Hobgoblin Camp

Hobgoblin wolves eat a lot and so do their riders. The Hobgobla Khan had made very sure that there would be enough bison for an extended campaign and that was about to become his undoing. Close to a half million bison were heading for his army and they were not breaking for anything, especially with the explosions in their backs that pushed them ever forward.

The Hobgobla Khan had been back to his tents when it started. The explosions had stopped the party cold when everybody got to their posts as fast as their bent legs would call them. With no clue to what was happening the Khan donned his armor, surrounded himself with his bodyguard and climbed the tower so he might spot the signal fires used by the Hobgoblins at night.

The tower started to vibrate when he climbed it and trembled when he started to get his bearings. Still, there was no explanation for all of the sound and fury but the sight made the Khan hold breath.
The thousands of fires that burned to the north of him were extinguished like by a black wave that drowned everything in its path. He tried to make sense of it, tried to compile orders to stem the onrushing catastrophe when he finally hear the braying of the bison. Understanding came immediately and the bitter taste of defeat filled his mouth.
He tried his best to reach his Alpha Wolf and flee before the onrushing stampede, yet he had known already it made no sense.
He died under the hooves of a dozen bison and shared his fate with the vast majority of the horde.

Altdorf, Koenigstag 2. Ulrikszeit

It was a typical guild hall in Altdorf-a huge room with wooden paneling sporting coats of arms that showed which families had been prominent here, with many benches along the walls and a smaller one at one of the short ends. There were some signs of the new times as well-electric lighting was so much more convenient and a big white clock had the pride of place at the wall opposite to the Guild Master`s bench.
The "Builder`s Guild" was one of the largest in Altdorf and its hall had therefore been chosen for the meeting. This meeting was unlike those that usually took place here as nearly all guilds that were in Altdorf had sent representatives. Normally the guilds tended to keep for themselves and meeting of them all were for ceremonial purposes. Today was different.

The black-and-white of the carpenters, the red caps of the nailmakers, the black collars of the chain-forgers, the cobblers caps and the locksmiths glasses were just a part of it. While every guild had just sent their Guild Masters and their deputies the room was packed.
The hour appointed to the meeting had not yet arrived but a veritable din made it difficult to hear more than a few fragments.

"The bloody apprentices asked for a wage and their parents no longer want to pay tuition.."
"My workers ran away and the new ones ask for two Crowns per hour…."
"Did not sell a single lock since…"
"If I hear the name "Eterna" once more I am going to puke"

Dieter Berger, the Builder`s Guild Master was to head the meeting. He knew that every minute that did not see him take the reins would make it harder to have an orderly session. Yet the clock stubbornly insisted that it was five minutes to seven and he had to give latecomers the chance to attend. It was funny, a few years ago arriving within a quarter hour of the appointed time was the apex of punctuality, now being five minutes late was seen as impolite. A sign of the changing times and as the voices before him attested not all changes were received equally well.

"Just 13 Marks per meter of chain, it takes me two days to make that.."
"The nails are six marks per kilogram…"
"They should make an import tax, then we could sell again and our taxes could be less…"

And then the hand finally reached the mark and Dieter could step forward. He lifted his staff of office high and hammered it to the floor with all the power that moving bricks for many years of his life had given him. Shooting a firearm inside the small room would have been louder, but not by much and so all conversation in the room ended as if cut off by a knife.
The burly Guild Master stepped forward to his bench.

