Karl Wagner is a disgruntled middle-aged instructor at the Bundeswehr Command and Staff College. He finds himself concerned about the direction which the German nation is headed in—just as he is killed by a terrorist attack. Only to awaken and find himself reborn as an infant, Bruno von Zehntner, the youngest son of a noble family renowned for its part in the German war industry a few years after the founding of the German Empire. Bruno, as he is now known, desires to rewrite history and ensure the German Empire emerges victorious in the coming century. And in doing so, finds himself entrenched in a world filled with Blood and Iron!
Word quickly reached the Fatherland of the assassination of the attempt on Bruno's life while in the streets of Saint Petersburg. While Russia was currently in a civil war, Saint Petersburg was considered a stronghold of the Tsar and his Loyalists, especially after the Siege it endured in the past few months.
After all, anyone even remotely suspected of having loyalty to the Bolsheviks, or even sympathy for that matter had been dragged from their homes and shot in the streets. Because of this, it was considered relatively safe. Or at least as safe as an area could be in a country currently embroiled in a civil war.
Still, in the middle of broad daylight, a man had shot the leader of the Iron Brigade in a botched assassination attempt. And this had generated many headlines. Luckily for Bruno a habit of his that was utterly detrimental to his health had ironically saved his life.