.“ Your Majesty, marshals and generals, before expressing my opinion, I hope that you will not forget that the current military strategy of the Empire is to take the United States as the primary imaginary enemy! ”

Field Marshal Pol held an indicator stick, and a huge map of the Americas hung on the wall behind him.

On either side of the long conference table in this room sat the German Army and Navy lieutenant commanders and above, and the three colors of gray, blue-black and pale blue were very eye-catching. There was nothing else to the throne, and it was Kaiser Wilhelm III who was seated.

Today, Marshal Hugvon Pohl wears a brand-new naval marshal uniform, a gold collar on a red background on a standing collar in a retro style, gold spike-style epaulettes, a Red Eagle Medallion pinned to his left chest, a blue Max medal with oak leaves, and a black eagle with a crown, red claws and a red beak with wings spread out on his right chest.

After a pause of about ten seconds, Pol half-turned and pointed his baton at Mexico on the map.

"The situation of the Mexican Civil War is already very clear, the Carranza government has lost the hearts and minds of the people, and it is only a matter of time before it is completely defeated by the URU! It won't be long before we will have an important stepping stone for an attack on the United States from land, and of course a well-conditioned harbor, which we have long negotiated with the Mexicans! In the event of a war breaking out, our Army will be able to enter the continental United States from the south through Mexico, allowing us to take advantage of our strong ground and air superiority, and the situation will be very good! ”

When the people below heard this, they all looked at them approvingly.

"However, we must not lose sight of the fact that Americans must go all out when they are threatened on their homeland! Although our army is stronger than the U.S. army, all military operations rely on logistical materials, and most of the materials we need, except for those that are stored in Mexico in advance, still have to be transported by sea from Europe to Mexico and then transferred to the front line by sea during wartime! The easiest route for transports from Germany or Britain is through the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico to Mexico. Please note that the northern Gulf Coast is the U.S. states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, where there are many important military bases and ports. When war breaks out, the US military will inevitably station a certain number of planes and ships here, and they will pose a huge threat to our transport ships in the Gulf of Mexico! ”

"Marshal, excuse me, may I ask a question?" War Chancellor Carl von Billo half-raised his right hand.

Pol stopped his explanation, "Marshal, please!" ”

Billo said unhurriedly: "According to our Titan plan, once a war breaks out between Germany and the United States, the navy should attack the main military port of the United States by means of air strikes, and wait for an opportunity to fight the main force of the United States navy." Crush the sea power of the United States in one fell swoop! If this step is carried out smoothly, then won't we be able to control the Gulf of Mexico? ”

Pol nodded, "Your Excellency Marshal is right, the goal of the Navy is indeed to try to defeat the American sea power at the beginning of the war!" But even if this goal is achieved, we cannot rule out the possibility that the Americans will use various methods to sabotage our shipping, and large-scale minelaying and submarine attacks can seriously affect our sea transportation lines for a period of time! Once shipping is blocked, the supplies accumulated in Mexico will not be able to sustain the army units to fight indefinitely, maybe three months, maybe three weeks, and the army's military operations will be impossible due to the lack of ammunition supplies! ”

Birlo was a little confused. "Then we can only be subject to the enemy?"

Pol explained: "No. Your Excellency, this is just a matter of preparing for the worst-case scenario! Although the Reich Navy was materially and psychologically prepared, the American continent was far from Germany itself. And war is full of unknowns! ”

When Pol said this, Chen Tian felt relieved in his heart, this is the comprehensive thinking that an excellent general should have.

Billo looked thoughtfully at the map, "So...... Then I would like to ask Your Excellency Marshal to introduce the Admiralty's countermeasures! ”

"In contrast, Mexico's west coast is much wider, and it is correspondingly more difficult to block the sea route on this side! If the Gulf of Mexico is forcibly blockaded by the Americans, then we will have to deliver supplies to the west coast of Mexico! As we all know, there is only one shortcut from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, otherwise there is only a way around the South American continent! We have already conducted tactical discussions and sand table exercises on storming the Panama Canal, and have come to the conclusion that it is possible to capture the canal zone with a considerable amount of troops and a combined attack by land, sea and air. And the losses are likely to be quite large, after all, the US military has built very strong land and coastal defense fortifications there, and has a fleet stationed all year round! ”

Pol's baton circled the Panama Canal and then drew attention to South America.

