused both Roosevelt and Taft to poll less votes than the Democrat Woodrow Wilson making him the newly elected president in 1912.  From 1912 onward unrestricted submarine warfare would have turned the tide of the war to Germany.

1912 was a pivotal date relative to a) arms race, b) sea power, c) winning war, and d) alternative history in which unrestricted submarine warfare would have turned the tide of the war toward Germany (more allied ships sunk than could be replaced)

A two-ocean U.S. navy would be the fruition of a developed Canal Zone.

CHAPTER 1

Clip-clop, clip-clop, clip-clop.  The sound from the hooves of more than a dozen horses striking the cobblestones reverberated through the narrow streets of the Korn Market section of Heidelberg, Germany.  The night was dark and misty.  Rain was falling softly as the soldiers with their lances pointing skyward approached the cull de sac of a street where a small crowd stood surrounding several shouting, gesticulating men.  Suddenly, at a shouted command from the leader of the soldiers, the horses with their mounted Uhlans, whose lances were now lowered and pointing forward, leaped ahead in the direction of the crowd.  The sound of the horses’ hooves, now raised to a noisy clatter of iron horseshoes striking against stone, was heard by the political demonstrators who began to break and run from the fast-approaching, steel-tipped lances.  Two minutes later, six people lay dead and dying in the rain-soaked and now bloodstained street, pierced through by the military guardians of the autocratic German government. 

The government, at times, tolerated demonstrations under the banner of the radical left wing of the German Social Democratic Party (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, SPD).  Periodically, however, the iron fist of the Kaiser would descend, smashing alike communist demonstrators and those unfortunate enough to have stopped to listen to them.

The year 1912, opened on a world of nations struggling to gain more advantageous economic and military footholds on the slippery slopes of man-made hills.  In the Old World, the leaders of Europe consisted of inbred monarchical rulers living in opulence and ruling with pomp and ceremony over class-divided societies.  Queen Victoria of England, who ruled the British Empire from 1837 until her death in 1901, was mother to Princess Vicky the wife of Kaiser Fredrick III of Prussia.  She was also mother to Queen Helena of

Schleswig-Holstein and Queen Alice of Hesse.  She was grandmother to Queen Victoria Eugenie of Spain, Prince Henry of Prussia, Grand Duke Ernest Louis of Hesse, Queen Sophie of Greece, Grand Duchess Elizabeth of Russia and Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany (King Constantine of Greece was the Kaiser’s brother-in-law).  Queen Victoria was also mother-in-law to Kaiser Fredrick of Prussia, Princess Alexandra of Denmark (later Queen of England), King Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, and King Louis IV of Hesse; she was also grandmother to Tsarina Alexandra of Russia.  After the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, King Edward VII, who was uncle to Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, succeeded her.

In most European countries a thin veneer of the very wealthy overlaid the overwhelming majority of the people who struggled to live above a starvation level.  Revolutionaries had fought for years to depose pompous, autocratic rulers but had been smashed again and again from the more recent times of the 1848 revolutions in Vienna, Prague and Budapest to Bloody Sunday on January 22, 1905 in Russia.  At that time the police of St. Petersburg had fired on a huge, peaceful demonstration of workers, killing hundreds.

In Germany, a war culture had been established since the Bismarck-inspired unification in 1871 under Kaiser Wilhelm I.  Germans were proud of their goose-stepping, Prussian-led soldiers.  During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 the OHL (Oberste Heeresleitung -- Supreme Army Command), under the leadership of the brilliant General Helmut von Moltke, had argued with Chancellor Otto von Bismarck over control of foreign and domestic policy.  In January 1871 as the German armies were sweeping toward Paris, Bismarck urged Kaiser Wilhelm I to stay the hand of army chief von Moltke who wanted to annihilate the trapped French armies.  Bismarck's counsel prevailed and defeated France was saved from further agony. 

The OHL, supported by the political aims of Bismarck, was largely responsible for the growth of excessive German militarism that caused concern in Russia, France and England.  Ultimately these three countries formed a defensive alliance known as the Triple Entente against Germany.

The long-standing struggle for power between the OHL and the Chancellor that started in 1870, continued into the twentieth century and remained unresolved by three Kaisers: Wilhelm I, Friedrich Wilhelm III, and Wilhelm II.  During World War I, in 1917, the lust for power of Generals Ludendorff and von Hindenburg, the weakness of Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg, and the inaction of Kaiser Wilhelm II, allowed the OHL to establish a quasi-military dictatorship in Germany.

In the Germany of 1912, there was nothing more glorious for a young man than to be an officer with a commission in the army.  Officers were members of an exclusive club with high social standing and privileges which, to a degree, demanded deference from ordinary civilians who were worlds apart from them.

