Hermann Eschau
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Hermann Eschau | |
|---|---|
 1935 official portrait | |
| Reichsmarschall | |
| In office 18 July 1928 – 15 March 1948 | |
| Preceded by | Viktor IV as Emperor of the Vierz |
| Succeeded by | none (office abolished) |
| Minister President of the Vierz Empire | |
| In office 15 December 1924 – 15 March 1948 | |
| Preceded by | Ludwig Kleiner as Chancellor of the Vierz Empire |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Hermann Luther Eschau 25 August 1865 Prinzburg, Vierz Empire |
| Died | 15 March 1948 (aged 77) Adtrüs, Vierz Empire |
| Political party | Independent |
| Alma mater | Konstantin Imperial War College, Adtrüs |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Vierz Empire |
| Branch/service | Imperial Vierz Army |
| Years of service | 1887–1900 1912-1948 |
| Rank | Reichsmarschall |
| Battles/wars | Frontier Wars Vonzumier War Great War |
Hermann Eschau (25 August 1865 – 15 April 1948) was a Vierz military officer and statesman who led the Vierz Empire as its Minister President and Reichsmarschall from 1924 to his death in 1948. A key figure in world history, he was instrumental in the start of the Great War and the transformation of Vierzland into a military dictatorship after the October Putsch.
Eschau was born to a family of the minor nobility in Prinzburg. His father, Adolf Eschau, was an officer in the royalist army during the Vierz Civil War. Eschau joined the Imperial Vierz Army in 1887, fighting in the Frontier Wars and rising to the rank of Oberleutnant. He was honorably discharged from the army in 1900, moving to Bertenau. He rejoined the army in 1912 and was later deployed to Vonzumier, a Vierz colony, as the commander of the 21st Infantry Brigade. A staunch anti-Communist and supporter of imperial rule in Vonzumier, Eschau was one of the first to react to the Niederstadt uprising in 1920. He fought in the ensuing Vonzumier War, achieving the rank of Generaloberst before the war's end in 1923.
Enraged by the resulting independence of Vonzumier, Eschau returned home in search of a life in politics. He developed anti-monarchist opinions, and a personal distrust of Viktor IV over the events in Vonzumier. When the world was struck by the Dunklen Monaten, Eschau led a group of army officers called the Imperial Maintenance Council, who overthrew the Vierz government in 1924 during a period of high instability. Eschau dissolved the council and the chancellery, proclaiming himself Minister President and vastly restricting the powers of the Reichsversammlung while suspending the constitution. He quickly transformed Vierzland into an autocratic dictatorship and cracked down on civil and political freedoms while supporting policies of rapid militarization and centralization of state authority. In 1928, he gave himself the title of Reichsmarschall, officially granting himself complete control over the political and military functions of the empire.
Luepola and Targia becoming Communist led Eschau to shift the empire towards the likes of Gallia, Lairea, and Zaihan. Tensions between Gallia and Luepola over a border dispute and ideological differences forced him to decide to back Gallia's decision to invade Luepola in 1941, and vowed to support the invasion militarily, leading to the outbreak of the Great War on 10 April 1941. The Allianz powers, led by the Vierz Empire, were greatly victorious in their early campaigns. Vierz forces, under the aggressive military leadership of Eschau, managed to conquer most of southern and eastern Patyria by the end of 1942. The entrance of Legatia, Vonzumier, and Auchnesal into the war in 1943, and failure to defeat Insaeldor, drastically altered the fate of the Vierz Empire and put the Allianz on the defensive. Eschau ordered a final campaign, Perfect Storm, in 1947 to delay the war's end and force a white peace. This only led to the Coalition's decision to drop an atomic bomb on Bertenau, to which Eschau replied by authorizing an unconditional surrender. A group of army officers attempted to overthrow Eschau on 15 March 1948, killing him but later being arrested by forces loyal to Eschau, leading to Vierzland's surrender the next day.
Eschau is highly controversial today, particularly in Vierzland. Many applaud him for implementing policies that ended the effects of the 1924 financial crisis in Vierzland, ending what most considered to be a nepotist, corrupt monarchy, and his strategical and tactical genius. Others criticize his role in the Great War, stating that he was instrumental in the war's start and could have prevented it. Historians debate his role in the Luepolan massacres and the 10th of May incident, with some arguing that he was implicit in both. Eschau's body was cremated by the imperial government shortly after his death, with the remains tossed into the sea.