"Considering the time and cost of storming the Panama Canal, we must prepare a third route, which is a detour to the South American continent! As mentioned earlier, it is difficult for the U.S. Navy to completely blockade the west coast of Mexico, but that doesn't mean they can't send attack ships or strike fleets. After passing through the Strait of Magellan, there is a high probability that our transport ships will be attacked by American ships in Chilean and Peruvian waters! Obviously. We can't send enough ships to escort every transport, and even a fleet in Teventepe Bay, Mexico, won't solve the problem. So I'm thinking that if we can build one or two naval bases in Chile, it will be of great benefit to protect the sea routes! Not only is it useless in wartime, but it is also beneficial and harmless for us to expand our influence in South America! ”

After Pol finished speaking, Chen Tian took the lead in applauding.

Pol bowed to Chen Tian slightly, bowed to everyone again, and then walked back to his place steadily.

"Marshal Pol's analysis is reasonable!" Chen Tian looked at everyone present, "If you have any other opinions, you can put them forward!" ”

The crowd began to discuss in whispers, and after a few minutes, it was Paul von Hindenburg, chief of the General Staff of the Imperial Army, who stood up. At today's Imperial Military Conference, everyone wore the summer and autumn parade uniforms of the new version of the 1918 military uniform that had just been distributed. The one on Hindenburg's body is also the marshal's uniform of the territory, the collar badge style is also red background gold pattern, the main color of the military uniform is traditional army gray, the right chest wears a personal medal, and the left chest is the imperial emblem embroidered with gold thread.

"Field Marshal Pol's analysis has given me some inspiration, Your Majesty, marshals and generals, I don't know if you have considered that one of the great advantages of using Mexico as a land springboard is the border with the United States. But from another point of view, this is also one of its major drawbacks! Look! Hindenburg walked briskly over to the map and picked up the baton that Bol had left behind.

"The terrain of Mexico is wide in the north and narrow in the south, with a maximum of more than 1,800 kilometers from north to south and a maximum of more than 1,100 kilometers from east to west, and a long coastline! If the United States landed from the coast of Mexico with a powerful landing force during our attack, the tide of the war would probably be reversed! Think of our frog-hopping landing in the Indian peninsula. It is not difficult for the Americans, who have geographical and industrial superiority, to do this, as long as their main naval forces are not completely annihilated! ”

Following the train of thought in Hindenburg, everyone frowned one by one. The Titan Project is a plan of land, sea and air simultaneously, after the start of the war, the army should strike across the border defense line of the US army in a blitzkrieg way, the air force is responsible for destroying the US frontline airfields and bombing the rear strategic targets, and the navy is to annihilate the main force of the US Navy as the primary task. If the Navy's primary objective cannot be achieved, there are many possible scenarios that may follow, and each of them will lead to a very different situation. Prior to this, the General Staff of the Army and Navy had already begun to study this problem and summed up more than a dozen possible scenarios and their countermeasures. But now it seems that there is another problem that needs to be studied and solved.

"Don't underestimate the resistance of a country to survive!" Let's talk about it. Hindenburg put down the baton and walked back to his question after greeting Chentian.

It seems that Hindenburg left this question to everyone.

The 16 k exclusive text version of this work was first released, and it may not be reproduced without consent, excerpts, more of the latest and fastest chapters,! And at this time. What Chen Tian had in mind was another problem - strategic bombing. In his former world, the continuous and fierce strategic bombing of the United States and Britain caused immeasurable losses to the Third Reich, so that the heroic and tenacious German ** team on the battlefield was defeated due to logistical factors such as weapons and fuel. At present, although the United States does not yet have a long-range bomber that is as super-lying as the Flying Fortress, the longest-range bomber, such as Russia's Ilya Muromets, can already carry a half-ton bomb and fly 600 kilometers, and it is not difficult for the Americans, who have strong industrial strength, to build a bomber that exceeds this level. Therefore, it is very likely that the targets in Mexico will become the targets of bombing by the Americans after the outbreak of war, and if Germany cannot defeat the United States in a short period of time, then the two sides will inevitably engage in an air contest in which they will bomb and block each other, and see whether the United States will collapse first, or whether the German military facilities in Mexico will be completely destroyed in the bombing. Although it is said that the German mainland is not yet bombed by the United States. But if Mexico's railways, roads, ports, factories, warehouses, etc. were bombed, the German ground forces would be struggling or even forced to retreat.

