Eitel

Biodata

Power Progression

Eitel's documented progression consists of Hearts of Iron System unlocks and national focuses, rather than personal combat ranks.

Background / History

Transmigration and Frontline Accession

Lu Chen arrives in Eitel Friedrich's body roughly one month before the opening events of October 1918. Although his previous life gave him a doctorate in history, Germany's exhausted army, failing supplies, Allied blockade, and approaching domestic uprisings leave him unable to reverse the crisis through knowledge alone 1.

Eitel volunteers to serve on the Meuse River–Argonne defensive line after the crown prince's departure damages morale. His position pits approximately 80,000 German troops against 450,000 Allied soldiers and 2,700 guns. When Wilhelm II abdicates and flees to the Netherlands with the crown prince, Eitel rejects Konstantin's proposal that he follow them into exile 1.

As commander of the Fifth Army, he orders its officers to recognize him as emperor. Konstantin accepts, Wilhelm II sends his endorsement, and Eitel holds a rudimentary coronation at the front three days later. His first national focus strengthens the army while improving domestic stability 2.

Holding the Front

Eitel remains near the fighting despite Konstantin's warnings. He coordinates artillery preparations and a Stormtrooper offensive against American positions, employing gas shells, high-explosive bombardment, and illumination shells. The attack breaks into the American trench lines 3 4 5.

He subsequently persuades Hindenburg that withdrawal would destroy Germany's leverage in peace negotiations. Hindenburg elects to remain at the front rather than return home to suppress rebellion. Eitel also summons promising officers, including Guderian, Rommel, Manstein, and Rundstedt, to strengthen his command 7.

Return to Berlin and Domestic Unrest

Recognizing that Germany cannot sustain a prolonged war, Eitel prepares to restore order at home while preserving the front. He approves Guderian's operation against rebellious naval personnel and assigns him a Stormtrooper battalion. His conspicuous overland return to Berlin helps conceal Guderian's movements 9 10 15.

During the journey, Eitel accepts a protective deception plan proposed by his young officers. Concealed camps and an empty decoy tent allow his escort to defeat an assassination attempt without German escort casualties. He then orders food and clothing for the surviving attackers, calling them his subjects rather than rioters 12 13.

One captive, Wilhelm, is the son of Spartacus League leader Karl Liebknecht. Eitel keeps him nearby and challenges his revolutionary beliefs through arguments about national circumstances and patriotic honor. Wilhelm subsequently captures Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg himself, delivering them to Eitel and declaring his intention to enter military service 14 15 19.

In Berlin, Eitel receives a public welcome and gives his Iron Cross to a boy who presents him with flowers. He praises both frontline soldiers and civilians as heroes, rallying the crowd against surrender 15.

Peace Negotiations and Versailles

Eitel seeks a negotiated peace without accepting Germany's unconditional surrender. He exposes Friedrich Ebert's secret agreement with a foreign diplomat, orders his arrest for prosecution on treason charges, and secures the remaining Social Democratic leaders' support against the proposed terms 22.

He also exploits disagreements among the Allied powers by forwarding the peace document to President Wilson. Wilson responds by limiting American participation in further fighting and proposing commercial support in exchange for access to the German market and a fifteen-year grain contract 22 23.

After victory at Liège Fortress, Eitel orders a state funeral for the fallen and prepares to negotiate from a stronger position. At Versailles, he refuses deliberately shabby seating, challenges demands for unconditional surrender, and questions whether the Allies can sustain another campaign 29 30 33.

He nevertheless accepts restrictions when he believes Germany can recover from them. His plans include officer education, preserved weapons blueprints, an Imperial Research Institute, and access to undeveloped resources. He accepts the revised colonial settlement after recognizing the value of New Guinea's undiscovered mineral deposits, and separately offers Wilson the High Seas Fleet as a business proposition 35 37 38.

Eitel signs the Treaty of Versailles despite his resentment. During the return journey, he recognizes that he is no longer treating events as a historical game: he has become personally responsible for Germany and its people. Back in Berlin, he describes the settlement as a twenty-year armistice and promises that Germany will rise again 40.

