795 Sneak attack on the Second Anti-Fascist Alliance

Now the wheels of history have rolled to the beginning of October 1938. According to later historians, this period now belongs to the "Second Truce of the Second World War." Unlike the flames of World War II, which were ignited by the German invasion of Poland, World War II in this time and space was triggered by the Soviet invasion of Poland. Therefore, the war between Germany and Britain and France did not break out until a year after the outbreak of World War II. Although the relationship between the two sides has evolved from an ally to an adversary, it is not an enemy in the legal sense after all.

However, preparations for war between China and Germany, Britain and France were in full swing. By the end of September 1938, Britain had mobilized an army of 2 million men (including the Anglo-Indian Army, the Anus-New Zealand Army, the Canadian and South African Army and other colonial armies), and had formed four armored divisions equipped with Matilda 2 tanks, in addition to most infantry divisions in Britain with one tank battalion equipped with light tanks. In addition, Britain has repatriated most of its vast navy scattered around the world, including all six aircraft carriers (HMS Brave, HMS Glory, and four Tejli-class aircraft carriers, which were born earlier than in history).

France also took advantage of the fierce war between China and Germany and the Soviet Union for nearly a year to expand the size of the army to 3.5 million (including the colonial armies in North Africa, Annam and other places), and the number of armored divisions to 10. Moreover, the size of the French Air Force has also been greatly expanded. It is also worth mentioning that at this time and space the French significantly accelerated the pace of their naval expansion, and by the end of September 1938, two battleships of Richelieu with a standard displacement of 38,500 tons had been delivered to the French Navy! Of course, at this time, the Italian Navy, the imaginary enemy of the French Navy, also had two Veneto-class battleships with a standard displacement of more than 40,000 tons in advance......

Stimulated by the continuous strengthening of war readiness by Britain and France, Hitler, the German Führer who weighed the pros and cons, finally made up his mind to launch a large-scale offensive on the Western Front as soon as possible.

October 9th. Hitler signed Operational Directive No. 6. In this order, he wrote: "If it had been concluded in the near future that Britain and France under its leadership were still unwilling to suspend preparations for war. I am determined, then, to take preemptive offensive action as soon as possible to suppress the forthcoming Anglo-French offensive on German territory. As a result, China is in a politically and strategically active position. On the same day, he had a telegraphic discussion with Luo Yaoguo, chief of the general staff of the Chinese National Defense Forces, who was far away in Wuhan.

In the telegram, he informed Luo Yaoguo, "The present situation has reached a critical moment, and Germany and China must choose between surrendering to Britain and France and fighting!" If it drags on any longer, Britain and France will arm more troops, which may neutralize the superiority of China and Germany on land. Therefore, the German Empire and I have finally made up our minds to launch a surprise attack on France and Great Britain by the end of November 1938 at the latest. I hope that Your Excellency Marshal and your country will be ready for war at the same time......"

Luo Yaoguo claimed in a reply: "Now the main force of China's First Armored Group Army has been shipped one after another, and it is expected that all of them will arrive in Germany in early December." Can the offensive wait until the 1st Panzer Army is in full force before it begins?

…… Will Italy enter the war against Britain and France? If Italy were to enter the war, could a powerful Luftwaffe or naval aviation be stationed at airfields in northern Italy by early December, from where it would take off to bomb the main French naval force in the port of Toulon? If the French navy can be paralyzed at the first time, it will be quite beneficial for the future war against Britain, because Britain will have to transfer part of its main naval force to the Mediterranean region.

In addition, the attitude of the United States must be fully considered. It is hoped that Your Excellency will send a special envoy to the United States before the war with Britain and France to fully engage and communicate with the US dignitaries, and to show the United States that Germany and China are willing to lead the world together with the United States. ”

In the following telegram, Hitler agreed to postpone the start of the war until 10 December, and at the same time informed Luo Yaoguo: "Mussolini recently told us that Italy has not yet completed preparations for war, so they cannot participate in the war against Britain and France for the time being...... Hitler fully agreed with Luo Yaoguo's tactful proposal that Germany, China and the United States should jointly lead the world. In the telegram he said: "Rudolph. Mr. Hess will be my special envoy to the United States to meet with President Roosevelt, and I hope that China will send a high-ranking special envoy to the United States to jointly persuade the United States to accept the imminent collapse of the Anglo-French world empire. ”

Luo Yaoguo, on the other hand, said that China would send Vice President Sun Ke and Foreign Minister Wang Ching-wei to the United States to negotiate with Roosevelt, and if the time was ripe, he himself could visit the United States to exchange views with President Roosevelt in person, and make every effort to push China, the United States and Germany to reach a compromise, so that the war could end at an early date. Finally, Luo Yaoguo informed Hitler in a telegram that the design of the first nuclear fission bomb had been completed, and the first experiment was expected to be carried out before the end of 1939. If the development of a heavy long-range bomber could be completed by 1940, China and Germany might consider ending the war with an open demonstration of the explosion of a nuclear fission bomb.

