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Hanseatic Armed Forces

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Post  Hanseatic Empire Sat Nov 15, 2008 2:58 am

Hanseatic Armed Forces 1gdrmh4
Background on the Imperial Army

Since the 17th century, the army of the Federation of Hanse was characterized by its initiative, maneuverability, and aggressive command at the operational level of war. The state, located then in southern Sweden and Prussia, often had fewer resources and manpower than its rivals, and thus they focused on quickly achieving a decisive victory to avoid a war of attrition. The Hanse practiced what became known as Bewegungskrieg, or war of movement, in an attempt to strike at the flanks or rear of the enemy. The Hanse emphasis on decisive battles instead of wars of attrition led to its being inexperienced in siege warfare, at which the Hanse army has been considered incompetent.

During the 1740s, Wilhelm the Uniter issued a series of new regulations and documents regarding his army's experiences during the first two Wars of Unification and how they would relate to future wars. The doctrines he espoused focused on speed and offense. Lighter and faster cavalry were preferred over heavy cavalry; while hussars were treated as luxury troops by Wilhelm, his son made them an integral part of the army. The artillery was to use light three-pound guns which made up for their lack of power with versatility. After being outmaneuvered by the Germans in the Second Unifcation War, Wilhelm began emphasizing an overwhelming attack instead of a war of attrition. Rather than frontal attacks, the Hanse Channselor tried to apply the oblique order, by which his army's strongest wing was focused against the enemy's weakest wing or flank, while restraining his own weaker wing. Wilhelm summed up the Hanse style of war at Berlin, advocating an attack on the enemy no matter what.

The Hanse-style war of movement and quick strikes was well-designed for campaigns using the developed infrastructure of Western and Central Europe, such as the Wars of Unification and the Civil War. The Hanse and later German systems were weak regarding intelligence, counterintelligence, and logistics. If the enemy successfully endured the initial operational attacks, the Hanse system had great difficulty in Stellungskrieg, or war of position. However, of late with new technology this has begun to change to emphasis of the frontline always being supplied and not stretched out too far from logistics. However, the speedy assaults are still very much in the heart of the Hanseatic Imperial Army

The later Hanseatic Imperial Army, which was born from the remnants of the Hanse Army after the Civil War when the Hansereich was established, is often considered to have used the flexible command of Auftragstaktik (mission tactics), by which subordinate officers led using personal initiative. This developed out of the relationship between the aristocracy, who made up most of the officer corps, and the monarchy. In return for political support from the nobles, the monarchs granted them greater privileges on their estates and greater initiative on the battlefield. According to the theory of Auftragstaktik, the commander would issue a mission to his subordinate officers, who were to pursue the directive as they saw fit. Gneisenau was an early proponent of Auftragstaktik, and Moltke interpreted the theory as "the higher the authority, the shorter and more general" the orders; considerable leeway was granted to subordinates in order to pursue the goal. 19th century historians saw the Battle of Berlin as one of the best examples of Auftragstaktik and an early example of combined arms.

Often stereotypically associated with the Hanseatic Imperial Army was the Pickelhaube, or spiked helmet, in use in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Victorious battles were celebrated through military marches, such as the "Hohenfriedberger Marsch", allegedly written by Wilhelm after Hohenfriedberg, and the "Königgrätzer Marsch", by the march composer Piefke. In more modern times the marches are still frewuent, especially on state holidays.


Last edited by Hanseatic Empire on Sat Nov 15, 2008 3:17 am; edited 1 time in total
Hanseatic Empire
Hanseatic Empire

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Post  Hanseatic Empire Sat Nov 15, 2008 3:11 am

Hanseatic Armed Forces Imperial_warflag
Background on the Imperial Navy

After the end of the Civil War in the 18th century, the Hanseatic Empire slowly began to build its own small fleet for coastal defense. More value was placed on the development of a merchant fleet than on a navy, due to long traiditons of the Hanse being a merchant state and not a proper naval might. In this connection, the swedish Maritime Enterprise played a significant role. Its ships were armed to protect against pirates and flew the Hanseatic war ensign. This protective fleet existed until around 1820.

One of the first to work for the development of a Hanseatic Navy was Prince Henrik, Lord of Prussia. He had made a number of journeys abroad and recognized the value of a fleet to support commercial interests and to protect one’s own navigation. During the Revolutionary era of 1790-1803, at the behest of the National Assembly, the prince was given the responsibility of reestablishing a proper and grand Imperial fleet (Reichsflotte).

