Since the Ludendorff offensive on the Western Front did not have the desired effect, and the American troops had arrived in large numbers, the Germans had been on the defensive since June, and victory was out of reach, and defeat seemed to be a matter of time.

At the beginning of June 1918 and Gustav. After Krupp's first meeting, and until the end of August of that year, Hersmann met frequently with the members of the Industrial Promotion Committee to discuss the relocation of the factory and the construction of the Riga Industrial Zone. During this time he also accompanied Anthony, who was pursuing Margaret. Fokker and the owner of the Bavarian Machine-Building Plant (BMW), Gistan. Otto, went to Riga a few times. The Fokker Aircraft Factory and BMW were the subject of key protection, and according to the secret instructions of the Grand General Staff, a considerable part of the equipment and personnel of the two factories had to be transferred to Riga by November 1918, in preparation for the opening of an aircraft development and manufacturing enterprise, BMW-Fokker, with the financial support of the Industrial Promotion Committee (shareholding and low-interest loans). The company's main business is not to produce large quantities of aircraft, only a small production plant, but to build a large-scale experimental center, including an airport, a wind tunnel, a shooting range and an engine test center. According to the plan, in the future, the design center of the German military aviation project will also be located in the mainland, and the experimental base and the trial production base will be moved to Riga.

In addition, under Hersmann's instigation, the Industrial Promotion Council is also preparing to set up a special aviation development council, which will be formally formed after the armistice, composed of Germany's most famous aircraft designers and air combat heroes, and control a secret industrial fund dedicated to promoting the development of the German aviation industry, the development of civil aviation, and the training of pilots. The United Principalities of the Baltic would likewise become the cradle of future Luftwaffe pilots.

At the same time, the Allied troops, aided by American troops, began to switch to a counteroffensive. Due to the huge losses in the previous Ludendorff offensive, the Germans were bogged down from July. On August 8, the Entente forces launched a fierce assault on the Somme line, throwing in 456 tanks and hundreds of thousands of attacking troops! The weakly defended German front soon crumbled, and 12,000 people were captured on the first day!

Moreover, in this offensive, the British and French troops used infiltration tactics learned from the Germans. Caught the demoralized German army off guard, the entire front was facing catastrophic consequences!

On the afternoon of August 30, Hersmann and Rosenberg returned to Berlin with a plan for the establishment of a factory and an R&D center in Riga. In the streets of Berlin, they saw once again a worrying scene - as Hersmann and Rosenberg were not wearing military uniforms, as soon as they stepped out of the station, they were given a leaflet each.

"For Germany!" The man shouted, then hurried away.

"Damn the Jew, that man is a Jew!" Alfred. Rosenberg looked at the leaflet, and when he saw that it was anti-war propaganda, he cursed.

"Let's hurry up, we're still waiting to see our proposal." Hersman glanced at the crowded railway station square and noticed a number of middle-aged people in patched suits, all walking around, all holding stacks of leaflets in their hands.

It is clear that the German anti-war elements are active again! Some of them may be Jews, but many more are Germanic.

As Stasi's director, Hersmann certainly knew who was anti-war – much like it had been before the February Revolution in Russia, and there was also a strong Socialist Party in Germany. Although after the start of the war, most of the German Socialists, like the Russian Socialist-Revolutionaries and the Mensheviks, adopted the line of "nationalism", only a small number of left-wing radicals formed Germany, which was as resolutely anti-war as the Russian Bolsheviks. But the socialists who supported the war, their attitude was not firm. They were also very dissatisfied with the military domination of Germany, and if the principle of parliamentary majority was followed, they would be the leaders of the country......

If the war goes very well, it will be forgotten, but now the defeat is assured. How could the Socialists in Germany do nothing and give up this opportunity that would allow them to come to power?

In Hersmann's memory, Albert, the first president of the Weimar Republic, was a German Social Democrat.

So the "peace movement" in Germany is now mainly the Socialists' supporters who are making trouble -- not necessarily big names like Albert who come out, but they must have their backing.

However, there seem to be a lot of "peaceful people" in the railway station square today! And Hersman did not find the military police under the command of the Military Intelligence Directorate...... Where did all the people from Schleicher go? Is it a spy day off? I didn't get any notice.

With a full stomach, Hersman and Rosenberg got into a rental carriage and arrived at the Grand General Staff half an hour later.

"Lieutenant Colonel, what's wrong? I've met a lot of troublemakers at the train station. ”

In the corridors of the Military Intelligence Directorate, Hersman saw the listless Sheriff's Chief Lieutenant Colonel Schleicher.

"Yes, I know!" Schleicher glanced at Hersman and sighed, "Because my men can't be dispatched, it's an order from above......"

"Above?" Hersman was stunned, who was "above"? Hindenburg? Still is...... Kaiser Wilhelm II?

"What the hell is going on?" Hersman asked.

Schleicher swept around the corridor and found no idlers, so he lowered his voice and said: "The above has asked the Entente for peace through secret channels, but the President of the United States said: The Entente cannot negotiate with a military dictatorship!" If Germany asks for peace, then it should first become a democracy......"

"What? Americans want us to be democracies? Hersmann's face changed dramatically, and he knew what it meant after experiencing the Russian Revolution. Agreed above? ”

"Not yet." Schleicher was a little unsure, "But there should be some relaxation, or my sheriff's office will not be idle." ”

……

"Conspiracy! Your Excellency Marshal, this is a conspiracy of the Americans! ”

In the office of Field Marshal Hindenburg, Hersmann exclaimed: "If the army abdicates its responsibilities, then the revolution will sweep through the German Empire...... At that time, the vast majority of the army will lose its will, and we will lose the ability to resist the outside world. The enemy will impose the harshest treaties on us! ”

The question of how Germany in World War I suddenly lost its ability to resist, obediently succumbed to the Entente, and accepted the Treaty of Versailles, which was simply impossible to fulfill. Hersmann did not know much about it in later generations, he only knew that it was the Austro-Hungarian disintegration that came first, the German Revolution later, and the final collapse of the German army. Having lost its great military power, Germany naturally turned from a beast of war with teeth and claws into a lamb to be slaughtered.

But the instant collapse of millions of armies is still incredible. You must know that before the defeat of Germany, not a single enemy had set foot on German soil. The Western Front was still on the territory of France and Belgium. According to the way of playing on the Western Front of World War I, hundreds of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people will die if you advance a few kilometers! If they really want to hit the heart of Germany, the Entente will have to kill and wound millions more. The United States may be able to bear it, but France and Britain are not.

If Germany still had the ability to resist, the conditions for peace would never have been so harsh.

Now, however, Hersmann has somewhat understood how Germany had descended into disaster – the same thing he had seen too many in later generations. Wanting democracy to solve the crisis turned what was not too serious into an incorrigible collapse.

In fact, Russia's collapse after the February Revolution was also caused by a process of democratization that was doomed to fail – democracy could not solve defeat on the battlefield, and the power vacuum that arose in the process of democratization exacerbated the extent of military defeat. The wave of democratization triggered by Russia's February Revolution destroyed the Russian army and allowed Germany to militarily force the defenseless Soviet government.

And now, a similar catastrophe is soon to take place in Germany!

――

Ask for collections, ask for recommendations