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Chapter 1661 Bode goes to war

On 29 August, just as the bonds issued by the South Chinese Government had been successfully sold in the United States, the German Government cut off radio, telegraph, and telephone communications with the outside world at 12 noon Berlin time, and the day before, the last French and British journalists and civilians in civilian positions had been hastily evacuated to the nearest border, while the German Foreign Office had telegraphed to the embassies and consulates in Poland, France, and Great Britain, requesting that German citizens be allowed to leave as quickly as possible. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

Germany's sudden telecommunications control caused panic all over the world, and although the French government did not know what was happening, it immediately issued a general mobilization order, declaring that the front-line defense and the Maginot Line were in a state of first-class combat readiness, and at the same time conscripting French and colonial youths into the army, demanding that the number of military personnel be expanded from 1.9 million to 3 million in the shortest possible time, of which 2.5 million were army forces, in order to resist the possible German attack on Poland.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, the British ambassador to Berlin flew to Berchtesgaden and handed Hitler a letter from Chamberlain, in which the British Prime Minister categorically declared that Great Britain would fulfill its obligations to Poland with "all the forces it has", Hitler roared angrily, and replied that if Britain dared to declare war on Germany, Germany would be "prepared and determined", and Hitler also said that "I am forty-nine years old, and I would rather fight now than at fifty-five or sixty." ”

However, as far as his intentions are concerned, Hitler was still quite afraid of the threat of Britain and France, after all, Germany lost the last European war on the east and west fronts at the same time, and the reason why the telecommunications connection was suddenly cut off this time was to test the reaction of Britain and France.

Hitler rushed back to Berlin that evening and summoned the French ambassador as soon as possible to try to persuade France and Britain not to intervene in the war against Poland one last time. Two hours later, French Prime Minister Daladier addressed all French citizens on the radio, reiterating that France would fulfill its obligations if Poland were attacked.

In this case, as soon as the action was made against Poland, Germany would enter a state of war with Britain and France, and Hitler was suddenly caught in a difficult choice. In order to alleviate the confrontation with Britain and France, Hitler temporarily changed his position and demanded that Danzig and other Baltic coastal areas be obtained from Poland, so that Germany mainland and East Prussia could be connected, and these places could be referendum to determine the final ownership, so that Britain might accept it, Poland would certainly not allow it, and there would be a contradiction between the two, so as to give Chamberlain an excuse to get rid of the guarantee to Poland.

As for France, Hitler believed that France would follow Britain's lead, as it had done since the Rhineland crisis of 1936, after all, many people in France protested to the government against the war.

Earlier, Frankin Frank, the leader of the "Democratic Alliance" and former prime minister and foreign minister, went to the War Office to meet Daladier and ask him not to drag France into war, and Fradin declared that he was authorized by his political friends to tell the prime minister to fully support a policy of compromise in order to avoid war. On the same morning, the royalist newspaper Action Française published a front-page headline about Charles. Editorial by Morath. The author and the newspaper had a wide readership among army and navy officers, and editorials said that the British and Jews were pushing France to war, and that the hard-line cabinet members were portrayed as "a small clique of Europeans keen to destroy world peace."

Because the horrors brought to Europe and the world on the 29th were so profound, the pacifists in Britain and France increased rapidly, and the tone of the call for compromise continued to increase, and the influence continued to expand, which brought new hope to Hitler.

At one o'clock in the morning of the 30th, Hitler summoned the British ambassador Neville. Henderson stated that in order to satisfy the British Government, Germany had agreed to negotiate with the Poles, but that the Polish Government had to send an envoy plenipotentiary to Germany, and that he had to arrive by six o'clock the following afternoon.

French Foreign Minister and Defense Bonet immediately telegraphed to the French ambassador to Warsaw, urging the Polish government to agree immediately. Having learned from the experience of Austria and Czechoslovakia, the Polish government did not flinch and announced a general mobilization at noon on the 30th. Due to Poland's refusal to cooperate, on the 31st Germany again cut off telecommunications with the outside world.

On these two days, the Nazi propaganda machine was in full swing, and German newspapers, radio stations, and news agencies announced one after another: "Warsaw threatens to bomb Danzig!" "The extremely frenzied Poles have launched an incredible provocation," the front page of the Berliner Zeitung on the morning of the 31st read: "Poland is completely in turmoil, Germanic families are on the run, and Polish troops are advancing to the edge of the German border." The headline of the Twelve O'clock newspaper read: "This play with fire went too far, three German airliners were fired upon by the Poles, and many Germanic farmhouses in the corridor were set on fire!" The headline of the People's Observer newspaper read: "The whole territory of Poland is in a war fever!" 1.5 million people have been mobilized! A steady stream of troops is being transported to the border! Upper Silesia is in chaos! ”

The Pope, President Roosevelt, the King of Belgium, and the Queen of the Netherlands called on Germany to remain calm, otherwise a new world war was about to break out.

At six o'clock in the evening of the 31st, Hitler issued Operational Order No. 1: Now that the political possibility of dealing peacefully with the situation which Germany could not tolerate on the eastern borders has been completely lost, I have decided to settle it by force. The attack on Poland will be carried out in accordance with the preparations provided for in the White Plan! The time of the attack was 4:45 a.m. on September 1.

When night covered the land of Europe, the 1.5 million German troops began to enter the frontier of the Polish border, just waiting for the dawn to attack, when all German radio stations broadcast Hitler's speech. Hitler called how he kindly made a "peace proposal" to Poland, how sincere, fair and practicable, but Poland "brutally rejected". At the same time, an SS disguised itself as a Polish army launched an attack on Germany, and thus began a war of "for tat" and "force for force".

