Standing on the balcony of the stone fort, Accardo silently looked up as the German fighter formations flew over the border, black clouds rising from the horizon and the rumble of artillery could be heard even to him.

The first phase of Operation Scythe begins. The military power of the coalition forces was comparable to that of Germany. Together with the country's reserves, Accardo called in a total of 2.7 million troops, which formed 137 divisions. In order to defend against these German divisions, the Allies also gathered a large number of combat troops - France mobilized 97 divisions, Britain used 15 divisions, Belgium 22, and the Netherlands 10. In other words, about 137 German divisions against 144 Allied divisions. The number of war weapons used by the two sides is also very close: in terms of artillery, the Allies have the advantage, France alone has 10,100 field guns, while Germany has 8,700, and the number of tanks on both sides is 3,100 against 2,600 for Germany, but German tanks are concentrated in 10 panzer divisions, and most of the Allied tanks are scattered among the various units.

Of course, the difference was even greater: almost all German tanks were equipped with radios, while only one-fifth of all the tanks of the Allied armies were equipped with communications equipment.

In the skies, the Luftwaffe under Accardo had a clear advantage, with the ratio of combat aircraft on both sides being about two to one: the Luftwaffe used 5,400 combat aircraft (including fighters and all others), while the Allied air forces had only 2,800 combat aircraft. What's more, even in terms of numbers, the German FW-190 and Stuka and DO-217 aircraft are much more advanced than the Allied air forces.

In terms of tactics and talent, as well as military discipline, the two opponents were equally indistinguishable. In contrast to the German Wehrmacht, which emphasized speed and mobility, the Anglo-French-Belgian coalition led by Gammelin adhered to the strategy and tactics left over from the First World War and maintained the basic style of strategic defense.

The Anglo-French-Belgian forces under the command of Gammelin hoped that the battle would be deadlocked, and the continuous investment of troops by both sides could not change the basic pattern of the defensive line. Then rely on the powerful naval power of the Anglo-French forces to blockade Germany, economically contain and weaken Germany, all the way to the destruction of Germany's war potential.

The commander of the Anglo-French army was arrogant, ignoring the victories already achieved by the Wehrmacht, and blindly believing that the Blitzkrieg would win the Polish on the Eastern Front, but not the French on the Western Front. Ganmarin himself had been the commander-in-chief of operations under Marne, Marshal Joseph Xiafei, so his ideas convinced many people of this rhetoric.

These generals were still convinced that the French were in possession, as Gammelin said in an interview on New Year's Day in 1938: "None of the German generals who were so famous in the period from 1914 to 1918 now hold important posts in the Wehrmacht." So the Wehrmacht had little experience to talk about. ”

In fact, on the contrary, the ranks of officers of the German army were filled with young blood, who were convinced of the correctness of the blitzkrieg and unswervingly carried out the battle plan drawn up for them by the Führer. And the fighting spirit of the French officers seems to have disappeared long ago because of the "Verdun panic".

"Accardo, it's windy outside, so let's come in. "When no one is around, Anna likes to call the man she loves by his first name, not "my Führer", as the whole of Germany calls him. She put down the lunch she had brought in, then walked behind Accardo and put her arm around Accardo's waist.

"Anna, do you think I'm right or wrong to do this?" Accardo didn't look back, but asked in a low voice as he looked at the black plume of smoke rising from the sky.

"What are you referring to?" Anna leaned her face against Accardo's back, which was not broad, or even a little thin, but Anna felt that it was strong and strong.

"For the sake of the people of my country, I have robbed other people's property, destroyed other people's homes, killed husbands, imprisoned wives, and enslaved children. Accardo looked into the distance expressionlessly: "You know that in the report just sent, more than 30,000 elderly people died in Poland this winter, and their children could not go to school, so they could only work in concentration camps to survive. I am afraid that in their hearts I am not a great Führer, but a demon who eats people's hearts. ”

"Then Accardo. Do you think Charlemagne was a great man?" asked Anna after a moment's thought.

"Sort of a great man. Accardo nodded.

"So, do you think Napoleon was a great man?" asked Anna again.

Accardo thought for a moment and nodded again: "He's also a great person. ”

"When a man opens up territory for his country, he will always make people in other countries hate him. There's really only one thing you have to do. Anna continued.

"You're really comforting, Anna. Accardo smiled, then turned around, put his hand on Anna's slender waist, and walked into the room with his arms around her, "Tell me, what am I going to do?"