At that time there were only two ways of achieving the goal of becoming an officer; one was to enroll in a Cadet School, and secondly to be recommended by a Regimental Commanding Officer as a volunteer aspiring to be commissioned.  Total acceptance by the Regimental Commander or successful completion of the Cadet School was required before a commission was earned.  For example, no Jew or Social Democrat could ever become an officer.  Officers were not subject to the jurisdiction of the police or the civil courts.  The military Courts of Honor adjudicated alleged breaches of discipline that were usually punishable by base or fortress detention.  A far worse offense was one against the code of an officer and a gentleman that could mean expulsion from the army and life-long disgrace unless the offender chose to shoot himself; more often than not, he did.  Germany had produced a harsh military caste.

In 1912, Kaiser Wilhelm II headed Germany’s royalty.  Subservient to the Kaiser at that time were three Kings, six Grand Dukes, five Dukes, and seven Princes.  The Kaiser was also King of Prussia that had a population of forty million of Germany’s sixty million total populations.  Within European royalty brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, and cousins were intermarried with many of the reigning families in the western world.  The Kings of Greece and Rumania were

married to princesses of the House of Hohenzollern; the Tsar of Russia to a Princess of Hesse; the King of Spain to a Princess of Battenburg; the King of Sweden to the daughter of the Grand Duke of Baden; the Queen of Holland to a Mecklenburg Prince.  Almost all of the Russian Grand Dukes and Duchesses, and many English Princes and Princesses were intermarried into the same inbred class of European royalty.

Kaiser Wilhelm II of Hohenzollern, who acceded to the throne of Germany in June 1888, was an arrogant, autocratic ruler.  It was during a difficult delivery at his birth that he entered the world with a left leg shorter by two inches than the other, a deformed left shoulder and a withered, helpless left arm.  Throughout most of his lifetime he took care to hide his deformities as much as possible.  As an example, he would prop his gloved left hand on his sword or other part of his uniform of which he had hundreds.

There is evidence Wilhelm II had delusions of world dominance.  He once swore an oath in the presence of some of the officers of the Grenadiers of the Guard he would revive the ancient title of Charlemagne, Emperor of the West, and be crowned as such.  To support his power he turned to the policy of Church and State, the Militarists, and the Agrarians.  Wilhelm II allied himself with these forces in order to fight what he thought was the greatest menace to his throne, the Social-Democratic Party. 

The Kaiser’s dread of the Social Democrats, more than any other single factor, had been the motive behind his opposition against the progressive spirit of modern civilization.  He resisted all liberal attempts to change the constitution in order to give representative government to the people and to defend, what he claimed, as his prerogatives.  The German law of Lese Majesty determined tyrannous measures that suppressed freedom of speech and of the Press.  This arbitrary law allowed the Kaiser to declare his subjects enemies of the State, to insult them, and to misrepresent them.  If they objected or answered back they were charged with this law that was enforced with merciless severity.  The law was used as a weapon of suppression against political opponents.     

In the New World by 1912, the United States had expanded from coast-to-coast and had become the world's leading industrial power.  Even so, many people still lived lives that had changed little for many generations with animals still providing most of the power required for farming.  America had assimilated millions of Old World immigrants into its society and seized many opportunities provided by industrial and technological advances.  It had grown into a vigorous and industrious, somewhat classless society. 

America, during the growth years of 1890 to 1912, had exhibited a rising wave of progressivism including curtailment of some of the power of big business, protection of the public, and assistance for the poor and disenfranchised; in other words, a government striving for fairness.  This period came to be known as the Progressive Era.  The progressive movement that included people from both the Republican and Democratic parties introduced significant social, political and economic reforms in America.

The pace of reform in the United States from 1890 to 1912 grew at a rapid rate.  If that pace, under the leadership of a bright, public-minded and dedicated progressive had continued, a far truer democracy with its attendant benefits for the people would have evolved in America.  At the turn of the century Robert M. La Follette was that leader who could have fulfilled the dreams of true Progressives by leading the nation in the path of honest and impartial government protecting the people from abuses of big business and special interests.

Robert M. Bob La Follette was born of humble means in Wisconsin in 1860.  His father died when Robert was but eight months old and it remained for his mother to provide for her four children.  Mary La Follette married John Saxton a wealthy seventy-two year old merchant from a town twenty miles away from the La Follette farm in Primrose, Wisconsin.  When Bob was fifteen he moved his mother and aging stepfather back to Primrose and shouldered the responsibility of running the family farm.  Four years later, Mary