"I hereby open the Assembly of Guilds. All assembled will be seated. We will do the presentation first, then the discussion as per the rota. Are we in agreement brothers?"
"Aye."
"Then let us begin. We all know that new times are upon us, times that none of us could have foreseen even a few years ago. Our new neighbors and allies, the Germans have brought us incredible new things and are changing our lives in many ways."
The grumbling and catcalls were barely in check.
"The German industry is producing in amounts we can hardly imagine, producing items of quality at prices far below what many of us can achieve. German padlocks, German chains, German nails, German shoes and German medicines-they are all far cheaper and often better than our products. And before you think my guild is not affected-construction companies from Germany can make edifices that we can just dream about no matter what the price. And it is not just the Germans. The new factories that open up in the Empire itself offer knives, stoves and garments at prices that no artisan can match. And there are many who say that this is the way of the future: Locks, shoes, shirts and furniture will no longer be made by a local craftsman.
There are those of us who say that we should not allow this. That the Empire should tax the items from Germany so heavily that that out own products are competitive again. That the new industries should be forbidden or taxed too. Some even go so far that they state we should have tariffs for products coming from Nuln."
This time the catcalls were louder and more insistent.
"Damn right."
"Karl Franz should grow a spine."
"Why not.."

It took the application of the staff again to make things quieter again.
"I`ll have order in this room. Are we squabbling apprentices or Guild Masters? I understand all of you and have said the same things. And as much as we would like to have these things we are as likely to receive them as I could fly when I flap my arms. It would be very nice but it is not going to happen. Any why not you say? Maybe it is just because making things much more expensive again after people got used to low prices is not going to go well with the customers? Maybe because the Empire needs unity against the enemy and not more squabbling between the principalities? Maybe because it is hard to tell the Germans "we like the protection of your army and your aid in case of disaster but not your trade". Yes, all of that is true-but the real reason is that there is a better way than trying to cling to the old times and hope change does not hurt us. It will be hard, it will be difficult and it will bring big rewards for those of us who can master it. And that we are Guild Masters and we have to show our members the way forward to prosperity and not huddle like small frightened children.
There is such a way and I have invited somebody to show it to us.
Gentlemen, let me present to you a fellow Master Craftsman, Peter Benthack of the Kiel Chamber of Crafts. He is a craftsman like all of us and he has a successful company in a country where industry is king. He can tell us how to do the same and we should better damn well listen if we want to meet again in a few years' time."

The man that stepped forward was clad in a blue trousers and a plaid shirt, much less elaborate than the Guild Masters` attire. He was somewhere in his 40`s, dishwater blonde, big for an Imperial, had a small paunch and a powerful physique.
"Gentlemen, thanks for giving me the opportunity to speak before you, it is an honor. As Master Berger said I am a Master Craftsman like all of you. I own a plumbing company in Kiel with five journeymen and two apprentices as we keep the same traditions than you do. We do it for the last 600 years or so and we are proud of it. There are lots of Craftsmen in Germany and normally they are successful. I am a plumber, and while I have not made a pipe or a spigot in my life I have a nice house, own a new VW hybrid car and if things go right the next vacation will be in a Club Tilea.
I understand that you are all upset about big industry and how it is making things so much cheaper than you ever can. Get used to it as this is going to stay. A big company with modern machinery and labor sharing will always be more efficient than a craftsman or craftswoman.
It is the railroads that make all of that work when before it could not. A huge factory will not pay for itself when it can just sell its wares in the immediate neighborhood, but when you can ship things so cheaply over long distances like the Kaiserlich-Deutsche Bahn then it is a different story. And these things will not go away, so you have to go with the times.

So when you can no longer make things, what can you do? You can repair them, install them, assemble them and modify them to your customers` wish that's what you can do.
Yes, shoes from Addidas are cheaper than the ones you can make and people think they are more stylish. But guess what, they still have to be repaired when the soles are worn off or the seams break. And people can afford a lot more shoes these days, so there is a lot to repair. The city government of Altdorf has decided that there will be a central water supply for its citizens and someone will have to install all these pipes and things, might as well be you.
Many households in Altdorf want to have electricity and you could be the ones to install it. No, you will not make the cables, switches and sockets but you can ask for good guilder for putting them where they belong. The list of such things is endless, what you need to do is pick one of them, learn the new skills required and do them.
Then you can stay successful and respected. Cling to the old way and ah well…."

