The construction site of the National Automobile Plant in Wolfsburg covers a large area of several tens of square kilometers, but it is still small compared to the Motor City on the Volga River in the Soviet Union. However, the density of factories under construction is clearly greater than that of Volga Autotown, and many large factories have already completed land leveling and are laying foundations. Busy workers and construction machines can be seen everywhere.

The roads and railways in and out of the "Motor City" have been completed, and various building materials are being transported in a steady stream, neatly stacked and covered with tarpaulins. German seriousness and rigor are evident throughout this huge construction site. Even the temporary living quarters for construction workers are very neat and clean, without the slightest hint of sloppiness.

Towards dinner in the evening, young workers dressed in uniforms resembling military uniforms return in neat line-ups singing inspirational songs - all of whom had been organized by the Nazi Labor Front and were originally unemployed. By the time they returned, the smell of food was already wafting throughout the camp.

Both Tukhachevsky and Berzin were very observant people and were not likely to be deceived by superficial phenomena. They took a closer look at the workers, and each of them had a sunburned skin on their faces and hands, and they all looked very strong and strong, indicating that they were well nourished enough to keep up with the heavy physical labor.

In the workers' quarters, there are also a number of shops in makeshift houses, which, like those on Berlin Street, have a wide range of goods and seem to be doing a good job. According to Tukhachevsky and Berzin's inquiries, the shops were privately run and affiliated with several business cooperatives, and several of the shop owners were honorary Aryans, that is, Jews, and each of them said that the construction workers who worked here were well paid. Therefore, the purchasing power is also strong, and their business is still relatively easy to do.

It is clear that the German National Socialism economy is running very well, showing some socialist superiority, and in some respects even surpassing the socialist Soviet Union......

After returning from Wolfsburg to the Kaiserhof Hotel in Berlin, Tukhachevsky and Berzin began to prepare their report. It was supposed to be just a report on the state of combat readiness and armored forces in Germany. But Tukhachevsky intended to mention Germany's very prosperous economy in his report.

"Jan. Karlovich, it seems that some of our original views on the German economy need to be revised. Tukhachevsky, cigarette in hand, stood on the balcony of his luxury suite, looking at the city bathed in golden light, the glow of the setting sun shining through the fresh air. The wide avenue is lined with rows of elegant houses, neat, clean, a bit like Leningrad, but noticeably a little more than Leningrad...... Vitality!

As a Bolshevik. He was very reluctant to use the word "dynamism" to describe "pseudo-socialism" in Germany, but that seemed to be the truth!

"The German economy is much better than we expected, growing fast and running smoothly, and there doesn't seem to be much imbalance...... In a way, it is a little better than the situation in our Soviet Union. Tukhachevsky said - he did not know that what he was saying now would be recorded by Berzin, reported to Stalin, and in the future would be evidence of his guilt against Germany!

"No, they have problems with the economy." Berzin was the head of the intelligence of the Red Army. In the USSR. The NKVD and the Main Directorate of Political Protection were mainly internal, while the Red Army Intelligence Directorate was external. Hence how well Berzin knows the German economy. Also deeper than Tukhachevsky.

"There is an imbalance in the development of industry and agriculture in Germany, an imbalance in industrial development and resources, and a very unbalanced balance between heavy industry and light industry." Belzin lit a cigarette and stood on the balcony with Tukhachevsky, the sound of cars muffling out their conversation, making it difficult for any eavesdropping equipment to function.

"Germany needs to import 4 million tonnes of agricultural products every year," Belzin said. Mainly from the Baltic and Soviet Unions, they also needed to import large quantities of oil, iron ore, non-ferrous metals and other raw materials in order to meet the needs of German industry.

And Germany is currently developing the automotive industry, which will bring a large demand for fuel. Although Germany has advanced synthetic fuel technology, they still need to import more oil every year. ”

"But they also export a lot of things." Tukhachevsky held a cup of Russian coffee, "German planes, cars, ships, machines and compact instruments are very popular in the world, and their trade is generally balanced. ”

In fact, there is a considerable trade surplus in Germany! It's just that the surplus is stored not in the form of dollars in gold, but in the form of various raw materials.