After communicating with Luo Yaoguo, Hitler issued Operational Order No. 7 on October 10. In this order, he set out the tasks to be carried out by the German army, air force, and navy after the outbreak of war. The Army's mission was to "attack France by land, in cooperation with the Luftwaffe and its Chinese allies, and, if necessary, directly attack northern France through the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and other countries." The army will massively use armored forces in offensive operations, striving to defeat France in the shortest possible time. The task of the navy was to "form a German-Chinese combined fleet with the Chinese expeditionary fleet, and under the coordination of the Luftwaffe, to launch a decisive battle with the British navy, to seize sea supremacy in the North Sea, and to make the necessary preparations for landing on British soil in the future and winning the final victory in the war!" ”

……

At the same time that Hitler and Luo Yaoguo were exchanging arrangements for the course of the world war by telegram, Britain and France were also busy piecing together alliances to prepare for war with China and Germany. On October 12, 1938, British Foreign Secretary Robert Murphy was appointed to the letter. Anthony. Aiden's plane secretly arrived in Tbilisi, the provisional capital of the Soviet Republic. Aiden's special mission was to discuss the possibility of establishing an anti-fascist alliance between Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and Japan (Britain did not yet know that Japan had turned against water).

Stalin had already learned of this through the Soviet representative in London, and the day before Aiden arrived in Tbilisi, he invited Molotov, member of the People's Commissar of the USSR and People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs, to his dacha on the outskirts of Tbilisi to agree with Aiden. At the same time, it is also necessary to make an analysis of the predicament and the way out that Britain and France are now facing, so as to serve as the basis for the Soviet Union's asking price in this negotiation.

Of course, the USSR at this time did not have much choice. After the breakthrough of the Sino-Russian forces in Sochi, there was a fatal breach in the Caucasus defense line painstakingly managed by the Soviet Red Army, and Zhukov organized several counterattacks in a row, but all in vain under the overwhelming firepower and air superiority of the enemy...... Stalin also knew that Zhukov had done his best, and the Soviet Red Army was fighting with his life. The defeat was entirely due to the disparity in the strength of the enemy and the enemy. And if we want to turn things around, it seems that the only way to turn things around is to rely on the great unity of the anti-fascist forces in the world.

At this moment the door to Stalin's office opened, and Molotov walked in. Although the current situation was critical, Molotov was as careful, cautious and respectful as ever, and seemed to be full of energy and confidence when he saw Stalin.

"Comrade Stalin, I have good news for you." Molotov always found one or two not-so-bad news out of a whole bunch of bad news. He held a telegraph in his hands and respectfully handed it to Stalin. "Just received the news that the United States rejected the fascist German Deputy Führer Rudolf. Hess and Chinese Vice President Sun Ke's request for a visit. ”

"Oh? That's the good news. Stalin barely managed to squeeze out a smile and beckoned Molotov to sit down. It seems that the most powerful capitalist countries in the world are not attracted by the two robbers, China and Germany. ”

Molotov smiled and said, "There is another piece of news that Mr. Aiden told me by phone before he boarded the plane in Baghdad. Japan also agreed to join the World Anti-Fascist League, on the condition that after defeating the Sino-German fascists, the Far East of our country and China's Manchurian and Mongolian regions be handed over to Japan......"

"These Japanese really miss Manchuria and Mongolia!" Stalin smiled very happily. Suddenly he became serious again, and asked: "Do you think Britain, France, and Japan will change their anti-Soviet policy after defeating China and Germany?" ”

"No, it won't." Molotov replied, and he said lightly: "But before they defeat China and Germany, they will definitely do everything to help us." ”

"That's enough." Stalin said: "There is one more question, can the forces of Britain, France, Japan and the Soviet Union defeat Germany and China?" There was skepticism in his words. This office also seems to be full of restlessness and tension.

"Comrade Stalin," Molotov looked at Stalin, his humble gaze sure to make the GCIST dictator feel better. "The key now is not Britain, France and Japan, but the United States, as long as the United States joins the anti-fascist alliance, the advantages of China and Germany will be lost. The present attitude of the United States is clearly inclined to ours, and they have rejected the envoys of China and Germany, but they have not rejected the representatives of Britain and France. ”

"Do you think the United States will join?" Stalin sat down at the table and asked in a deep voice.

"Yes! Definitely! ”

"And when are they going to join?"

"It depends on the attitude of Britain, although this country is crazy hostile to our Bolshevik system, but they are also definitely opposed to letting China and Germany dominate Eurasia, so they will definitely fight with China and Germany, and the relationship between the United States and Britain is very special, and sooner or later it will be involved. As long as we hold out until that day, we can be the victorious side in the war. ”

"Yes, to be the victorious side of the war." Stalin interrupted Molotov, "It's better than being the loser, but I'm afraid it will be difficult for the Soviet Union to recover, right?" ”

"Perhaps." Molotov agreed, "But it is certainly not only the Soviet Union that is the main thing, but the fascist countries of China and Germany are quite powerful, and most of the traitors of White Russia will be on their side." ”

"Otherwise, Mr. Aiden should go to Petersburg, right?" Stalin left his seat, stood up, walked to the huge map on the wall, and stared for a moment. The fascist camp is indeed very strong, you can see it by looking at the map, while the anti-fascist camp has only a small part of Western Europe, the British Isles, a string of islands in the East, and then there are large colonies. God knows whose side the peoples of these colonies will be on in the war? At this time, the corner of his eye suddenly swept to the "Far Eastern Socialist Republic" in the corner of the Asian continent, which is a country controlled by the Chinese GCD, although this Central G is currently clamoring to "oppose Stalinist revisionism" or something...... However, they are not in league with Chinese imperialism after all, and as the saying goes, the enemy of the enemy is a friend, and perhaps they can be drawn into the anti-fascist alliance. It seems necessary to send Dimitrov to Boli to have a good talk with those Chinese GCDs......