The shout came from one of the back benches and was on time. Which was a good thing as Dieter had paid good money for it.
"So who is going to teach us and what will that cost?"
"Actually the Chambers of Crafts in Germany have founded a special company for that. It is staffed by teachers and retired craftsman and they will teach you for free."
"What-even you are not that rich."
"No, but the German government thinks that it is better for both of our countries if there is less unrest and a growing economy. So our teachers will get paid, but you do not need to do that."
"And how about the new tools and other equipment?"
"There will be recommendations about tool and equipment packages that certain crafts will need."
"And how do we pay for them?"
"The Chamber of Crafts has package deals with several German and two of the new Imperial banks. They will offer credit for 5% annually."
There were no catcalls but a lot of murmurs. "Yes, I understand you folks. We have more than a few things in common and I also feel uncomfortable when I have to negotiate a new lease for a truck or ask my bank for an extension of overdraft. "Schulden" or "Schulde"-means credit as much as it means you are guilty of something, doesn`t it? And yet, it is part and parcel of a modern economy, so better get used to it. Remember 5% is much better than what the old –style imperial moneylenders asked for and if you cannot earn that from normal business then you should give up. Does not mean that you should go into debt till Kingdom come, but if you keep things reasonable then you can earn much more money than otherwise."

Another voice called this time, shriller and from a different corner. Recognizing the voice the Guild Master cringed.
"And how about the tuition fees for apprentices? I hear that you pay your apprentices money."
"We pay them an entry-level wage, roughly a third of what I would pay a new journeyman. We do not ask for a tuition fee, no."
"Why not?"
"We would get no apprentices otherwise, that`s why. But may I ask something? You let your apprentices work hard six days of the week and teach them maybe two evenings or on Festtag morning when you feel like it. You beat them when you think appropriate and the accommodation you offer them at cost is usually atrocious. Now if you are clever you will start to learn new stuff in a couple of weeks or months. So you want to be treated-like human beings or like you treat your apprentices?"
There was a lot of laughter after that. A million questions, loud calls that this was all bullshit quenched when the men and the few women assembled in these halls saw a light at the end of a tunnel that had been dark before and much else ensued.

The first retired Craftsmen that had volunteered to teach would arrive in Altdorf by Kaldezeit. One of the Hotels catering to Germans had offered rooms at reduced rates, but the guilds had made it a point of honor to house the "Meister" in the homes of their members. There would be a lot of frustration, tons of work, stupid bankruptcies and remarkable successes. And two years later six of these teachers would be voted honorary Guild Masters in the first joint session of the Guilds of Altdorf and the North Germany Chamber of Crafts.

Kislev, Festtag, 2. Vorhexen

The banquet was one of the traditional ones meant to show the unity between the Tzarina and her Bojars to the people of Kislev. It was an opportunity to strike deals, mend fences or challenge old foes, ingest copious amounts of food, deflower virgins and curry favor with the monarch.
What was not so traditional was the inclusion of potatoes into several courses as they had to be promoted at every chance.
Lots of inroads at this had been made from a hint by a traveling German legal adviser who suggested putting token guards around potato fields-that had worked. But by now the solid food had been consumed and the Tzarina rose for a toast and a speech.

"It is sometimes asked whether it is not possible to slow down the tempo of modernization somewhat, to put a check on the movement. No, Bojars, it is not possible! The tempo must not be reduced! On the contrary, we must increase it as much as is within our powers and possibilities. This is dictated to us by our obligations to Mother Kislev. This is dictated to us by our obligations to all of those on the side of Order.
To slacken the tempo would mean falling behind. And those who fall behind get beaten. But we do not want to be beaten. No, we refuse to be beaten! One feature of the recent history is the continual beatings formerly Great Powers suffered because of their backwardness.

