On February 12, 1940, the weather in Berlin was still quite cold, and it was quite deserted outside 73 Wilhelmstraße (where the Ministry of Defense and the High Command were meeting), with only an anti-aircraft gun crew fiddling an 88mm anti-aircraft gun on their anti-aircraft gun position, and several Opel trucks with air-proof balloons parked on the side of the road. Last night, Berlin was hit by another air raid! It seems that the war is really moving in the direction of "bombing and blockade to win". Ground forces on both sides of the war hid behind strong defensive lines, and exchanges of fire rarely took place. Only the struggle in the air and at sea was fierce, and while German planes kept bombing French airfields, British and French bombers would from time to time come to Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt and other big German cities at night, drop a few bombs, and then leave quickly.

Although such an air raid, which was almost a guerrilla war, would not cause much damage to Germany, the sound of air defense sirens and bomb explosions that suddenly sounded in the middle of the night was enough to make people tired.

Hersman, who had not slept all night because of official business and bombing, got out of the Mercedes-Benz 770K sedan with red eyes, and walked into the Ministry of Defense building, surrounded by airproof balloons, accompanied by his adjutant Major Schnett.

Room 1, where the High Command was held, was full of people, and before Hitler arrived, Schleicher, Goering, and Ribbentrop had already arrived, and were sitting at the conference table with coffee in their hands and talking about things. Seeing Hersmann walk in, Schleicher beckoned to him: "Ludwig, I heard that a bomb fell on Tsosen, didn't you sleep soundly last night?" ”

Due to problems with navigation and light control, bombers flying over enemy airspace at night tend to lose their way and drop their bombs far, far away from their targets.

"The bomb fell on my manor, and it made a big crater," Hersman said, frowning, "and scared Chloe." ”

Hersman's estate in Tsosen covers a large area, and the yard is where horses can run. Although the bomb was still far from the house (about 3 kilometers), the loud noise frightened the pregnant Chloe, who ran barefoot through the house, calling the children to go to the basement to hide from the bomb, and then rushed into Hersman's office.

"Is she alright?" Schleicher asked with concern.

"It's all right," Hirschman shrugged, "early in the morning directing the servants to fill the bomb crater." ”

"What a nuisance!" Schleicher shook his head in annoyance, "Looks like we're going to have to find a way to deal with this night bombardment." ”

"How?" Hersman found a chair and sat down, "There's a good chance the British are ahead of us!" ”

He took a picture from his briefcase and handed it to Schleicher, it was a strange thing, a black disc and a glass cover and a mess of wires.

"What is this?" Schleicher asked.

"This is a resonator-type magnetron," Hersman said, "invented by researchers at the University of Birmingham in England -- it can emit powerful microwave rays dozens of times more powerful than existing transmitters." With it, the British were able to create highly efficient airborne radars. ”

The University of Birmingham is one of the UK's top universities, as well as a top research institute, and is naturally the focus of surveillance by the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Central Security Bureau, which was infiltrated by spies as early as the 20s.

"Our agents stole it?" Schleicher asked again.

"Not yet, but it's working on." Hersman thought for a moment and said, "We're working on it ourselves, so maybe these photos will help." ”

It is not easy to secretly take photos, and it is unlikely to steal the real thing, after all, the British counterintelligence agency is not a vegetarian.

"In addition, we can try to get resonator magnetrons through Japan and Italy." Hersman said, "They are now a country that Britain, the United States and France want to woo, and it is still possible to want a few advanced radars." ”

Hersman once heard a rumor: Japan developed a cavity magnetron with reliable performance in 1939 -- in fact, the Japanese are not lagging behind in the field of microwave transmission and reception, and the Yagi antenna was invented by Dr. Yagi Shuji of Japan. However, as with this possible cavity magnetron, the Japanese themselves did not make good use of this invention. Historically, the Japanese seized the British Yagi antenna (radar) in Singapore, and they couldn't figure out what it was.

Therefore, Hersmann wanted to get his hands on the Japanese cavity magnetron through technical cooperation, and by the way, he also wanted to teach German radar technology to Japan.