At dawn on 1 September, the German fleet crossed the Polish border in a big way, marching north, south, and west into Warsaw, and in the sky, German planes roared to fly to their targets -- Polish troops, arsenals, bridges, railways, and cities. Within minutes, these planes gave the Poles, regardless of military and civilian, their first taste of sudden death and destruction from the air.

At ten o'clock in the morning, instead of a brown Nazi Party uniform, Hitler wore an army-gray suit and drove to the Kroll Opera House for a meeting of the Reichstag held there. Since the Reichstag was improvised, many of the parliamentarians who were not in Berlin could not attend, so SS members from Hitler and Goering's Guards took their place and took the role of parliamentarians, agreeing to declare war on Poland.

Hitler's speech announcing Germany's declaration of war on Poland elicited thunderous applause in the Reichstag, and the Japanese ambassador applauded vigorously in the diplomat's box. At the end of the meeting, the parliamentarians, together with Hitler and Goering's bodyguards, rose from their seats, and the chairman of the meeting, Goering, announced "unanimous approval."

It was a Thursday morning, and Berlin was calm in the morning, and despite the important news coming from the radio and the morning newspapers, the pedestrians on the streets were very indifferent to it, and the vast majority of Germans could not help but think of the tragic experience after the defeat of Germany in the last European war, and were full of worries about the future. In the far east, it was already afternoon at this time, and the news of the war in Europe made the An Jiajun feel excited.

Bangkok, Grand Palace.

This palace of the Siamese royal family, backed by the Chao Phraya River, is basically an ancient building in the shape of a stupa or a large crown. The main body of the palace is in the Victorian architectural style, and the three stupas on the roof reach into the sky, which is typical of the Siamese people. The whole complex, based on white, is surrounded by white palace walls, and there are buildings such as Amarin Palace, Jieji Palace, Rishi Palace and Jade Buddha Temple.

An Yi walked side by side with Cheng Guang, admiring the Siamese-style architecture, décor and gardens while talking about business.

"Through this actual combat test, in addition to exposing the shortcomings of the lack of landing ships and not carrying out landings in the most effective areas, we have also not been effectively verified in anti-submarine, firepower confrontation of the same scale, anti-mine capabilities and logistical support. Moreover, from the beginning to the end, the fleet has been under the surveillance and protection of our airship radar, and the fleet's capabilities in long-range reconnaissance and early warning have not been fully brought into play. Overall, though, the performance was good, and we only had one destroyer damaged in an artillery battle, and we wiped out the Siam Navy, which is claimed to be the second largest in Asia, and this time the exam score was barely passed. ”

An Yi touched the surface of the golden Buddha next to him, looked up at the pointed stupa in the distance, and then said:

"Since it is a coastal operation, we occupy an absolute superiority in the air force, and it is normal for us to achieve such results. If we stay away from home in the future and without the participation of land-based aircraft, the situation may not be so optimistic! The solution to this problem can only be achieved by aircraft carriers! But it's not that easy to build, and it will take three or four years for our first carriers to equip the fleet, and before that, it can only be rebuilt with custom-built merchant ships in the United States for daily training use. Various types of carrier-based aircraft are currently being finalized, and in particular, the torpedo planes, which we seriously lack, have entered the final stage of research and development, so that in the future, our coastal defense will have another layer of support. ”

Cheng Guang laughed: "If it weren't for the idea of aircraft carriers being instilled by you, after this naval battle, I am afraid that I would be infatuated with the majesty of the cannons of giant ships like the conservative forces in the navies of Britain, France, the United States, Japan and other countries." You don't know how much advantage a battleship with thick skin and a large-caliber main gun will have to take advantage of a naval battle in which naval guns fire at each other, and as long as one shot hits the opponent, the enemy's ship will be filled with smoke, either dead or wounded, and on the contrary, the opponent's shells will hit us like mosquito bites, and there is no reason to worry about it. ”

The two came to a gazebo and sat down, and An Yi said: "No matter how powerful the battleship is, it can't stand the ravages of bombers and torpedo planes in turn, and the withdrawal of expensive battleships from the stage of history is the choice of survival of the fittest." However, although the aircraft carrier is powerful, its own defense is very weak, and it can only rely on cruisers, destroyers, and frigates for protection, so in the future, the development idea of our navy is to take aircraft carriers as the main body and cooperate with all kinds of warships, especially the missile destroyers that we have secretly developed, which will become another killer weapon for us to control the enemy. ”

Just as the two were talking, Shen Fengdao came in a hurry, and after An Yi read the telegram, his face was happy, and Cheng Guang took the telegram with an excited expression: "Haha, shit, Germany has finally declared war on Poland...... The more chaotic Europe is, the better, and with Germany in front to attract firepower, we will be much easier! ”

An Yi nodded: "Taking advantage of the outbreak of the European war, we have to seize the time to lay out our industry and develop it by leaps and bounds."

"You must know that war will not only increase the demand for guns and ammunition, artillery, tanks, warplanes and other munitions, but also military uniforms, cotton clothes, quilts, flour, raincoats, tents, medicines, etc., there is also a broad market, I believe that as long as there is a two or three years of accumulation, we can catch up with the pace of developed countries. At that time, there will be a radical change in the land under our control, and we will use this to influence the country and promote the all-round development of the domestic political and economy. ”