Chapter 63: Into the Rhineland
The German people will never forget the humiliation of the cession of land, and we will quietly wait for the day of revenge. Pen | fun | pavilion www. biquge。 info
These are the words engraved on the stone monument of the Rhine district, which for the Germans is an unforgettable pain in Germany!
Rhineland, refers to the land on both sides of the Rhine, the Rhine is the only natural barrier between Germany and France, in order to prevent Germany from attacking France again, the Treaty of Versailles of World War I stipulated that Germany should not be fortified within 50 kilometers of the east and west banks, and the west bank was occupied by the Allies.
In this way, the Rhineland became a demilitarized zone, mainly as a buffer zone and warning zone between Germany and France, and if Germany showed signs of moving troops, France would have ample time to rely on the Rhine River for defense.
This is a precautionary measure, so the importance of the Rhine is reflected in a political sense.
In 1925, Britain, Germany, Italy, and Belgium concluded the Locarno Convention, in which Germany, France, and Belgium pledged to each other not to undermine the status quo of Germany's western borders as stipulated in the Treaty of Versailles, and to prohibit the build-up of troops in the Rhineland demilitarized zone.
Failure to do so would be considered a breach of the Treaty of Versailles, i.e. an "unprovoked act of aggression", in which case the violated State Party could take immediate action.
In accordance with this convention, in 1930, the Allied occupation forces withdrew from the left bank of the Rhine, and the area officially became a demilitarized zone.
For the Germans, of course, this was humiliating, because, the Rhineland was originally German! As a result, Germany could not station any troops here!
They looked at the slowly flowing Rhine, and in their hearts, hatred was constantly gathering!
In any case, now, Germany's military strength is still quite weak, and Germany, with only 100,000 troops, is less than a fraction of France!
And at this time, Ciric came up with an extremely bold plan to march into the Rhineland!
This is simply a provocation, a provocation of Chiguoguo!
"By doing this, we are testing the attitude of Britain, France and other countries." "Britain, France, the United States, they all have contradictions. ”
Britain does not want to see France become strong and become a hegemon on the European continent, and the United States does not want Britain and France to be strong, otherwise how can the United States interfere in European affairs!
And now, if the German army marches on the Rhineland, it will at most anger France! After all, it's France on the other side!
"If there is no reaction from the countries, then I have taken an important step, and the Treaty of Versailles will become a waste of paper for us." "We can bypass the Treaty of Versailles and make great strides in our military development," said Ciric. ”
The attitude of other countries is quite important! As for France, even if France wants to intervene militarily, it will probably hesitate, because the Ruhr industrial area was in front of us a few years ago.
At that time, the French proudly marched their army into the industrial area and wanted to plunder the German industry, but as a result, the French found it difficult to stand alone, and not only the Germans resisted, but even Britain and other countries did not support it!
So, this time the French will definitely refrain from restraint, restraint and restraint again!
"What if the French send troops?" President Hindenburg asked.
"Then we'll withdraw our troops at once." Ciric said lightly: "Now, our strength cannot compete with the French, which tests the attitude of the French, so we must be careful." ”
"It's a big deal, let's just say that it is the private behavior of the army below, remove the officer concerned from his post and investigate it, and calm the anger of the French." Ciric continued: "President, Prime Minister, if I can, I would like to lead the team. ”
This is a test to test the reaction of the French, to test the reaction of other countries, and if they do not react, and they are tolerated and connived at Germany, then Germany will continue to move forward, and if they react strongly, then Germany will immediately admit it, and it is as simple as that.
Ciric's plan has been said, and Hitler's eyes are shining: "I think Ciric's plan is very good and can be carried out!" ”
This plan, of course, is good! This is a copy of Hitler's plan almost as it is! And the result at that time was also exciting, France began to tolerate and indulge, and France did not take any measures against Germany! After that, Hitler's footsteps grew louder and bigger, annexing Austria and kicking open the gates of Poland!
Now, that's the first step!
Ciric, willing to take all the responsibility himself! This moved Hindenburg even more, and if he failed, then Shirek would have to carry all the blame!
"Alright, Ciric, I agree with your plan." Hindenburg said: "Now, which army do you need to mobilize?" I can appoint you as the commander of the troops. ”
"Or my old unit, how about the 98th Infantry Regiment?" Ciric said.
At that time, Shirek was still the commander of the 98th Infantry Battalion under the 19th Infantry Regiment, and now, to say less, Shirek is also a major, of course, he should command more troops, especially, if you want to completely occupy the Rhineland, one infantry battalion is not enough, at least one regiment, in history, Hitler dispatched 19 infantry battalions!
"Okay, then I will appoint you as the commander of the 98th Infantry Regiment and raise your rank to lieutenant colonel." Hindenburg said.
In this process, Defense Secretary Grener has not spoken. Although he was Minister of Defense, Hindenburg was a field marshal awarded by the German Emperor, and his position in the army was even higher!
In recent years, Hitler's power has risen rapidly, and Grener has always been worried, but he has nothing to do, and now, he only hopes that Ciric's action will be a complete failure, which can make President Hindenburg sober up and stop being fooled by these people in front of him!
Now Ciric is still just a small officer, but his potential is quite large, Grana knows very well that these guys in front of him are all ambitious, if they really let them completely grasp the power of Germany, then they will definitely provoke a new war!
Germany has already lost a generation in the last World War, and now, should Germany lose another generation?
Grener, don't want to fight a world war!
Britain and France, for sure, do not want to fight a world war either, and in the last World War, they also lost a whole generation!
Damn, all these people in front of you deserve to go to hell!