Mother Kislev is attacked by the Hung. She is attacked by the denizens of the Chaos deserts. She is attacked by the Skaven. She is attacked by the Norscans. She is attacked by the Beastman. All dare to attack her because of her backwardness, military backwardness, cultural backwardness, political backwardness, industrial backwardness, agricultural backwardness. They attack her because it gains them plunder and the favor of their dark Gods with little risk. Do you remember the words of the poet: "You are poor and abundant, mighty and impotent, Mother Kislev." Those attackers are quite familiar with the verses of the old poet. They beat her, saying: "You are abundant; so one can enrich oneself at your expense. They beat her, saying: "You are poor and impotent, so you can be beaten and plundered with impunity." Such is the law of the barbarians and the inhumans-to beat the backward and the weak. It is the way of this world. You are backward, you are weak-therefore you are wrong; hence, you can be beaten and enslaved. You are mighty-therefore you are right; hence, we must be wary of you. That is why we must no longer lag behind.
In the past we had not much choice but to fight these evils the best way we knew. But now that we have been shown a better way, now can acquire weapons to slay those enemies and the tools to make our fatherland better for all. Do you want Mother Kislev to be beaten and to lose against the forces of Chaos? If you do not want this you must put an end to its backwardness in the shortest possible time and make every effort to industrialize. There is no other way. We are many years behind the advanced countries of the Reiksbund. We must make good this distance in a few. Either we do it, or we shall be crushed, not by them but the others who kept up.

Haltdorf, Markttag 3. Nachhexen

Farmer Eberhard saw his son attack the chain to his trusty "Lanz" tractor and step back. He was hard to hear over the engine`s din so the Farmer checked if he had enough distance before adding pressure on the pedal. The stack issued more smoke, the vibrations increased and the big wheels dug themselves into the ground for a moment. The farmer was about to step off when the wheels dug in and the stump at the end of the chain emerged from the ground. Pulling the stump to the place where they were going to burn them the Farmer had time to admire the size of the clearing they had already made. Still, it was only about half of what the town council had agreed to clear for new fields.
Two years ago this would have been considered a high folly and unnecessary, last year it had been a thought, now they had to do it. The village of Haltdorf had cleared a lot of fields when it had been established and some more at a low rate. As the Raiffeisen advisors had thought them crop rotation and supplied fertilizer there was no need to clear new fields every couple of years and the land farmed by the Haltdorf citizens was a great lot by imperial standards already. Even with their mechanized farming they had their hands full and further enlargement was not on anybody`s agenda.

That was until Shallya`s helper had set up a small station in Haltdorf and till a doctor visited the village every week to look after the patients.
Since that time two dozen children had been born, not an unusual rate for a prosperous farming village of their size.
All but one lived and all of the mothers survived. And the children all looked like if they would reach five years. The doctor had given them all something called inoculation and none of the usual diseases had struck. The two that had come down with one of the dreaded fevers, received something else and had been better after a few days.
Two dozen children and all but one would live. All of the mothers lived and would probably conceive again. Clearing new farmland was not a folly any more, it was a dire necessity.

And yes, the Germans still have Apprentices, Journeymen and Master Craftsmen. Some of the journeymen (and-women) still go on a journey of three years to learn and there has to be a Master Craftsmen in a company and only he is allowed to teach new Apprentices. Works since the Dark Ages, so why should it change.

Karak Azgal, Marktag 27. Jahrdrang 2525

The tunnel and Kargan Ironbeard`s head were filled by the roaring sound of their ride. It was a tunnel made by the Grobi, so it was rather narrow in places, the ground uneven and strewn with dirt. Even when the width came to less than Kargan`s not-so considerable height their vehicle passed without a problem and continued the mad charge. Still, the walls that rushed by at break-neck speed where a frightening sight and Kargan turned to his driver. Topped by one of the German coal-scuttle helmets, beard flailing in the slipstream, wearing a set of leathers mixed with bits of armor, with a set of goggles and maniac grin Fagrim was bent over the handlebars. Looking back the Dwarf saw two more motorcycles behind them.