"What you have to do is very simple and very difficult. Anna replied as she followed Accardo inside, "Lead us to victory! Only by continuing to win can this nation always love you and always regard you as a god." ”

What if he loses? Accardo didn't ask. Yes, if they lose, all the previous efforts will be in vain: the occupied lands will be taken away, the plundered resources will be taken away, and in the end the German people will get nothing but the misery of war, so they will hate the name Accardor as much as they hate Hitler.

What if he loses? The beautiful woman around him may only follow him to shoot himself in the dark basement, and all those infinite reveries about the future will no longer exist, and the Third Reich will be torn apart by the Allied planes and tanks, and it will be decades before the unification of the smaller half of the territory is completed.

It turns out that it's not easy to be a demon, Accardo thought bitterly in his heart. If you are a passive counterattack, you will be a national hero after victory, and you will be lonely and proud if you fail, but if you start a war first, you will be a messenger of the devil after victory, and if you lose, you will be a war criminal who will be cut by a thousand cuts......

"Accardo, let's eat. Anna smiled sweetly: "No matter if you take me to victory or ruin, I will follow you firmly, don't worry." ”

"Thank you. "Accardo suddenly remembered Mercedes, remembered Fanny. Presumably they will follow themselves to the end of the world, whether it is an abyss without sight or a muddy swamp full of thorns, they will follow them, right?

Mercedes had found several munitions contractors to be shoddy, so they hurried south to Munich before Accardo left for the Stone Castle. She assured Accardo that the incident would be resolved by the end of the month.

Fanny was even busier, touting the Führer's revenge on France, ensuring that the people believed that Germany could defeat France as easily as Germany could defeat Poland. She hadn't slept enough these days, so she refused to see Accardo. She said that she would wait until Accardo had won victory in Paris before she would refresh herself to meet him.

After cleaning up his mood, Accardo felt that it was immoral to think about another woman in front of one woman, so he smiled apologetically at Anna, and then very gentlemanly helped Anna pull out the chair.

It wasn't a sumptuous meal at noon, but in a war-ready country like Germany, it was a good meal: fried eggs, beef and sausages, real butter and bread. However, compared to other countries, the head of state can be described as frugal when eating such a lunch.

In the past two years, Germany has destroyed many wineries to grow food and develop animal husbandry, so it is difficult to find German 1936 wine on the market. Most of the German wine is now made from Hungary, Polish seizures, Italy and France.

Accardo walked to the side of the wine cabinet, opened the window above, took out a bottle of local German wine from 1935, walked over to Anna, poured a glass for the lady who loved him dearly, and then went to his seat and poured himself a glass. Then he put the wine aside, pulled out a stool and sat down across from Anna.

"Eat, or it'll be cold. Accardo picked up his knife and fork and pointed to the butter in front of him with his fork: "Let's use margarine tomorrow, after all, the people are also suffering." ”

Anna smiled and nodded, she knew that the man she loved was excellent, he loved the country deeply, and he was worth hundreds of millions but he was more enthusiastic about sharing weal and woe with the people. He is a gift from God to the German people, and even if there is only one such person, it is a blessing for the whole nation.

After eating a few bites of lunch silently, Accardo suddenly thought of something and raised his head: "Don't think I'm verbose, in fact, I know that because of the war I started, many German people still don't have enough food and clothing, and we can make them all better off if we are frugal." ”

Anna nodded happily: "Got it, I'll ask the kitchen to make less next time." ”

The campfire inside the fireplace was beating, bringing warmth to the living room of the entire stone castle. And 40 kilometers from here, the German infantry was struggling to make their way through the muddy snow. They staggered through the slippery and filthy woodland, spitting hot air in their mouths and holding cold compressed biscuits, walking and walking in order to keep up with the armored forces in front of them.

An off-road vehicle slowly moved forward in the crowd, and the German officer in the car was wrapped in a thick coat and shrunk into his seat, looking at the clear sky, exhaling hot air and complaining: "In this weather, there should be a fireplace, and there should be a fire in it, and you can drink a glass of wine...... As a result, as soon as the Führer gave the order, we all rolled over to fight. ”

"There is a fireplace in Paris, and women and perfumes, good wine and coffee. The general next to him sat in the car and frowned, glaring at the complaining adjutant: "But you have to let these soldiers go quickly." ”