Tyranny of Steel

Berengar stood within the Kufstein Arms Testing Facility, which was stationed on the far outskirts of the capital city's limits. He was currently being led towards a restricted area by the engineers of the Kufstein Royal Armory. Including Ludwig's son, and prodigy Jakob von Thurgau, who was apparently the lead designer on this classified weapons project. 

Though Berengar was busy preparing for Honoria's journey to the land down under. Jakob requested an urgent meeting to demonstrate the newest weapon that his department had devised. More specifically, this weapon was the brainchild of a promising young engineering talent by the name of Wernher Kuhne.

Berengar was not the slightest bit excited and was, in fact, quite irritated that he was forced to take time out of his busy schedule to witness the testing of a new weapon. Such things were no longer his responsibilities.

However, Jakob was confident that Berengar would want to see this new weapon in action.  Despite this, Berengar was scowling as he made a deliberate threat to the men who had forced him to come all this way. 

"This had better be worth my-"

Before he could even finish his sentence, the doors opened to a shielded room, where he and the scientists gazed upon a large open-air facility. What Berengar witnessed in that moment truly astounded him as he gazed upon the magnificence of the large object which sat, prepped, and waiting.  Berengar immediately halted what he was about to say and expressed his disbelief as he gazed upon the magnificent weapon which stood fourteen meters tall.

"My god... Is that a fucking rocket?"

The young man named Wernher had a fat smile on his face as he saw the Kaiser enter the room. He quickly greeted the man and confirmed that this was a rocket. 

"Yes, my Kaiser. This is, in fact, a rocket. More specifically, it is a guided missile, which makes use of inertial guidance and active radar homing to lock onto its target. This is the third prototype, but the first functional model. Knowing your temperament, Jakob thought you would like to be among the first people to witness a successful rocket launch in our world's history, and we are all confident that you will enjoy the results."

What can only be described as a visual copy of the v2 rocket was sitting in the middle of the facility, just waiting for its chance at explosive glory. Berengar could hardly believe his eyes when he saw the thing. However, his mind immediately shifted to the many possibilities that missiles presented on the battlefield. 

Among the many uses of this missile, and others that would be developed in the future, was to scale down and modify it for use onboard cruisers and destroyers. This would effectively make his battleships obsolete, allowing him to send such quaint vessels into fleet wide battles with Japan's navy, while protecting his carriers with guided missile cruisers and destroyers. 

Despite just being a prototype, if this launch was truly successful, it could open up a new world of warfare. With Surface to Air missiles, Cruise Missiles, Air-to-Air Missiles and many other types of munitions that could effectively be used against his enemies.

Why send in an armored division when you can launch a ballistic missile on an enemy stronghold from the safety of your own home? Berengar was truly shocked by what he was looking at, but had one immediate question on his mind, which he was quick to ask. 

"Wernher is it? Just how long has your team been working on this project?"

The talented young engineer by the name of Wernher Kuhne was about to answer with a satisfied smile on his face, when Jakob interject with his own answer to the Kaiser's question. While a bit rude, he was the lead engineer on the project, and though his personal contributions failed in comparison to Wernher's, he felt that he was the most capable of answering this question. 

"Approximately two years, my kaiser. As you can see, this is just a prototype of the weapon. However, it presents unlimited possibilities. Rocketry is truly a new era of warfare. With these, our enemies will live in constant fear of having a missile dropped on their heads from the sky above! If this test goes as planned, I would very much appreciate an increase in funding to the Rocketry department so we can come up with all kinds of new weapons for your grand army!" 

Berengar was still getting over the shock that his scientists had already managed to create a guided missile. Though he had spent an ungodly sum over the past thirteen years raising and funding scientists in all fields of study, especially engineering, even he didn't know how to create a functional guided missile from scratch. That was a different path of engineering from what he had learned in his past life. 

For his scientists to create a working prototype of a guided missile, truly showed how his money was well spent. With the near unlimited wealth of the reich, combined with punitive anti-corruption laws, the vast amount of coinage that went into funding research and development provided results quickly, especially with amazing talents like Jakob and Wernher popping up in each field of study. 

Berengar was no longer irritated in the slightest and actually felt a bit of childlike wonder in his heart. Rocketry and missiles were something that could achieve devastating results on the battlefield, but it was also the path to space travel.

Though this was just a cruise missile, with the right amount of funding and enough years of research, he could put a man on the moon within his lifetime. This was simply inconceivable to Berengar. Ultimately, the Kaiser had a wide grin on his face where he asked the most important question on his mind.

"What are we waiting for? Let's light it up!"

Wernher had an equally emphatic smile on his face as he moved towards the launch button. He inserted his key into the device, which started an alarm signaling anyone within the vicinity to vacate the area. Once everyone was clear, he moved out of the way and asked Berengar the question he wanted to hear the most.

"My Kaiser, shall you do the honors?"

Berengar felt like he could die happy upon hearing this, and thus he quickly began a countdown before pressing the button.

"Five..."

"Four..."

"Three..."

"Two..."

"One..."

"Liftoff!"

After saying this, he pounded the button with his fist, causing the missile to ignite. The burning of the propellent, which was a mixture of ethanol and liquid oxygen, sent the missile into the air and off of its carriage, which was pointed towards the direction of the nearby Alps. After firing, the missile used its active radar homing to lock onto it an abandoned panther tank, which existed some 320km into the mountains. 

The massive explosion of the 1,000 kg amatol filled warhead created a significant blast that was visible from not only the testing sight, but the capital city of the German Empire as well. The citizens of Kufstein gazed up towards the mountains where the explosion occurred in awe.

In preparation for this event, a radio broadcast occurred throughout the reich warning people in advance of the test, so that they would not fear the impact when it occurred. In fact, many people had been eagerly awaiting it, and saw the rocket take off into the sky, and head towards its abandoned target. 

The room where the Kaiser and all his scientists stood was filled with utter silence for several moments before they all broke out into cheers. Berengar was so excited by the successful missile test that he approached Jakob and Wernher before giving them the news they wanted to hear.

"Whatever funds you need to further develop missiles like these, and whatever other designs you can think of, put in a request, and it will be fulfilled. In fact, I have a few ideas of my own that you might be interested in!"

Upon hearing the Kaiser say this, both Jakob and Wernher were quick to bow their heads in respect before responding to Berengar's words.

"Anything you can think of, simply send your ideas our ways, and we would be happy to see them become a reality. My Kaiser, on behalf of the Kufstein Royal Armory's Rocket Engineering Department, I would like to thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule for being here today."

Berengar simply chuckled as he gazed at the explosion in the mountains, which was still clearing up, before muttering the words on his mind.

"It was my pleasure..."

On this day, the German Empire had developed the first functional supersonic missile. In the coming years, endless funding would be funnelled into the Rocket Engineering Department of the Kufstein Royal Armory, where they would produce many new weapons designs for use on the battlefield.  As for Berengar, he would be quick to work on new ship designs that could act as proper escorts for his carriers. After all Battleships, and Battlecruisers were not the most ideal candidates for the task.