Formal Enthronement and Reconstruction

Eitel's later accession ceremony establishes the formal imperial standing that his battlefield coronation had not secured. Chancellor Max places the crown on his head, and Eitel swears to uphold the constitution, treat the constituent states fairly, protect the impoverished, and safeguard Germany's peace 17 41.

He then orders phased demobilization, officer training for 100,000 retained soldiers and officers, conversion of most arms factories to civilian production, and creation of the Imperial Research Institute. Economic growth and transport infrastructure become his immediate system priorities 42.

His reconstruction policy also preserves a foundation for future rearmament. He encourages portable-weapons development within the treaty's caliber restrictions, promises to retain arms-industry personnel, and proposes moving machinery and research cooperation abroad. He plans to use American cooperation and the Russian Civil War to keep German weapons development alive 44 46.

To consolidate command, Eitel removes Hindenburg from active posts and makes him headmaster of the Prussia War Academy, offering an honorary field marshal's position. He later proposes selling surplus weapons to both the Soviets and the White Army to finance demobilization; Ludendorff warns that Allied investigators could discover the trade 47 49.

Appearance

• Military clothing: Wears a finely made World War I officer's uniform and leather boots; uses a rain cape or cloak while traveling and observing operations 4 11 15 31.
• Imperial regalia: Wears an imperial robe and crown during his formal enthronement, carrying the field marshal's baton 41.
• Civilian clothing: Changes into a simple suit for a factory visit with Chancellor Max 44.

Personality

Eitel combines personal concern for his subjects with deliberate political persuasion. He eats ordinary military rations, thanks wounded soldiers, and tells promising officers to value their own safety. He also consciously uses patriotic honor and public symbolism to build loyalty, aspiring to become the people's faith when they need one 6 10 12 15 31.

His nationalism extends beyond immediate survival. He envisions a united Europe under a powerful sovereign government and intends the German Empire to create it through military strength. Nevertheless, he accepts a humiliating peace when continued war would ruin Germany, treating time for development as more valuable than immediate retaliation 32 38.

He is forceful about imperial authority but capable of postponing confrontation. He threatens Max at gunpoint over unauthorized political actions and compels Hindenburg to relinquish active command. Conversely, he accepts Max's warning against immediately attacking entrenched Junker interests, choosing to cultivate loyal officers first 16 44 47.

His private behavior is less imposing than his public image. After insisting on riding with his soldiers, he regrets the discomfort of prolonged horseback travel. He also scolds Guderian, Rommel, and Manstein for reckless motorcycle riding while privately maintaining confidence in their futures 10 11 12.

Abilities & Skills

Hearts of Iron System

A national-management interface that strengthens Germany through focuses, industrial allocation, decisions, and laws 2 19 41.

• National modifiers: Improves military effectiveness, stability, production, trade, and infrastructure through selected focuses 2 17 42.
• Industrial allocation: Assigns factories directly to ammunition, firearms, artillery, and shell production 19.
• Political-power management: Uses accumulated points to unlock options and enact decisions; limited reserves constrain his choices 43.
• Progression conditions: Major functions depend on effective political and military control, rather than his imperial title alone 17.
• Branch restrictions: The main Kaiser Autocracy path cannot be changed, although the Economic Miracle and Four Year Plan branches can be switched 42.
• Limits: Supports gradual national development rather than instantly creating soldiers or supplies 38.

Historical Knowledge and Talent Recognition

Uses his previous life's historical education to identify valuable people and resources 1 9 35.

• Recognizes Guderian, Rommel, and Manstein as future military talents before they have achieved their later reputations 7 9 10.
• Identifies overlooked officers and arranges further training rather than accepting assignments shaped by aristocratic favoritism 44.
• Plans around mineral deposits and oil fields that have not yet been surveyed or developed 35 37.
• Acknowledges that historical knowledge alone cannot overcome Germany's immediate material exhaustion 1.