"Marshal," Ribbentrop reminded, "the Japanese now have no intention of turning against us. Ambassadors Todman and Dixon reported that the Japanese government and the emperor were still hesitant and that their armies were not ready for war. At the moment, Japan has only asked us for technology to help them prepare for the war, and has not given any commitments. ”

Hersman nodded and said, "Japan has established a complete national mobilization system, and their army will be ready in 12-18 months." Only then will they decide on the direction of the attack, either westward, northern, or southward. Can't hit us anyway! ”

Hersman knows that the current situation in Northeast Asia seems to be tense, but in fact there is no possibility of a fight. On the one hand, Japan was not ready for war - in the past few years, they had spent too much money on the "03 Ship Replenishment Program".

The budget for one Yamato-class is more than 100 million (in fact, it will cost more than 200 million), and Japan has started construction of four ships at once! The budget for the construction of an "ideal aircraft carrier" is also 85 million, and the Japanese have also started construction of four aircraft carriers in one go.

In addition, the "03 Ship Replenishment Program" includes a huge cruiser, destroyer and auxiliary ship construction program.

The navy spends too much, and the army, of course, can only save a little...... In any case, the Imperial Government of Japan has less than 6 billion yen a year in the total national budget to allocate.

So the number of personnel and the level of equipment of the Japanese Army are now not at a level where they can fight a large-scale war.

On the other hand, Stalin did not currently decide the direction of Soviet expansion, which, according to the tradition of Tsarist times, would only take the initiative in one direction at a time. If the Soviet Union were to shift the focus of its expansion to the Far East, it would have concluded an alliance treaty with Germany, but the current Soviet Union has no intention of forming an alliance.

"Your Excellency the Leader has arrived!"

While a few people were talking, the door to the conference room was pushed open, and then Hitler, dressed in military uniform, walked in quickly. The officers and senior government officials attending the High Command meeting stood up and saluted, and Hitler returned the salute.

"Guys, I was talking to Stalin on the phone just now!" Hitler said after sitting down.

After the publication of the Declaration of the Liberators, there was a telephone hotline between Hitler and Stalin (with the participation of translators, of course).

"He told me that the Battle of Brest would be won in a week!" Hitler said, "Then the Soviet Red Army will make a feint on Warsaw." Field Marshal Schleicher, Field Marshal Hersmann, I demand that the Wehrmacht occupy the entire territory of Poland within a week after the end of the Battle of Brest, in accordance with the provisions of the Polish-German Armistice! ”

This was planned for a long time, and naturally there was no problem at all, even the people of Poland, which was about to be occupied, would be more cooperative. Because if they do not accept the "protective occupation", then the great Soviet Red Army is coming!

However, what to do with Poland after the occupation is a nerve-wracking problem......

In addition, Stalin said on the phone that he would attack Finland this spring. After Hitler finished speaking, he glanced at Schleicher and Hersmann, "This is our last chance to defeat France from land!" ”

Hitler had intended to attack France in the winter of 1939, but was stopped by Schleicher and Hersmann. The reason was that the Wehrmacht's 12-day campaign in Poland exposed a number of problems that needed to be addressed through increased training and replenishment of equipment.

In addition, the German generals needed time to digest the experience of the Polish campaign in order to better master the armored forces.

"Leader," said Hersman, "the troops will be ready by the end of March at the earliest, and the offensive will be launched in April, depending on the weather." ”

The battle plan for the attack on France has been drawn up, and there are two copies, one is the "Yellow Plan" that copies the "Stephen Plan", and the other is the "Manstein Plan" for a surprise attack through the Ardennes Forest.

The "Yellow Plan" is a smoke screen used to paralyze the opponent, and the "Manstein Plan" will be implemented in earnest.

However, the Manstein Plan was not the only battle plan to be used against France - it was only a plan to defeat the main forces of the Anglo-French forces concentrated in northern France.

Because in addition to these main forces of the Anglo-French coalition, France also has a very powerful force - the French Navy! Hersmann would not be as eloquent as Hitler and allowed France to keep the capital ships of the Navy until the end of the World War!

Three Richelieu-class battleships and two Dunkirk-class battleships, as well as seven heavy cruisers, had to be handed over to the German Navy. With these capital ships, the German Navy was able to organize a Mediterranean fleet, and the operation in the Mediterranean was foolproof.

In addition, the French colonies in Algeria, Tennes, and Morocco must also be liberated by Germany and Italy.

The battle plan for the capture of the French capital ships and the liberation of Algeria, Tenis and Morocco was drawn up by Deputy Chief of the General Staff Halder and Air Force Commander-in-Chief Kesselring. The plan, known as the Liberator Plan, was to be carried out by the German and Italian armies when the time came. (To be continued.) )