The cold wind howls, like a smoothie on the face, another winter is slowly descending on the northern hemisphere.

Throughout the second half of 1937, Hitler did not make the same astonishing move as the previous year's march into the Rhine. But all the orders he signed at the Chancellery and Berchstegarden were full preparations for the coming war. For this reason, Germany did not hesitate to damage its relations with Japan and continued to trade ores for arms with the Nanking government. As the war in the Far East continued, the Nanjing government, which was in dire need of munitions, greatly accelerated the mining progress of the mines in the south of the Yangtze River, which also allowed Germany to reap the benefits of sufficient raw materials.

On September 25, after countless nights of waiting and anticipation, Hitler finally received an official visit from Mussolini, the distinguished guest of his political life. Hitler's calculations were always very good: Mussolini's goal was not to have in-depth diplomatic talks with his guests, but to impress Mussolini with Germany's power, so as to exploit his speculative desire to share the fate of the victors.

So the Italian leader traveled from one place in Germany to another to inspect the parades of the SS and the army, observe the army exercises in Mecklenburg, and visit the rumbling machinery of the Ruhr armament factory. Four days later, when Mussolini returned to Rome, he was convinced that his future was on Hitler's side.

The significance of this visit for Hitler was enormous. On 6 November, Italy joined the Anti-Comintern Pact led by Germany and Japan; In addition to the signature, Foreign Minister Ziano the Younger conveyed to Hitler the will of his father-in-law's leader: "Let the affairs of Austria follow their course." This meant that Italy no longer cared about Austria's independence, but left Hitler to realize his dream of national unity. For Hitler, the time had come for him to make a big difference.

Thirty years before Hitler wandered the streets of Vienna, he had developed a strong nationalist idea that Germany and Austria should be united; In middle age, with the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Hitler even mentioned the idea that Austria, which was established after the collapse, should be united with Germany in the opening chapter of his book Mein Kampf. Compared to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which had serious national problems in the past. Austria, which consisted of a single Germanic people, was clearly more conducive to union with Germany. Although the Saint-Germain Agreement of 1919 forbade the German-Austrian merger, a treaty of the same nature as the Treaty of Versailles, aimed at the arbitrary slaughter of defeated Austria, has obviously lost its binding force in the second half of the thirties!

In addition to political considerations, economic and military needs also led Hitler, as the head of Germany, to annex his former homeland. As mentioned earlier, the end result of the wartime economy implemented by Germany was inevitably to put the country on the road to war: after all, weapons and equipment could neither be eaten nor used, and no new income could be generated except for sale. And the international market clearly did not have such an astonishing purchasing power that could eat up the entire capacity of the German arms industry. If the production of armaments of non-renewable value is carried out without restrictions, the consequence can only be the catastrophic collapse of the country's economy: the great steel-making movement of the later generations is a typical example of devoting itself to this type of production!

Today, Austria has a population of 7 million, and many of the best of the Austro-Hungarian Empire remain in this 86,000 square kilometre Germanic settlement. If Germany can annex it, it will not only increase its national strength by 10%, get additional food for more than 2 million Germans in the country, and obtain manpower for the new army of seven divisions, but also form a decisive geostrategic advantage over Czechoslovakia surrounded on three sides. Czechoslovakia was also to be exterminated in Hitler's plan: not only because 3.25 million of the 10 million people in the country were Sudetenland, but also because it inherited 60% of the Austro-Hungarian military-industrial complex and its political status as a loyal ally of France in Eastern Europe.

From mid-November 1937. The Austrian National Socialists, at the behest of Berlin, launched a series of large-scale and violent protests. More than a decade ago, the National Socialist Party established a regional organization in Austria, which is also a German-speaking region, to instill extreme nationalism and revenge in the local population. Although this group of National Socialists did not achieve the power of Hitler. But they also took advantage of the opportunities brought about by the world economic crisis to gain a firm foothold in Austria, becoming a force to be reckoned with in Austrian politics with the support of many people. For the previous 20 months, the Austrian National Socialist Party had adhered to Führer Hitler's instructions. keep a low profile and accumulate power; Now there was a sudden uproar, and a violent storm was set off in Austria.