Kargan had a look at the map sketch fastened to the rim of the sidecar he rode and compared it to the markings that just flew by. Punching his driver in the shoulder he indicated the right branch-off and the three motorcycles barreled down the tunnel. It terminated with a shallow set of stairs that made the Dawi noncom`s teeth a threat to his tongue but did not phase the sturdy vehicle. He clung to the machine gun mount in front of him and tried to push himself off when Fagrim braked for all the old motorcycle was worth, turning them to the right in the last possible moment. Both had arrived at a gallery overlooking one of the Karak Azgal`s old assembly halls that was currently teeming with Goblins that assaulted the barriers barely held by Dawi defenders. Pulling the pins from the mounting Kargan swiveled the machine gun about, put his shoulder behind the stock and pulled the trigger. He really had to pay attention not to overdo as there were so many targets. The sidecar and the mounting made a very stable platform and the ammo boxes fixed outside provided all the bullets he could wish for.
Three tracer streams tore into the milling Greenskins, killing Warriors, Fanatics and Shamans alike. An unexpected flanking attack is a disconcerting thing for an unit of any army, being under fire by three machine guns with no cover even more so. And the Goblins were never known for their leadership, so the attack faltered in the time needed for all Greenskins to realize they had been handled the smelly end of the stick.

Yet getting back to the tunnels that led to the parts of the Karak they still held meant crossing more than a hundred meters of cover less hall beaten by heavy fire. A lot made it to the tunnels but nearly as many remained, dead or dying.
The three motorcycle crews cheered loudly enough to drown out the Goblins for a moment, Kargan exchanged a very human "high-five" with the driver of the no. 2 motorcycle. Lifting his fist in the air and twirling it around clockwise he got his warriors attention, the extended arm sent them down the same tunnel they had come. They would divert into another path as soon as possible, there was no need to invite ambushes.
The trip back to base was more leisurely and allowed Kargan to think about their new rides again.

He had been at a festival in Germany with other veterans of Skavvenblight when he saw a vehicle unlike any he had known before. The motorcycle with a sidecar was slimmer than anything else with a decent payload, had a surprising off-road capability and could be used to mount machine guns. With a width of only one meter they were ideal for the warfare in the Karaks. He tried to buy the vehicle right away but had to acknowledge that its venerable status meant it would not be sold to be used in combat. Karagan was not sure that something just 70 years old had already achieved such a status, but the Germans thought that the BMW R26 had earned that. He was about to give up on the idea when one of the Germans that had served together with him pointed him to a close copy that was available in some numbers.
A country that sounded a bit like Kislev to Kargan had made these on the same machines that before had made the BMW he craved. And while the Dneper MT16 motorcycles needed a lot of mending before they could be used by the Dawi they were comparatively simple and restoring them had given Kargan and his Thunderers the knowledge to maintain them.

So by now the 121st Thunderers were a mounted unit, employing a dozen Motorcycles to ride into combat and lend heavy firepower when needed. They were the fastest unit the Dwarves had on the ground at present, had a firepower that was frightening in the close confines of the Karak and riding them at breakneck speed proved to be addictive. That their fellow Dwarfs regarded the Thunderers as useful lunatics was nothing new, but now it was decidedly more fun.

One of the veterans Kargan knew from the hellhole called Skavenblight had taught them to drive the motorcycles together with some of his friends. They had helped to modify human motorcycle gear to fit and the only payment they had asked for was for the Thunderers take a flag of theirs into combat. Kargan was happy to oblige and so a small flag hung from the antenna on each Dnepr.

Chancellery, Berlin, Brunntag 8. Pflugzeit

Christian Lindner walked towards the small lectern at the head of the table holding the National Security Council. Like every effective politician the Foreign Secretary had a well-developed ego to say the least, yet Germany's most important politicians had assembled at short notice because of his request. He was sure that he had something important on his hands, yet he doubted for a few moments that he could make the presentation worthy of it.