……

At this time, on the other side of the world, a joint meeting of the five ministers of the Cabinet and the General Staff (Military Command Department), which had been held for several days, finally made the decision to go to war against the United States. Japanese Prime Minister Fumihiro Konoe attacked to meet Emperor Hirohito, and Hirohito held the cabinet decision with a cloudy face, and Minister Kido had already reported to him about the fierce dispute that broke out at the cabinet meeting a few days ago.

"Do you have to go to war with the United States? Is the Cabinet sure? Hirohito put down the report and asked softly, but his tone was full of worry.

"Your Majesty, this is a decision made by the Cabinet and the General Staff (Military Command Department) after careful study, and the only way for Japan to reverse the unfavorable situation it is in now is to defeat the United States in a desperate battle! The Cabinet is absolutely sure of this. Konoe Fumiro said respectfully and firmly: "Your Majesty, the Imperial Army is unable to defeat the China Army, which has obvious advantages, so it is unrealistic to seek a new living space on the mainland, and the only way out is to advance south, and to advance south must defeat the United States!" ”

"Defeat the United States! Does the Empire have such power? If not a single China can be defeated, how can it defeat the United States? Hirohito asked again.

"Your Majesty, both the Army and the Navy believe that it is entirely possible to defeat the US Pacific Fleet and capture Hawaii! The United States is powerful, but it will take two or three years for their industrial power to be converted into military power, and the empire can use this time to turn Hawaii into an impregnable fortress. With the Hawaiian Fort, the Empire was able to keep the enemy in the eastern Pacific. ”

Hirohito thought for a moment: "But I heard that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is still in contact with Britain and France and is preparing to join the "Anti-Fascist Alliance" to jointly oppose China and Germany. Could it be that the Empire is going to war with the whole world at the same time? ”

During this time, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain sent Sir Halifax as a special envoy to Japan to try to persuade Japan to fight with Britain and France, and promised to hand over the entire Soviet Far East, Manchuria and Mongolia in China, and Taiwan to Japan after victory in the war. However, in the face of this alliance full of empty promises, Japan came up with a plan, and Matsuoka Yoyo came forward to negotiate with the British envoy. to paralyze Britain and the United States, and at the same time actively prepare to provoke a war with the United States.

At this time, the cabinet used a strategy to paralyze the United States, as we all know, Britain and the United States have a relatively close relationship, if the empire and Britain form an alliance, then the United States will not guard against the empire, which will be very beneficial to the empire's sneak attack plan, therefore, the cabinet proposed to conclude an "anti-fascist alliance" with Britain, but not to declare war on China and Germany for the time being...... This matter has been understood by China and Germany, and there is no need to worry about unnecessary trouble. "Konoe Fumiro simply laid out the deception plan drawn up by the cabinet and the base camp. He paused for a moment and added, "Once the war starts, the Empire will use the entire Combined Fleet and more than 150,000 attacking troops to land on the Hawaiian Islands, in order to completely seize the islands in the shortest possible time!" Your Majesty, this will be the decisive battle for the fate of the Empire. ”

Hirohito also nodded heavily, picked up the jade seal, and gently pressed it on top of the document.

And at the same time that Emperor Hirohito approved the start of the war against the United States, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoyoshi Matsuoka and the British Prime Minister's special envoy Edward . Negotiations between Halifax have finally reached an agreement. On October 15, 1938, Matsuoka and Halifax signed their names on behalf of their respective countries on a draft of the "Sino-British, French, Soviet and Anti-Fascist Declaration......

At this time, however, the Japanese Combined Fleet had already left Kagoshima and was on its way to the Kuril Islands.

Located between Japan and Siberia, the Kuril Islands are a 700-mile-long chain of volcanic rocks and a good secret streak. Seven Japanese aircraft carriers and five battleships quietly sailed into this area on the night of October 18, and with them a large number of cruisers, destroyers, oil tankers, supply ships, and troop carriers! With the exception of the officers and men on board and a few high-ranking Japanese officials, few people knew that the Japanese Combined Fleet had now been assembled to the Kuril Islands. And when the fleet set out for the east in the early hours of October 20, only a few fleet commanders knew where they were going and what they were doing.

The date of the final attack was chosen around November 15, 1938, almost three years earlier than in history, and the target changed from the warships of the Pacific Fleet to the American island of Hawaii! And this day is almost 1 month before the time when China and Germany will start a war! At this time, history will again develop in a direction that no one can imagine.

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