"It's just a temporary balance," Belzin said, smoking a cigarette, "unlike England, France, and the United States, Germany has no colonies, and they don't have a stable dumping market for industrial goods and a place to collect cheap raw materials." And they will soon swallow Austria and the Czechs...... This is equivalent to taking down most of the original industrial areas of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. ”

"Then the German economy will be even more unbalanced!" Berzin said with great certainty, "So they have no other way out but to expand externally." And they repeatedly professed to be anti-colonial, believing that investing in the colonies was a loss-making deal......"

"Either they are deceiving, or they are going to take the route of local expansion," Tukhachevsky smiled coldly, "they are looking to the United States and want to build a Greater German Empire with complete industrial and agricultural resources!" ”

"Yes!" Berzin nodded approvingly, "If this is to be achieved in Europe, the direction of German expansion must be to the east...... Czechoslovakia will be followed by Poland, and after Poland will be the USSR! ”

"It's determined by their economic base," Tukhachevsky took a puff of his cigarette and looked at the endless traffic on the road, "so the Soviet Union must be ready for war with Germany!" ”

……

Tukhachevsky and Berzin visited various parts of Germany when Ludwig. Feng. Heinsberg-Hersmann is working with the senior staff of the General Staff on the final revisions to the Green Plan.

The Green Plan was a war plan for Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Poland. As early as 1934, shortly after Ludendorff succeeded to the presidency, Defense Minister Schleicher and Chief of the General Staff Hammestein received a secret order from the president to formulate two combat plans: one was the "Red Plan" for countering France and Belgium; The other is the Green Plan.

According to the results of several joint meetings of the Ministry of Defence, the General Staff, the Admiralty, and the Naval Staff, the "Red Plan" was a defense-oriented plan - Germany would build a defensive "Siegfried" line on the borders of France, Belgium and Luxembourg to cope with the French "Maginot Line" and a possible attack by the Allies.

However, due to financial constraints, the "Siegfried" defense line was far from being as strong as the "Maginot line".

This 630-kilometer-long defense line is mainly composed of three parts: an obstacle zone, a main defensive belt, and a rear position, with a depth of 35 to 75 kilometers. The obstacle zone consists mainly of minefields, barbed wire, anti-tank trenches and the "Dragon's Teeth" system. This is a multi-row angular conical reinforced concrete pile, which is mainly used to block the advance of tanks - the theoretical basis for the construction of this "Siegfried" line is Hersmann's "Theory of Elastic Defense in Great Depth". That is, this is a line of defense against mechanized assault!

In addition to the anti-tank trenches and dragon teeth, a number of permanent fortifications of reinforced concrete and steel armor were built behind the obstacle strip, equipped with machine guns and anti-tank guns. However, the Maginot Line was not equipped with a large number of complex fortifications and armored turrets. However, the entire line of defense used more concrete and steel than the French "Maginot Line", and the number of various fortifications reached 11,860, which was also far more than the "Maginot Line".

In fact, the historical sit-down battle is very much related to the existence of this "Siegfried" line. If the French really attacked the "Siegfried" line, I am afraid that the losses would be too great to bear.

In later history, this "Siegfried" defense line held off the powerful British and American allies for five months at the end of the war, when the German army was gone! If it were changed to 1939 and let the French attack "Siegfried" alone, I am afraid that they would not even need the "Manstein Plan" later, and the Germans would be able to easily defeat France by following the old road of World War I.

Although he knew about the "sit-down battle" later, Hirschmann still did not dare to intervene in the construction of the "Siegfried" defense line -- this is a matter related to the survival of the country, and it is good to take more insurance factors......

Moreover, the "Red Plan" was not a matter for Hersmann, but was personally responsible for the Chief of the General Staff, General Hameststein. Hersman is in charge of the "Green Plan".

And the Green Plan under Hersmann's leadership is certainly different from the historical version.

First of all, it was not a programme based on the annexation of Czechoslovakia by force - but a combination of political, diplomatic, espionage and military means. Unlike in history, the entire operation was controlled by the General Staff, not by Prime Minister Adolf. Hitler mastered.

Secondly, the order of annexation is also different. In the Green Plan developed by Hersmann, the first to be annexed by Germany was not Austria, but the Czech Republic. Moreover, the annexation of the Czechs did not begin with the Sudetenland Germans.

Rather, it began with the secret cooperation of Germany, Italy, the Soviet Union and Japan in the League of Nations. (To be continued.) )