A click on his tablet brought something like a greyscale map up. After six years in this world and several campaigns everybody at this table recognized the radar pictures taken by the LUPE satellites. That alone made several eyebrows rise. The map clearly depicted Albion and yet that island had taken nearly no attention during the last years. Being shrouded in physical and magical mists it was hard to find at all and its citizens were known to live in splendid isolation. Was this about to change?

"Ladies and Gentlemen, during the last years we learned that a request for aid by Lord Mazdamundi is not to be taken lightly. His knowledge about threats to this world is quite likely without peer and he has forwarded such a request to me via his ambassador. When Aurelius Ethelorne, the Asurian ambassador, wants to discuss the same issue things reached the "interesting" stage. When I asked the staff at Runghold for Nathan`s assessment of the information I have been given and he states that there is a high probability that they both are describing a real danger I asked the National Security Council to convene.

Albion is currently is a state of civil war into which a number of outside powers interfere to further their interests. The natives of Albion live in the equivalent of a bronze-age society and live around places of magical power. At least a part of them are relics of the old ones and they are tended by the druids called "Truthsayers."
There is a former base of the Old Ones in Albion`s north, called the Citadel of Lead which would be of interest even if it were not occupied by the enemy. But it is used by a Demon Prince called Be´lakor as his base of operations. He has drawn a number of Truthsayers on his side and they are corrupting the Ogham circles in the areas they control. There is also a nexus of an experimental portal transport system left by the Old Ones that has been damaged, patched up by Teclis some 20 years ago and needs another repair soon.
Why should all of that concern us? Well, the Ogham Circles are said to be calming the energies that emerge from the Chaos gates, anything that disturbs that cannot be good. The transport system works with pretty high energies and if it were to fail the consequences would be catastrophic. When I asked what "catastrophic" meant Teclis mentioned that Ulthuan would sink, Nathan thinks this is a cautious estimate.
Together with the possibility to gain access to additional artifacts of the Old Ones this means to me that our intervention is warranted."

"So you think we send an expeditionary corps to Albion on the say-so of an overgrown frog and an elf that probably lies when he opens his mouth?"
"No Markus, I suggest that we send special forces to Albion who link up with the Slann and check if two of the most knowledgeable beings on this planet try to use us to badly and if we can profit of it anyway. Then we decide what to do about the situation."
We might also want to drop a bunch of leaflets on the two Black Arcs that are moored in Albion, this might be an easy way to get rid of these torturers."
Thomas de Maiziere had followed the bickering of his Foreign and Defense secretary in silence. Now was the time to interfere.
"Markus, Christian`s proposal has merit, send some KSK teams to Albion. But whatever you do, never ever call this thing "Sealion" will you."

5000 Kilometers above Warhammer World Königstag 3. Sigmarszeit

The spanner slipped of the pentagonal nut and the force that was supposed to turn it suddenly had no place to go but threw Nathan Alpers bodily against the panel that he just tried to remove.
"So eine Schei…" seeing the green light on the low edge of his helmet blink reminded Nathan that he was broadcasting and cut off the rest of the swearing. Working inside the pressurized dock at Kopernikus station had spoiled him a bit. Checking that he still had the custom-made spanner in hand he carefully pushed himself upright again and was about to line up the tool with the nut again when the light went out. The huge radiator fins "above" Nathan were now blocking the sunlight which seconds before had asked for an extra visor in front of the astronauts helmet. Now Nathan had to push that back up and engage two lamps that were fixed on the helmet too. Making sure that the mic was out he swore some more before attempting to remove the bolt again.

