Chapter 954: The curtain of war opens!

After the First World War, the German Empire was defeated and forced to accept the Treaty of Versailles of the Entente!

Germany gave up a large amount of territory that had historically belonged to Poland in the east, and Germany's dislike of Poland was even greater than that of Britain and France, because Britain's attitude towards Germany turned to tolerance, France's ideology turned to defense, and morale was depressed, so it was not easy to start a new war, and at the end of World War I, Germany only lost the two provinces of Alsace and Lorraine to France, these two provinces have changed hands to other countries many times in history, and the ethnic composition is complex and it is difficult to determine their belonging, but in the case of Poland, Not only did Germany want to restore the territory it had had in 1772, but it also wanted to lose Silesia, an important industrial coal-producing region, and cede Danzig, a purely German city, and the "corridor" to Poland as a nominally independent "Libreville", which led to the separation of Germany proper from East Prussia and severely limited its development.

By the end of the war, Germany had lost 13% of its empire and 12% of its population, of which Poland accounted for a very high proportion. Born in the eastern part of Germany, Seckert hated Poland even more, and once said: "The existence of Poland is intolerable, irreconcilable with the needs of Germany itself, and Poland must perish, and will perish." And instilled in the army the belief in the "destruction of Poland". Later, this idea was also accepted by high-ranking officials in Berlin. Wells once openly made the statement that "Poland must be punished".

And British Prime Minister George . Lloyd also once said: "Poland is given too much, and it will cause big trouble later."

Adolph. After Hitler came to power, he finally decided to solve the Polish problem!

April 20, 1939, was Hitler's 50th birthday. In recent days, he has often been angry, indicating that he has run out of patience.

Time flies; He believes he only has a few years left to be fit and healthy. As usual, Hitler's birthday in 1939 was celebrated with a grand military parade. The scene was majestic - the Wehrmacht and the armed SS were represented.

The purpose is to warn the enemy.

At Hitler's explicit request, the latest medium guns, heavy tank guns, anti-aircraft machine guns and searchlights of the Air Force were performed. Squadrons of fighters and bombers roared overhead, numerous and terrifying.

Foreign envoys attending the parade had their own impressions of the largest military parade in German history. Nor did they lose sight of the significance of having Czechoslovak President Hacha as the guest of honour next to Hitler.

Although the parade frightened many people, most Germans were proud to see such a powerful armed force.

The 50th birthday was also a pretext for another wave of propaganda glorifying Hitler.

For many admirers, he was Germany's savior: "The Führer is the only one in this century who can master the thunderbolt of God and reinvent it for humanity." To others, he was superior to the Messiah, God Himself: "My children regard the Führer as the God who commands and arranges all things. In their eyes, the Führer is the lord of all things. ”

Schoolchildren were also taught to sing the carol: "Adolf. Hitler was a savior, a hero, the noblest in the vast world, lived for Hitler and died for Hitler. God is Hitler, and he rules the brave new world. ”

On 22 August, the Führer summoned senior generals and their staff officers for a special meeting in a large reception room.

"I have brought you here to paint a picture of the political situation, so that you can see the factors on which I have made my decision to act, and at the same time to strengthen your confidence." He said that sooner or later the contradictions with Poland would erupt, and that there were many reasons why it was better to act immediately. "First of all, there are two personal factors: my own personality and Mussolini's personality. The main thing is that everything depends on me, on my survival, because I have political genius. Perhaps, in the future, there will not be anyone who has the same confidence in the German people as I do. So, my life is a factor in the big value. But I can be wiped out by a criminal or a fool at any time. ”…,

The second personality factor is the Prime Minister of Italy. It is doubtful that Italy would still be loyal to their allies, if he had any strengths

On the other hand, neither in England nor in France, there are no outstanding figures there. "Our enemies are only those below the level. No personality, no master, no action-oriented characters! ”

In addition, the political situation is favorable, with competition in the Mediterranean and tensions in the East. All of these favourable circumstances will cease to exist in two or three years' time. "No one knows how long I'll live. So, it's better to fight now. ”

He then made the matter more specific. He said that relations with Poland could no longer be tolerated.