If the Luftwaffe can achieve sustained air supremacy, this problem may not be a problem, but at present, even Chentian is not sure about the future direction of the war. So, a Mexican pedal alone is not enough insurance.

At this time, Hoffman stood up and said:

"The analysis of the two marshals and the request of the Chilean government led me to think of a way to win over Chile and us on the same front! With our current relationship with the Chilean government, this is not difficult to do! ”

"But there is a high risk that this will lead to an imbalance in South America, once Chile's military power expands rapidly with our assistance. Then one of the Paraguayan Wars of 1864-1870 or the South American Pacific Wars of 1879-1883 will be repeated! Hindenburg replied with some concern, "This is a terrible thing for our diaspora and investment in South America!" ”

For most people, the Paraguayan War and the South American Pacific War were two strange wars, and the belligerents were both second- or even third-rate military states in South America, but this did not in any way hide the intensity and importance of these two wars. It can even be said that the Paraguayan War was the most tragic war in human history, Paraguay fought against the combined forces of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay with a small landlocked country, and only 190,000 women and 30,000 men remained in the end of the country's population of 1.33 million, and the Triple Alliance also lost more than 100,000 people, the cause of which was the rapid rise of Paraguay under the leadership of its president and military strongman Francisco López, which made Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay around Paraguay launch a war to eliminate potential threats. Ten years later, in the South American Pacific War, the rising Chile defeated the combined forces of Peru and Bolivia, and acquired a large area of Bolivia, especially the important saltpeter source.

Chentian understood what Hindenburg meant, as long as Chile had enough military power, it would either be beaten or someone else, and only war could allow countries to maintain peace in a new equilibrium.

"But it is not necessarily a bad thing to change the situation in South America through a war, you must know that the influence of American and British capital in South America is stronger than ours at present!"

The calm but explosive language came from Marshal Bohr, who was the first to speak, which made most people's eyes fall to him at once, and he said with a calm expression:

"Expatriates, factories, investment, those are only immediate interests, we should take a long-term view!"

Chentian fell into deep thought......

A month later, a delegation sent by Chilean President Juan Luis Sanferentes Andonaegui arrived in Berlin. After a week of friendly consultations, the German government agreed to send technicians and instructors free of charge to assist Chile in building up its air force, and to present a batch of aircraft as gifts. In addition, Germany will provide two battleships to the Chilean Navy free of charge and build a number of new cruisers and destroyers for the Chilean Navy in exchange for 15 years of use of two Chilean military ports.

After weighing the pros and cons, the representative of Chile signed the agreement.

Two months later, German Field Marshal Heinrich of Prussia led a fleet to Chile, where he visited the Chilean coast and finally selected Vasco and Puerto Montt as leased naval bases. After the Chilean government agreed to lease these two ports to Germany, the battleships "Ostfrisland" and "Thuringia" in Heinrich's fleet were officially transferred to the Chilean Navy. With the acquisition of these two 24,700-ton battleships, commissioned in 1911, the Chilean Navy became the first navy in South America.

On December 7, 1918, the Chilean Air Force was inaugurated, and even with only 35 German-made aircraft and 120 cadets, it was the most powerful air force in South America. By March 1919, the size of the air force had doubled, far exceeding the combined air forces of Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru.

After that, the situation in South America quietly changed as Hindenburg had predicted, and the heads of state of Argentina, Bolivia, Peru and Brazil met in Buenos Aires, the Argentine capital, and agreed to jointly respond to the threat from Chile.

In April 1919, the heads of state met again in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and signed an upgraded version of the Four-Power Secret Pact, which stated that if one country declared war on Chile, the other three countries should give full assistance to that country "and send troops directly if necessary." At the end of the meeting, Uruguay joined in, culminating in the formation of a five-nation alliance against Chile.

At this time, South America seemed to have become the pre-war Balkans, and the thick smell of gunpowder smoke was only waiting for a hint of spark.