Election (3): The Military's Prolonged Silence
The silence from the military dragged on. It was a question of who would speak first. We locked eyes, maintaining the quiet standoff, until Ludendorff let out a short, dry chuckle. Without a word, he pulled out a cigarette and lit it.
"You seem to lack faith, Your Highness."
"A choice to save the military, and joining the SPD, which distrusts it."
He exhaled a plume of smoke and continued. "How do those connect?"
I gave a light laugh in response. "Do you think the National People's Party can seize the Reichstag on its own?"
"Of course."
Ludendorff answered firmly. "If the patriots unite their strength, we can reclaim Germany's sovereignty."
I listened quietly to his words. They were far removed from reality. Sure, self-proclaimed 'patriots' would emerge later, but they were a different breed from the ones Ludendorff had in mind. Considering their future involvement in the Beer Hall Putsch and how they'd be used and discarded by Hitler, it was an oddly ironic statement.
"Combine the Social Democrats and Independent Social Democrats, and that's eleven million votes. Even adding the People's Party, the Nationalists barely hit eight million."
Ludendorff's gaze sharpened. "So you think it's impossible?"
He stared at me with an expression that said he'd be deeply disappointed if I agreed.
"That's why Lüttwitz's coup failed."
"That's...!"
He clenched his fist, trembling with indignation at my words, but he seemed at a loss for a rebuttal. Emotional types like this are easy to persuade. I flashed a smile and said, "Will you hear me out?"
Ludendorff kept his piercing gaze but set down his cigarette. "I'll listen, Your Highness."
I nodded at his response and pressed on. "The SPD doesn't have enough support to dominate the country yet, but they're holding steady as the largest party. They'll do anything to expand their base."
A subtle flicker crossed Ludendorff's eyes. "Starting with veteran welfare bills, they'll gradually build bridges to the military. Ever since the coup, they've been terrified of losing the army's trust."
I met his eyes directly. "I'm not siding with them."
A brief silence.
"We'll carve out a place for ourselves inside them."
Ludendorff stubbed out his spent cigarette in the ashtray and said, "You expect me to believe that now?"
"Believe it or not, given the Nationalists' recent blunders, you must see this path is faster."
Ludendorff struggled to respond. The party had burst onto the scene championing monarchy and a strong Germany, winning cheers at first—but their intransigence made them everyone's target overnight. Even during the Kapp Putsch, their ambiguous stance had disappointed supporters. In the postwar socialist-dominated landscape, their Kapp ambivalence let the moderate conservative People's Party siphon off their voters. Seizing power was now nearly impossible. And if I revealed I was infiltrating the SPD as a pro-military figure to collaborate from within?
"...Your Highness makes a valid point. Besides, the idea of you suddenly turning socialist is absurd."
His demeanor softened noticeably, taking on the relaxed confidence of a man who'd once manipulated even the Kaiser during the war. He probably still fancied the prince before him was firmly in his grasp.
"That's why this East Prussia election is crucial. I lack standing in the party yet, and there's no voter shift tied to me, so my election is uncertain."
"Low on the list?"
At Ludendorff's question, I nodded with a aggrieved expression. "Number two, maybe three. The SPD winning seats in East Prussia? Tough sell. What should we do?"
Ludendorff paused at my words. "If you don't get elected here..."
"I'd become a discarded pawn."
He rubbed his forehead, deep in thought, clearly agreeing I needed to win. But the issue was simple: for me to win, the SPD needed votes.
About five minutes of silence passed.
"Well, if I don't get elected, can't be helped."
I made a show of rising from my seat. "Ah, no!" He shot up urgently. "Your Highness, wait... just a moment."
With hurried eyes, he spoke. I tilted my head. "Some problem?"
"...No, don't worry! Number one wasn't expected to win anyway, right? If number two gets in, it'd just be you. I'll help you, Your Highness!"
He beamed with the look of someone already trusted, urging me to rely on him alone. Faster reaction than expected. This guy's straightforward, alright.
"As long as you generals are around, Germany isn't finished. The future even looks brighter."
"If we'd had a prince like Your Highness during the war, the outcome might've been different."
A bit of flattery, and he grinned ear to ear. Easier than anticipated. Probably would've folded to any extremist's sweet talk even without Hitler. Oh right, he already fell for Lüttwitz.
"If it's General Ludendorff's word..."
That single phrase was enough.
"Prince Joachim has a plan, they say. We need to help him..."
"Even so!"
"Telling us to vote SPD? Has he lost it?"
The small officer corps, reduced to 100,000 men and mostly handling border defense in East Prussia, was thrown into confusion by Ludendorff's appeal. Unlike his prior "Vote Nationalist no matter what," he'd now messaged them: "Prince Joachim must win for us to survive."
The catch? He was running for the SPD. As number two or three, getting him elected—even if it meant more SPD seats—hurt no one, he'd argued. But the officers couldn't swallow it easily.
"Still... it's Ludendorff."
"Never thought I'd vote SPD..."
A middle-aged officer muttered, setting down his glass. "But if Prince Joachim gains influence, won't the SPD become our allies?"
The young officer's words left the others pondering. Opinions varied.
"Someone else will vote for him. I'm sticking with Nationalists."
"I was voting People's Party anyway, so SPD changes nothing..."
The younger ones vowed loyalty to the Nationalists; the older ones shifted their People's Party votes to SPD. The youth felt it less acutely, but veterans knew Ludendorff's name carried weight like no other.
They didn't realize whose benefit this served.
And the public reacted similarly.
"Officers want to vote for Joachim too?"
"The officers?"
"Word's spreading in military circles already."
Königsberg taverns buzzed with politics.
"They figured SPD takes at least one seat anyway, so a bit more to get Prince Joachim over the line."
"Isn't that their plan?"
"Even so, if Prince Joachim pulls it off, won't it shake France and Britain?"
Rumors twisted as they spread, growing exaggerated. Prince Joachim might be the only one uniting left and right. The SPD planned to make him chancellor, end internal divisions, and tackle external foes first, they whispered.
"Why's it getting weirder?"
Hermann Müller scratched his head in the party office upon hearing unexpected news from the East Prussian labor unions. He'd figured military votes wouldn't move the needle much, but reports trickled in: the local officers were voting SPD to elect Joachim.
"Who else? Only one man."
Müller nodded at Otto Wels's words. "Who'd have thought the 'flag on the hill' we deemed impossible was coming true."
"Papers too. People's Party and Nationalist supporters are warming to us."
Müller glanced at the newspaper Wels handed him, chuckling dryly as he tossed it on the desk. "Chancellor seems easier than party leader."
"If you say that, what hope for us?"
Wels smiled, eyeing the front-page photo of him in the East Prussian daily. He lit a cigarette. "...Thought he was just a wildcard."
Exhaling smoke, he muttered on. "Didn't expect him to flip the board."