At 1:30 p.m. on 16 March, Goering and Raeder arrived at the Chancellery.

Hitler had to pay attention to the joint visit of two of the Wehrmacht's triumvirate, not to mention the fact that they claimed to have important battle plans to submit.

Seeing Chen Dao following behind the two, a faint surprise flashed in Hitler's eyes.

Hitler nodded to Chen Dao, sat down on a chair in the middle of the conference table, pointed to Keitel and Brauchitsch and the others, and said to Goering and Raeder: "You have submitted a new battle plan for Norway, and I think it is necessary for the Supreme High Command and the Army Command to participate, so I called them. ”

Goering was trying to save face in front of Keitel and Brauchitsch and others, and of course he raised his hands in favor. Pretending to be modest, he said: "What Marshal Raeder and I put forward is only an operational idea, and the details need to be perfected by the Supreme Command, and it is also up to the army to carry it out, and I also need the guidance of General Keitel and Marshal Brauchitsch. Now that everyone is here, can we get started? ”

With Hitler's consent, Chen Dao walked to the wall facing Hitler in the conference room and said to Hitler: "Yesterday, the intelligence department of the Air Force intercepted a telegram sent by the Finnish Embassy in France to Helsinki, the capital of Finland, saying that Britain and France were planning a campaign to attack Norway. They were to organize an expeditionary force to capture the port of Narvik. After the capture of Narvik, they may also have a larger military operation to occupy all of Norway. ”

Goering handed a copy of the information he had prepared to Hitler and the others, and there was a lot of discussion in the conference room.

"I think we should carry out the Weser battle plan ahead of time and occupy Norway first. Otherwise, once Norway is occupied by the British and French, the consequences will be unimaginable. Keitel said eagerly after reading the information.

"General Keitel, I also know the importance of Norway, which is why we have today's meeting. Don't be in a hurry, listen to General Rosen's explanation first. Goering smiled at Keitel.

"Listen to General Rosen explain the new plan first, and then we'll discuss it." Hitler said.

After receiving Hitler's signal, Chen Dao continued: "Marshal Goering attached great importance to this information after receiving it, and immediately found Marshal Raeder to discuss the countermeasure. ”

Hitler glanced approvingly at Goering and Raeder, and said that whatever the plan, at least they were in good shape.

Raeder looked back on yesterday with a blank face, and thought to himself that Göring had indeed called him after dinner, and that the two of them had spent half an hour deliberating on how to convince Hitler, and that the daytime meeting time was only two hours in total, and where did the phrase "after a day and a night of study" come from.

Thinking that he and Goering were temporarily in the same camp, and sensing Hitler's approving eyes, Raeder did not break it at the moment, but continued to listen to Chen Dao's explanation of the plan.

Goering also felt Hitler's approving gaze, and thought to himself that Heinz still cared about himself in the end, and he didn't forget to cheer himself up at this time, should he pull down his hair and take the initiative to invite Heinz home?

Keitel and Brauchitsch's eyes swept across Goering's and Raeder's faces, and a common thought arose in their hearts, when did their relationship become so good? Have the Air Force and Navy secretly joined forces?

Chen Dao took in the reactions of everyone in the conference room, but pretended not to know about it, and continued: "The purpose of the Thanksgiving Plan is to use the British and French attacks on Norway to maximize Germany's interests in the Norwegian campaign and minimize casualties, which is from a military point of view. From a political point of view, we want to make Norway our staunch ally, not an occupation zone. And we can also occupy the moral high ground.

The Gratitude Project consists of five operations: Operation Shockwave, Operation Deutsche Welle, Operation Beach Grab, Operation Liberation and Operation Volley. ”

The Gratitude Plan is just an operational idea and contains no details. Chen Dao only took about twenty minutes to explain.

"Finally, I would like to remind you that Germany is a country full of chivalry, and the Germans are also descendants of the glorious Germanic knights. Now, the Norwegian people, who have raised thousands of German children, are about to suffer from the flames of war, and we cannot sit idly by, we must let the Norwegian people know how to be grateful, so this plan is called the "Gratitude Plan". Chen Dao returned to his seat after speaking.

Hitler said: "Operation Shockwave and Operation Deutsche Welle are completely fine, I agree. There were no problems with liberation and interception, the key to this plan was the beach-grabbing operation, can you guarantee that this operation would be completed before the British and French occupied all of Norway? ”

"The Air Force is confident that it will complete the beach-grabbing operation, not to mention that before Britain and France occupy the entire territory of Norway, even if Britain and France occupy the entire territory of Norway, the Air Force is confident that it will reoccupy ・・・・・・ liberate Norway. Goering said confidently.