"The choice we face is not to fight or be eliminated, sooner or later. What has the West done? Nothing more than an attack from the Maginot Line or a blockade of the Empire! ”

As soon as Goering took the lead, the other generals also applauded enthusiastically.

"My Führer!" Marshal Goering said: "The troops will do their duty. ”

Despite the applause, Goering and the rest of the generals were unanimously anti-war, because everyone believed that Germany was not ready for war. Ammunition lasted only six weeks, and steel, oil and other vital supplies were scarce.

Like his generals, Hitler knew this, but he had a different kind of war in mind: blitzkrieg, an all-out surprise attack with enough troops and intensity to guarantee a quick victory.

This is both a strategic and a tactical concept. He vowed never to allow the suffering of the long war to reappear on German soil.

This is why he armed his troops only in breadth, not in depth. The high productivity of standing armaments and the lack of large-scale production capacity for the long war were deliberately carried out by Hitler in this way of organizing the German economy. His goal was to produce weapons quickly, not to increase the arsenal or restructure it.

A series of blitzkriegs, sustained by a short-term burst of production, would make Hitler seem formidable.

He avoided mass production for conventional warfare, because it meant economic ruin. His philosophy is that of the poor, and only by courage can he succeed. By means of a war adventure, he had achieved a series of cheap victories that his wealthier enemies would almost at all costs avoid.

Blitzkrieg is not only in keeping with the nature of its gamblers, but also with its status as a dictator. A democracy cannot withstand such an economic burst.

For example, immediately after the centralized production of tanks, it was again transferred to civilian production. What might hurt a democracy doesn't work for a country with peculiar economic weaknesses and strengths.

Hitler's blitzkrieg stunned his generals, because their theories still had their roots in the past.

They did not understand, as Hitler, that Germany was far better prepared for battle than Britain and France. It was a gamble, but he estimated that he would be able to win quickly over Poland and never have to face England and France. The peculiarity is that they will feel that revenge is futile. He must somehow neutralize the West, either by intimidation or by force.

On the morning of 22 August, the soldiers who had listened to Hitler's explanation of the blueprint for the invasion did not raise a single word of criticism, nor did the field generals who were brought in after lunch to listen to the lectures. The Führer advised them not to show mercy.

"Might is right." After saying that, he announced that the time for the invasion of Poland might be set for dawn on Saturday, August 26.

Friday, August 25, was a pivotal day and the busiest day. As soon as the Polish question was settled, he was ready and determined to make another comprehensive proposal to Britain, for example, that he was willing to accept the British Empire and personally guarantee its continued existence. …,

However, if the British rejected his suggestion, he viciously said: "Then there will be war." ”

And that was his last suggestion.

Half an hour later, at 3:02 p.m., he approved Yu Foxiao's order to attack Poland. On the face of it, his bet was based on opportunism. It should be recognized, however, that Hitler was a cunning giant of everyday politics, and that his foreign policy did have a fundamental goal: to take control of the continent step by step. This policy is closely linked to its radical anti-Semitic agenda.

In Rome, the German ambassador, accompanied by Ziano, was walking into the Palazzo de Venecia with the unusual letter that had been drafted earlier in the day.

At 3:20, Hans. Georg. Feng. Ambassador Mackensen handed over that document to Mussolini.

Mussolini, in his sense of reality, could not fail to face the fact that the Italian army, which was so weak and powerless in Albania, did not have the morale, training and skills to fight a real war!

The war was postponed and a new date was soon set.

The date of the attack on Poland was fixed for Friday, 1 September; In the West, nothing is done. This directive was sent to the senior officers, who then issued special orders to the field commanders in the most confidential manner.

By 4 p.m., the warrant to commence the invasion had been placed; Troops and equipment have begun to move to the front line near the border. At the same time, the head of the SS security department issued a special order to a secret German unit on the Polish border. Prior to that, Reinhard. Heydrich hatched a plan - the "Battle of Himmler"!

It gave Hitler a brilliant pretext for going on the offensive.

The advance detachment of the Security Service, disguised as Polish soldiers and partisans, was to stir up trouble on the border on the eve of the invasion and, exactly four hours later, launched an attack on a forest station, destroying a German customs house and, most importantly, briefly occupying the radio station in Grewitz.

War is inevitable!

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