After the failure of the Revolutions of 1790, Henrik was able to resume his plans for the enlargement of a Hanseatic Imperial Navy. He began with the construction of further warships and naval education and training. From the middle of the 1810s, one could find Hanseatic corvettes and frigates upon all the world’s seas, where one had previously found only Hanseatic trading vessels.

Besides Prince Henrik, other important figures of this early period were Hanseatic German naval officers Karl Rudolf Brommy and Ludwig von Henk.

At the same time, the first naval base was established on the North Sea. In the Unification Treaty of 1810, the Norwegian state of Trøndelag united with the Hanseatic Empire, bringing into Hanseatic fold the entire southern Scandinavia. Here, in the following years, arose the great naval port which received the name Trondheim in 1838.
Hanseatic Empire
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Post  Hanseatic Empire Sat Nov 15, 2008 4:56 am

Imperial Army - Equipment

Infantry
Luger P08 pistol
Gewehr 98
Karabiner 98k
Maschinengewehr 34
MP18
Model 24 Stielhandgranate

Anti-tank
7.5 cm PaK 40
PaK 38 50-mm

Vehicles
Panzer I, II, III
Leichter Panzerspähwagen
SdKfz 10, 11, 251
Schwerer Panzerspähwagen

Long-range weapons
5cm leichter Granatenwerfer 36
Nebelwerfer
2 cm FlaK 30
88 mm gun
7.5 cm FK 16
10.5 cm leFH 18
15 cm Kanone 18
15 cm schwere Feldhaubitze 18
15 cm sIG 33
21 cm Mörser 18

Imperial Navy - Equipment
(Does not include small boats, minelayers/sweepers or auxiliary vessels)

Aircraft carriers
Graf Zeppelin class (1939, Two ships)
Gotland class (1930, One ship, seaplane carrier)

Battleships
Bismarck class (1939, Two ships)
Scharnhorst class (1936, Two ships)
Nassau class (1910, Four ships)
Helgoland class (1910 - 1911, Four ships)
Bayern class (1918 - 1919 - 1920, Three ships)
Kaiser class (1918 - 1919 - 1921, Five ships)

Battlecruiser
Scharnhorst class (1938 - 1939, Three ships)
Von der Tann class (1910 - 1912 - 1913, Four ships)
Derfflinger-class (1912 - 1914 - 1915, Five ships)

Pre-Dreadnoughts
Deutschland class battleship (1906, Two ships)
Braunschweig class battleships (1904 - 1905 - 1906 Five ships)

Heavy cruisers
Deutschland class (1931 - 1933 - 1934, Three ships)
Admiral Hipper class (1987 - 1938, Three ships)

Light cruisers
Emden class (1925, One ship)
K class (1925 - 1927 - 1928, Three ships)
Leipzig class (1929 - 1934, Two ships)
Dresden class (1907 - 1908, Two ships)
Magdeburg class (1912 - 1913, Four ships)

Destroyers
Zerstörer/Typ 1934 (1937, Sixteen ships)
Zerstörer/Typ 1936 (Eleven ships)

Coastal defence ship
Tordenskjold class (1897 - 1898, Two ships)
Eidsvold class (1899, Two ships)

Torpedo boats
Torpedoboot 1923 (Six ships)
Torpedoboot 1924 (Six ships)

U-boats
Type I (Two vessels)
Type II (Five vessels, Coastal subs)
Type VII (Thirty vessels)
Type IX (Twenty-two vessels)

Imperial Air Force - Equipment

Fighters
Junkers Ju 87 Stuka
Messerschmitt Bf 109
Messerschmitt Bf 110

Bombers
Heinkel He 111
Dornier Do 17

Transports
Junkers Ju 52


Last edited by Hanseatic Empire on Tue Nov 18, 2008 8:25 am; edited 1 time in total
Hanseatic Empire
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Post  Hanseatic Empire Sat Nov 15, 2008 11:28 am

Imperial Armed Forces

Commander-in-Chief - Kaiser Hans Wilhelm II
Minister of Defense - Franz Schumacher
High Commander of the Armed Forces - Joseph von Moltke

National population: 87,3 million
Defence Budget: 49%

Total numbers: 3,492,000
Army active force: 1,120,000
Naval active personnel: 200,000
Air force active personnel: 60,000

Border Guard militia force: 40,000
Merchant Marine force: 109,000

Reserve forces: 1,963,000
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