A swarm of Austrian National Socialists poured into the streets, demanding the resignation of the current government amid hysterical shouts. By their Austrian regional leader, Seth? Inquart became Chancellor - and if a National Socialist with Hitler as Führer was Chancellor of Austria, the fate of the country would be predictable. Similar to Hitler's situation before he came to power, the Austrian National Socialist Party also formed a group of thugs like stormtroopers, and spends its days violently attacking hostile political forces led by the government. Bloodshed and deaths occur every day in Austria.

In the face of the uprising of the National Socialists, the Austrian government, led by Hüschnitge, launched a-for-tat crackdown, but this reaction triggered a strong political conflict between Germany and Austria. As the mastermind behind the Austrian National Socialist Party, Hitler could not tolerate the bad luck of his men. He threatened Schüschnitge one after another: if the Austrian government continued to brutally suppress the "zealous and righteous" National Socialists without "listening" to their heartfelt voices, then Germany would strike at the Austrian government, whose hands were stained with the blood of the National Socialists.

At the beginning of 1938, the personnel structure of the German government also underwent drastic changes while the situation in Austria was constantly turbulent. The resignation of Field Marshal Blomburg, Field Marshal Blomburg, Commander-in-Chief of the Army, General Fritsch, and Foreign Minister Newright in just two months, is undoubtedly the largest personnel change that Hitler has made since he came to power. Behind this stunned situation at the top of the German hierarchy, there is actually a treacherous and brutal political struggle.

The cause of the incident was traced back to a secret high-level meeting held in November of the previous year. Because of Mussolini's affection, Hitler's confidence in foreign expansion was greatly increased; In that closed-door meeting, attended only by Blomburg, Fritsch, Raeder, and Newright, Hitler gave them all his ideas about the war. Hitler believed that Germany was irretrievably on the road to war, and that the first shot would be fired in five years at the latest. And the German army, which had already been armed, would first sweep Austria and Czechoslovakia, and then eliminate Poland and become the hegemon of Europe. If Britain, France, and the Soviet Union intervened, then Germany should also be fearless of a strong enemy and turn its guns on any opponent who dared to stop it.

Hitler's speech shook the hearts of all those present. With the exception of Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Raeder, who had long since fallen under the genius of the Führer, Blomburg and others were frightened by Hitler's audacity; They urged Hitler to abandon this overly radical idea, saying that even if he really wanted to go to war with his former enemies, Britain and France, he should have at least another 10 years to prepare. Hitler was so dissatisfied with the three men's cowering that he was determined to kick away all the stumbling blocks that had hindered him from realizing his ambitions, and to make himself the absolute master at the helm of the nation, with no other murmur of opposition.

Soon, Blomburg delivered the handle to Hitler. The marshal's wife had died in 1932, and after five years as a widower, he was tired of it and decided that the time had come to continue. Just after New Year's Day in 1938, he overcame all obstacles and married his young and beautiful personal secretary, Glenn. However, while the nymphomaniac marshal groom and his new young wife were on their honeymoon, the German police department found out that Glenn had ever been a prostitute. In the eyes of the conservative officer corps, it is absolutely intolerable for the highest-ranking soldier to marry a prostitute. When Himmler presented this evidence to Hitler, he immediately dismissed Blomburg from his post as Minister of Defense.

Fritsch's misfortune occurred at the same time as Blomburg. Perhaps it was because of the Army-in-Chief's antipathy towards the SS and the secret police, or because Himmler, as a close minister of Hitler, figured out something else in the Führer's mind; At the same time that Himmler presented Hitler with evidence that Blomburg's new wife had a history of working as a prostitute, he also produced another elaborate black material slandering Fritsch for the crime of being a prostitute. Himmler said that given that Fritsch never married, it is likely that the army commander-in-chief had "succumbed to his hobby."

In the face of this conclusive evidence, Hitler subconsciously chose to believe it. He demanded that Fritsch, who was involved in the scandal, resign immediately and cooperate with the military court to investigate and deal with it. Although Fritsch trembled with anger at this vile accusation, he did not insist on remaining in the position of commander-in-chief of the army. With the departure of Fritsch, the central power was completely gone, and although the general succeeded in clearing his grievances, it was impossible for Hitler to return the commander-in-chief of the army to him. (To be continued.) )