Raeder and Goering secretly passed the air last night, and took the initiative to help: "The Navy is also confident that it will assist the Air Force and Army to complete the beach-grabbing operation. ”

Brauchitsch was immediately embarrassed when Goering and Raeder kicked the ball to him. The commanders of the Air Force and the Navy have already sworn in front of the Führer that they are confident in completing the beach-grabbing operation, do they themselves say that the Army has no confidence? Then what would the Führer think of himself? And what will you think of the Army?

Brauchitsch was about to speak, when Hitler asked, "How long can our iron ore reserves last?" How long will this battle last? ”

"The Norwegian campaign will be over by early July at the latest." Chen Dao said.

"Are you sure it's the time? And not longer? You should not underestimate the combat effectiveness of the British and French. Keitel asked.

"Of course I'm sure, because the French campaign will be over at the beginning of July at the latest. When France was defeated and surrendered, the British would withdraw the Norwegian expeditionary force to protect their homeland. Chen Dao said.

Göring, anxious to save face in front of Keitel and Brauchitsch, simply let himself out and said: "General Rosen is right, we can defeat France in eight weeks at most, and after the defeat of France, the Anglo-French expeditionary force in Norway will definitely flee, so the Norwegian campaign will definitely end in early July." ”

After Goering finished speaking, he didn't look at Keitel's reaction, turned his head and said to Hitler: "The reserves of iron ore are very sufficient, enough to support the consumption of this time, and summer is coming, the ports on the east coast of Sweden will be thawed, and the ore from the Jällivalle iron ore mine in Sweden can be shipped directly from the ports in eastern Sweden." ”

Hitler lowered his head and showed a thoughtful expression on his face, and Chen Dao decided to take the opportunity to make up for it and dispel Hitler's doubts in one fell swoop.

"Führer, the risks of the beach-grabbing operation are far less than imagined."

"Why do you say that?" Hitler said.

"Because there is a Mr. Quisling in Norway who will help us." Chen Dao said.

Chen Dao woke up Hitler with a word, and the doubts in Hitler's mind were swept away. Brauchitsch noticed the change in Hitler's expression and hurriedly said: "The army is also confident that it will complete the beach-grabbing operation. ”

"Since you all have faith, I have faith too." Hitler said with great ambition. "I'm waiting to see what the British look like when they're humiliated."

"I have another proposal for the Netherlands." Chen Dao said.

"What proposal?" Hitler asked.

"I propose to cancel the Dutch campaign and transfer the troops used to attack the Netherlands to Norway to ensure the smooth implementation of the Norwegian campaign, which is far less important than Norway."

"I am against it, the occupation of Holland would allow Group B to outflank the enemy forces in Belgium from the north." Keitel said.

Hitler looked at Goering: "You once said that in the future war against Britain, the Dutch airfields would play a very important role, and now Heinz proposes to cancel the Dutch campaign, are you in favor or against?" ”

"I agree with his proposal, Norway is more important than the Netherlands. As for those airfields, perhaps after the end of the French campaign, the British will negotiate peace with us, and these airfields will be completely meaningless. Goering said.

"If Britain does not negotiate peace with us, we can do it all after the French campaign and the Norwegian campaign, and the Dutch will hold out for three days at most under our attack." Chen Dao continued.

Chen Dao suddenly remembered what his eldest brother-in-law, Earl Falck, had said, and a trace of inspiration instantly burst into his mind.

"From a political point of view, I think it's in our interest to have a neutral Netherlands."

"Political perspective? Military personnel should stay away from politics. Keitel said.

"That's your opinion, don't impose it on me." Chen Dao said.

"Why a neutral Holland is more in the interests of Germany, I need your explanation." Hitler asked.

"If Britain doesn't negotiate peace with us, we're still in a blockade by the Royal Navy, with no direct access to our scarce resources, such as oil. While we can buy oil through neutral countries such as Sweden, Spain, Turkey, and Romania, I don't think it's enough. So we need the Netherlands to buy oil for us as a neutral country. Why the Netherlands, and not Italy, Yugoslavia or other countries, the reason is simple, because the Netherlands has Shell. ”

Hitler suddenly realized: "Thanks to you for reminding me, otherwise I would have almost made a fatal mistake." I declare that the Dutch campaign will be cancelled, and the 9th Panzer Division will be retained as a general reserve, and then decide whether to invest in France or Norway according to the situation on the battlefield, and all the rest of the troops will be transferred to the Norwegian battlefield to ensure the victory of the Norwegian campaign.

In addition, immediately after the meeting, the intelligence services were asked to send information from Shell to the Prime Minister's Office. Keitel, you're in charge of refining the details of Project Gratitude. Brauchitsch, you are responsible for tweaking the details of the Manstein-Rosen plan after the cancellation of the Dutch campaign.

If any of you want to speak, if not, I declare the meeting closed. Hitler said.

"Führer, I want to speak." Chen Dao stopped.

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