Quote:
Originally Posted by Ursus Maior
Germany and German politics just didn't operate that way. There was no way to move troops at brigade level and above without NATO knowing and approving. So, bottom line is: If the Bundeswehr moves, its moves are sanctioned by the Western allies. I would even add: it would never move alone. And besides this technical point, German leadership would simply refuse to order their troops to act in such a manner, unless their allies would move with them.
|
Did West Germany ever conduct any unilateral military exercises during the Cold War?
Is the "German leadership" that you're referring to military or civilian (or both)?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ursus Maior
Such a move is high risk on a strategical scale. Breaking the Inner German Border means de facto attacking Soviet forces. Without nuclear cover - aka "going solo" - that's tantamount to sacrificing troops to Soviet nuclear strikes, at least in theory. This means risking full nuclear war. Why would the allies support a move, but not follow through with it themselves and thus increase the threat of nuclear war.
|
In theory, yes. Would the Soviets use nuclear weapons on its ally, East Germany's soil? I imagine that some West German military planners would conclude that Moscow wouldn't go that far (as long as the Bundeswehr stopped short of the Polish border).
I really appreciate your insight and expertise, Ursus and BT. I don't doubt your conclusions, but I must ask, are you taking into account the context of v1's reunification narrative, or looking at it solely through the lens of real history?
Since we're examining an alternate universe, I think we should try to look at things through the lens of that fictional history where it diverges from our own before concluding that the events described therein are impossible (or not). I'm not suggesting we ignore reality, or simply accept the fiction without question. I'm trying to reconcile the two, as best I can. To that end, there are a couple of important differences between what actually happened IRL and v1 canon that I think need to be taken into consideration before reaching any final conclusions.
Firstly, in the Twilight War narrative, the Soviet Union is involved in a major war of its own making in the Far East. After initial success, Chinese resistance stiffens, Soviet advances slow, and attrition rates climb dramatically. Moscow is preoccupied with its war China. Second, Moscow is demanding the direct involvement of DDR forces in combat operations in said Asian theater (IIRC, in T2k canon, some DDR units have already been committed to the meat grinder in China). Third, elements in the DDR government and military are opposed to sending additional forces off to fight the PRC.
Certainly, NATO intelligence services would become aware of this reticence, and some elements thereof would perhaps seek to exploit it.
Was there a sense of solidarity between West and East Germans during the Cold War? Or was the idea of
ein volk considered dangerously reactionary? It certainly seemed like it was more the former to the teenaged me who watched TV coverage of the jubilant protests in both halves of Berlin as the wall came down in 1989.
What I'm wondering is, in the v1 timeline, would West Germans, upon learning of their DDR cousins being sent off, in many cases against their will, to die in the USSR's East Asian adventurism, sympathize with their plight? Would there be widespread desire to do something on their behalf? Obviously, there would be various diplomatic objections. On the popular level, at the very least, I can imagine anti-Soviet street demonstrations in West Germany, and even a renewed sense of pan-German nationalism.
If high ranking DDR officials reached out to high-ranking West German military officers and suggested- or even invited- some sort of reunification gambit, would they be turned down out of hand? In my reading of v1 canon, at least some DDR military units turned coats and actively supported the West German reunification forces; others refused to fight the Bundeswehr.
I don't see the v1 reunification scenario as one where West German launches a war of aggression or territorial conquest against its eastern neighbor. The way I look at it, it's more of a rescue operation, to liberate East Germany from Soviet oppression- to prevent the slaughter of East Germany's young men on the battlefields of Manchuria. Moscow's focus is to the east, and its forces in Europe are weaker than they've been in decades. There might not be a better opportunity to liberate East Germany in the foreseeable future.
Back to factuals, during the later Cold War period, was there any sort of liaison between high ranking military officers of the West and East German militaries?
-