The "intra-EU meeting" on 27 June was as successful as expected. All the countries that participated in the meeting agreed to join the European Customs Union (or not), and a Geneva Declaration of Solidarity was issued after the meeting, officially announcing the formation of a "European Customs Union".

On the second day of the "intra-EU meeting", the League of Nations convened a meeting of the Executive Council (equivalent to a meeting of the Security Council) to discuss the resolution submitted by Germany, France, Italy and the Soviet Union to absolve the Treaties of Versailles, Saint-Germain, Sèvres, Lausanne, Trianon and Bessarabia.

Since the British delegation did not attend the meeting (the British delegation left Switzerland before the Geneva Peace Conference because of the opposition to the Petain government's representation of France), the Executive Council of the League of Nations unanimously adopted a resolution to "abrogate the treaty".

On the day of the adoption of the "Resolution on the Denunciation", the US delegation issued a strongly worded statement, declaring that the abrogation of the "Trianon Treaty" was a serious violation of international law and an invalid resolution, and the United States firmly opposed it!

Moreover, the US Government also believes that the territorial and sovereign integrity of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia is inviolable, and that any attempt to separate the provinces of Croatia and Slovenia from Yugoslavia is a violation of international law.

After the protests, the U.S. delegation left angrily - in fact, the delegation broke up, and Hopkins returned to the United States to help Roosevelt run the election; Secretary of State Hull went to England to discuss countermeasures with Churchill; Donovan, on the other hand, visited Yugoslavia as a special envoy of the President of the United States, and met with the young and vigorous young and vigorous young King Peter II to stir up trouble.

On the other side of Geneva, diplomatic mediation efforts are still intensifying. For Germany, the purpose of the Geneva Peace Conference, in addition to abrogating several treaties that had long been ineffective and "giving births" to the European Community, was to bring about the signing of a non-aggression pact between Japan and the Soviet Union, and to draw Japan into the "Iron Alliance" (referring to the German-Italian alliance).

On 28 June, the same day that the United States delegation left Geneva. In the White Crane Hotel, where representatives of the United States and the Soviet Union had previously met in secret, Adolf Murphy was chaired by Adolf. Hitler came forward to bring together the leading members of the Italian and Japanese delegations.

In a large room with a world map, a long table, and wooden chairs carved with ornate patterns. Dressed in the uniform of a straight field marshal, Hersman drew a circle of Southeast Asia on the map with a baton in his hand.

Then he said: "Here, here, and here, the place that we Europeans call the Indochina Peninsula and the Spice Islands, has a land area of about 4.57 million square kilometers, almost the size of half of Europe, and is rich in resources, oil, rubber, rice, iron ore, coal and all kinds of non-ferrous metals, all the resources that Japan needs to become a world empire, are here!"

Compared to what you call Japan's 'Manchurian lifeline', it is not only richer and more vast, but it is also almost undefended except for the Philippines. The European powers, which possessed these regions, were already crushed by our German Empire in May of this year. ”

Hersman looked at Matsuoka Yosuke and said, "You don't need a strong army to conquer these areas, because there are few Europeans to fortify them, and the local natives are ready to overthrow the European colony and welcome your yellow brothers."

In the face of such a historical opportunity, do you Japanese still need to worry about the direction of the country's expansion? Do you understand what strategy is? ”

Hersman said in an almost reprimanding tone: "Do you Japanese have the ability to build a naval fleet that can deter the United States, and at the same time build an army that can defeat the Soviet Union and their allies on the East Asian continent?" This is something that we Germany would not dare to imagine, and you Japan dare to dream such a dream? How much steel, how much oil, how much aluminum, how much copper? ”

Being taught a lesson by Hirschman, Yosuke Matsuoka and Hiroshi Oshima were embarrassed - in fact, the two of them knew the beauty and the other knew Europe, and they knew that the sky was high and the earth was thick. Japan's national power is certainly stronger than its old East Asian neighbors, but compared to Germany, the Soviet Union, and the United States, it is not worth mentioning at all.

It is already the limit to be able to build the third (self-perceived) navy in the world with such a worthless national strength, and it is a complete dream to create an army that can confront the Soviet Red Army. The several frictions that occurred during the upheaval of the East Asian continent in '39 and the tense confrontation that followed were already illustrative (this time and space was that because Hitler was "dear Comrade Hitler", the Soviet Union could have placed more forces in the Far East).