Operational Planning

Directs combined artillery and infantry operations while relying on specialist officers for execution 3 4 5.

• Coordinates bombardment with Stormtrooper infiltration and assault 4.
• Uses battlefield success to preserve diplomatic leverage rather than treating withdrawal as a purely military question 7.
• Accepts and supplements subordinates' security plans, including concealed camps and decoys 12 13.

Political and Economic Strategy

Links diplomacy, industrial preservation, and control of the armed forces to Germany's recovery 22 35 46 47.

• Exploits conflicting Allied interests to seek American trade and support 22 23 38.
• Preserves military expertise through officer academies, research institutions, retained personnel, and overseas cooperation 35 42 46.
• Builds a loyal command structure while delaying a direct confrontation with entrenched Junker nobles 44.
• Proposes arms exports as a source of demobilization funds, though Allied detection remains an unresolved risk 49.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Pistol — Carried at his waist; drawn on Prince Max during their confrontation over the empire's political crisis 16.
• Binoculars — Used to observe artillery positions and Stormtrooper advances 3 4.
• Iron Cross — Gives the decoration at his collar to a Berlin boy; later appearances again depict him wearing an Iron Cross 15 40 41.
• Field marshal's baton and imperial command standard — Sent by Hindenburg as he acknowledges Eitel's authority. Eitel subsequently carries the baton during public addresses and his formal accession 30 31 41.
• Black warhorse — His mount during the journey from the front and public entries into Berlin 11 13 40.
• Armored car — Initially refuses it to share his soldiers' hardships, but later uses it as part of his security arrangements 11 12.

Relationships

• Wilhelm II — Father and predecessor. Endorses Eitel's frontline accession while privately urging him to escape to the Netherlands if Germany's position becomes hopeless 1 2.
• The Crown Prince — Elder brother and former Fifth Army commander. Flees with Wilhelm II but asks their father to protect Eitel from becoming the chief target of blame after defeat 2 8.
• Konstantin — Loyal general who accepts Eitel's authority, protects him at the front, and remains responsible for the Meuse–Argonne line when Eitel returns to Berlin 1 2 11.
• Erwin Rommel — Recruited officer, security adviser, and personal secretary. Accompanies Eitel through domestic unrest and the Versailles negotiations 9 12 17 40.
• Heinz Guderian — Promising subordinate entrusted with a Stormtrooper battalion and the operation against naval rebellion 9 10 12.
• Erich von Manstein — Recruited officer who helps protect Eitel during the return journey and later leads his horse through Berlin's welcoming crowds 9 12 40.
• Hindenburg — Senior commander whose support helps secure Eitel's military authority. Later ordered to surrender active posts and lead the Prussia War Academy 7 30 47.
• Chancellor Max / Prince of Baden — Initially confronted over unauthorized political actions; subsequently becomes a central adviser on accession, reconstruction, and managing Junker opposition 16 20 42 44.
• Ludendorff — Supports arrangements for Eitel's formal coronation and later reports on demobilization and the risks of surplus-arms exports 20 49.
• Wilhelm, son of Karl Liebknecht — Captured revolutionary whom Eitel wins over. Delivers his father and Rosa Luxemburg to imperial custody and volunteers to fight for Eitel 13 14 19.
• Woodrow Wilson — Potential diplomatic and commercial partner. Eitel seeks American support, grain supplies, and cooperation as a counterweight to Britain and France 22 23 38 46.
• Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach and Heinrich Ehrhardt — Arms-industry leaders whom Eitel reassures that civilian conversion will not mean abandoning their personnel or future weapons development 46 47.

Notable Quotes

“You are all the empire's future stars of command. Losing even one of you would pain me immensely.” 10

“What we lack most right now is time. As long as we can buy enough time.” 38

“Chancellor Max. Remember, governing for the people does not mean sitting forever in a lofty tower.” 44

“He who would wear the crown must bear its weight, indeed. I thought becoming emperor and commanding the world would be a thrill. I never imagined I would have so much business to handle every day.” 49