He was on the top third of Sage 12, one of the satellites equipped with kinetic energy weapons which had an orbit that covered Germany every so often. This particular satellite had suffered the impact of something massive and fast which had removed at least half of the projectiles fixed to its side and devastated the maneuvering drives: it did not radiate in any spectrum that humans could measure so it had been decided that Sage 12 would teach the Germans how to defuse those satellites that could still be active. It was a good thing that he had an advisor with him as the Old One conventions for constructions were pretty far from human ones. Bracing his feet against a ledge and grabbing a handhold to cancel the torque Nathan applied force again and this time the nut turned. Pulling the cover aside and handling it to Erik Bär and turned towards the compartment that had been protected by the cover. He saw several grey drawers in one row, apart from that there were only a few pictograms that probably warned of something.

"Nathan, cover is off." The reply needed about 5 seconds and the sound quality was so-so. This was good considered that it was relayed by no less than three satellites and a ground station.
"I see that. Please turn the top lever counterclockwise by 90 degree."
The lever did turn after some initial resistance. The top drawer opened by about five millimeters and then stopped.
"That was not supposed to happen, I would say the rails and the blade have fused. Please try to pull it open by force."
Nathan wedged a took in that resembled a prybar, grabbed the handhold again and pushed. Nothing happened till he did so again with considerably more force, then the drawer moved out by about half a meter. It contained a silver-colored box that connected to the drawer with a slim black cable.
"Please unscrew the cable in the back carefully Nathan, if you can keep it intact it fits directly into my data slot."
"Will do."
About an hour of sweating and swearing later Nathan and Erik had removed all five boxes that were in the drawers. The next day would see them back again, taking what felt like a million pictures of the exposed parts of the killersat. They contained far less clues about the old weapon than the files that Nathan the AI extracted during the next two months from the data storage that Nathan Alpers had salvaged.

Bundesland Pommern,

State West Pomeranian (in Polish, województwo zachodniopomorskie [vɔjɛˈvut͡stfɔ zaˈxɔdɲɔ pɔˈmɔrskʲɛ]; , is a Federal State in northeastern Germany. It borders on the German federal-states of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania and Brandenburg to the west, the Imperial principality of Nordland in the east and the Sea of Claws to the north. Its capital and largest city is Szczecin.
It was established on Sigmarstag, 1 Nachhexen 2552, out of the former Szczecin and Koszalin Voivodeships which followed Germany in the is named for the historical region of Pomerania (Polish: Pomorze). In spite of the name ("West Pomeranian"), the Bundesland does not include the most westerly parts of historical Pomerania, which lie in Germany's Vorpommern (see Western Pomerania).
The name Pomerania comes from Slavic po more, which means Land at the Sea.[2]
The State Pommern is the smallest Federal State in terms of citozens at 421000. The largest city of the region, is the capital Szczecin.

This is a picturesque region of the Baltic Sea coast, with many beaches, lakes and woodlands. Szczecin and Świnoujście are important ports.

Pommern is considered one of the greenest regions of Germany, and one of the most attractive for tourists. It is characterized by incredible diversity of the landscape: beaches, hundreds of lakes, and forests full of wildlife (e.g. Wkrzanska Forest), spreading mainly up the hills of the glacial lakes areas. West Pomerania is also rich in various forms and styles of architecture that were built during the Middle Ages as well as the Gothic, Baroque, and Renaissance periods. There is a diverse repertoire of theaters, festivals, museums and galleries. During a few-day long annual Sea Festival in Szczecin, a number of free open-air concerts take place. In Świnoujście during the summer, the FAMA Academic Youth Arts Festival takes place – an event with several years of tradition, which attracts not only young people but also older alumni.

According to the unification treaty of 2551 Pommern has two Electoral Districts and will always have two seats in the German Bundestag, the parliament despite the usual requirement of having 5% of the vote.

Pommern has two official languages, Polish and German. All signs and all official documents must be available in both languages.
Pommers was one of the larger recipients of the "Länderfinanzausgleichs" –the Federal aid to poorer Federal States as a lot of the infrastructure went nowhere and many markets disappeared. By now the situation is much better as anybody with knowledge about technology is highly sought after. The polish craftsmen and-women have a reputation of value for money and being able to keep things running despite a lack of spare parts.