Moreover, the Polish Campaign and the Western Front Campaign that occurred later also made the Japanese Army see its own shortcomings, and their weaponry and combat command capabilities were inferior to those of the Polish Army, and the quality of individual soldiers was higher. Those divisions that the Japanese Army is proud of are just the most ordinary infantry divisions in Europe. If you really want to fight a war with the Soviet Union, you will definitely die an ugly death.

Seeing that the Japanese did not speak, Hersman raised his voice and said, "You can only choose one of the directions of expansion in Southeast Asia and the East Asian continent now!" If you want to expand on the East Asian continent, then you don't want to join any steel alliances, go straight to Washington and sell the combined fleet for American tanks and trucks. But don't expect the United States to ally with you, because they don't dare! The Americans did not dare to confront us, Germany, and the USSR at the same time. ”

Yosuke Matsuoka and Hiroshi Oshima glanced at each other, and what Hersman said was unpleasant, but it was all true. Britain and the United States have been agitating Japan to move westward and northward these days, and they are all good at talking about oil, steel, aircraft, and artillery, but they just refuse to let go on the issue of forming an alliance.

Doesn't this mean that Britain and the United States are also afraid of the Soviet Union? Britain and the United States are afraid of ...... Why is Japan not afraid?

"Your Excellency Marshal, the Imperial Council of the Five Phases of our empire has made a decision and determined that going south is the first national policy." Yosuke Matsuoka saw that Hersman's words were finished, and quickly informed him about the latest changes in Japan's national policy.

The first national policy? Hersman said in his heart, then there is a second national policy? Do these Japanese devils understand the truth that they need to concentrate troops in a war?

Hersmann exchanged glances with Hitler and the Italian leader Benito Mussolini and saw that both were nodding. So he said: "Since going south is your first national policy, and you are also willing to join the Iron Alliance and fight with Germany and Italy." Then we have no reason to refuse, and we will also fight for your maximum rights and interests on the issue of the "Japan-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact." ”

His tone suddenly sank, and he said to the two Japanese representatives: "However, there is another point that needs to be agreed in advance: Before the start of major military operations in Germany, Japan, and Italy in the future, a joint meeting of the chiefs of staff of the three countries must be convened to communicate and coordinate, and the operation can only be carried out after obtaining the consent of the other two countries." If the issue of joint operations is involved, a joint command should also be established for unified command...... This agreement will be explicitly included in the German-Japanese-Italian Treaty of Steel Alliance. You don't have a problem with that, do you? ”

Historically, Japan's strategy in World War II was quite bad, and whether it was in the Chinese theater or in other theaters, it was basically making "terrible strategic mistakes." Even the "Pearl Harbor Incident," as it is most widely known, was in fact a huge strategic mistake -- not that the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and the war against the United States were necessarily wrong.

Rather, the strategic objective of this frenzied sneak attack was completely wrong - the Japanese did not start the war to win it, but to grab territory. It's not that there shouldn't be a land grab, it's that the land grabbing should serve to win the war.

The Japanese did not seriously think about how to defeat the United States when they launched the surprise attack, and they only planned to have absolute freedom of action for six months. In fact, they did have absolute superiority at sea for a long time, and neither the US Pacific Fleet nor the British navy in India were opponents of the Japanese navy.

But Japan did not think at all about using such an advantage to win the war, in fact the route to winning the war exists!

If it weren't for the failed Battle of Midway, they would have maintained their superiority at sea for at least 12 months. This was long enough time for the Japanese to organize a large expeditionary force to liberate India, and then they would be able to join Germany in the Middle East.

In this way, Japan has obtained India's abundant supplies (India can be a magical country with the Belt and Road Party), and it has also dealt a heavy blow to Britain in the Triple Alliance of Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union, and can also help Germany solve the two major bottlenecks of oil and non-ferrous metals, and at the same time can obtain advanced technology and weapons from Germany to deal with the United States counterattack.

This should have been the only possible course of victory for Japan after Pearl Harbor, but Japan's expansion in the South had stopped at Burma. And the reason why Japan did not enter India, the key point of the British Empire, was actually because of the lack of troops!

In the early days of the Pacific War, the ground forces of the Japanese Southern Army, which was tasked with advancing southward, consisted of only 12 divisions and 3 brigades (two of which were mixed brigades), plus 1 mixed wing and 1 detachment.

After occupying all of Southeast Asia, the Japanese could no longer draw enough troops to attack India. At the same time, they also put 1 million troops on the East Asian continent to fight against China or to defend against the Soviet Union, which would not attack at all......

That's why Hersmann put forward the request for organizing a "joint meeting of the three chiefs of staff" at the Geneva meeting. (To be continued.) )