Raeder's wariness of the possible British and French troops into northern Europe was clearly not groundless. Pen, fun, and www.biquge.info

Since the beginning of the war, although the German navy has gone all out, inflicting huge losses on the British fleet and merchant ships, and violently shaking the traditional sea power of the old colonial empire, the pressure on Britain and France is still far from being able to take care of themselves because of the complete lack of movement on the land battlefield on the Western Front. The fact is that when the news of Finland's defeat of the Soviet Army's first-class offensive spread throughout Europe, there was a wave of public opinion in France that gave full aid to Finland. The indignant French military and civilians had ignored the long-cherished enemy of Germany, who was now confronting them on the east bank of the Rhine, and instead demanded to rush to northern Europe, thousands of kilometers away, to fight the Soviet Union.

This seemingly absurd conjecture seems to be quite tenable militarily. Anyway, everyone on the Western Front was squatting, and no one in the whole of France thought of filling the German Western Wall defense line with human lives; In that case, it would be better to send some troops to Northern Europe to destroy the Bolshevik demons who were at odds with the capitalists. In addition, the victory of the Finnish army also greatly boosted the confidence of the French. Even Finland, a small country like Finland, can make hundreds of thousands of Soviet troops hit their heads and bleed, if the "world's first" French Army went to the front, it would not be able to destroy the withering and decay, and easily avenge Napoleon's defeat of Russia?

As soon as this idea came to the minds of the French high-level and the matter of uprooting Germany's iron ore source in northern Sweden, it naturally came to the fore from the shadows. After all, a two-pronged deal like this has always been hard to come by. And even Britain, which was overwhelmed by the German Navy, showed a keen interest in landing Norway across the sea.

For Britain, the most important source of iron ore for Germany was cut off by this hand, and the most important thing was that Britain could use Norway's geographical location to establish an eastern gate to blockade Germany and put the German navy back in the North Sea cage. If German ships tried to enter and leave the North Sea, the bombers, torpedo boats, and submarines deployed in Norway would be able to intercept these stowaways in a matter of minutes and teach them how to behave with bombs and torpedoes!

On 8 December, Raeder did not hesitate to point out this threat during his audience with Hitler, and bluntly stated: "Norway must be occupied." Hitler also realized that today's Northern Europe had been stirred into the whirlpool of great power struggle, and that there was no third way to go except to be controlled by the Axis or the Allies. In the context of war in which his fate was decided, Hitler did not hesitate to abandon the moral norms that were sorely lacking.

Hitler not only endorsed Raeder's suggestion, but also proposed that Denmark, a small country on Jutland, be included in the pre-emptive list. The country is caught between Germany and Norway, and if it is allowed to remain neutral, it will be inconvenient for Germany to do it next. Moreover, Hitler was also planning to settle the score with Denmark. When Germany was defeated 20 years ago, Denmark, as a neutral country, dared to take the opportunity to take the German state of North Schleswig as its own, and in the heart of Hitler, who was determined to establish Greater Germany, the Danes must be punished enough!

Walking out of Hitler's office, Raeder was full of spirit. This was not only because Hitler approved this important strategic proposal, but also because the German Navy would take the lead in the Norwegian campaign and bring the land landing force into the command of the Navy. After all, the first requirement for the capture of Norway was a landing across the sea, and whether it was transporting troops, supplies, or providing air and naval artillery support for the landing force, the navy would be the most critical factor in determining the victory or defeat of the land.

Although this does not change the current basic power structure of the Wehrmacht with a strong land and a weak sea, being able to command the army once is enough to make Raeder raise his eyebrows and feel the authority of his rank of marshal.

"Your Excellency Marshal, I heard that you proposed to the Führer to take Norway as soon as possible?" In the afternoon of the same day, an uninvited guest suddenly arrived at the naval headquarters in Berlin. Raeder's eyes were slightly condensed, and he carefully looked at the middle-aged man who appeared in his office rashly: he was tall, and his bright facial features had a bit of heaviness and elegance, even the professors at Keele University that Raeder knew very few people could have the same temperament as him.

"That's true. It's just Mr. Rosenberg, why did you suddenly want to meet me today? Raeder's greeting was impeccable, but there was a hint of distancing in his words.

The man in front of him was Alfred Rosenberg, the most senior veteran of the current National Socialist Party: he joined the party nearly 10 months before Hitler, and Hess, Goebbels and others who are currently active in politics are all his younger brothers. What is even more rare is that Rosenberg was the most formal and talented student, having received a doctorate from Moscow University at the age of 24. Looking at the entire top of the National Socialist Party, only Goebbels, Ley, and Fang Yan's cheap uncle ****** three people can have a Rosenberg diploma.

It stands to reason that an elite senator like Rosenberg should have risen from power with Hitler's rise to power, and that at least one core state department would now be in his hands; However, he himself has always been obsessed with the philosophical study of Nazi theory, and as a result, he has had a rather serious conflict with the real power politics. Because of this, when Goebbels, ******, and even the younger Frank and Himmler were entrusted with important tasks, Rosenberg did not even have the title of minister with a false title, and the position of Deputy Führer Hess, who was not in charge of the operation of specific departments, was even more awkward.

However, Rosenberg did not care about his weakness in the power game. He was more of a pure idealist, whose core desire was to deepen and refine Hitler's Nazi theories and build them into a grand edifice as strict as Newton's laws.

As a traditional soldier, Raeder was very uninterested in Hitler's theory of racial superiority and inferiority, so his attitude towards Rosenberg, a purely theorist, can be imagined. For more than six years, Raeder and Rosenberg have been nodding to each other, with little contact with each other. This time, Rosenberg took the initiative to come to the door, which was really much to Raeder's expectations: what did such a royal literati want to do, and what could he do?

Rosenberg seemed to see Raeder's suspicions, and immediately went straight to the point: "I know a Norwegian named Widkon Quisling, who may be of great help to you in the later Norwegian campaign. (To be continued.) )