November 19, 1939
Kassel, 9th Military District, Central Germany, and Frankfurt, the capital of the New Governnt The fourth day since the operation began, disguised as a departure ceremony.
The speech we poured our hearts and souls into writing seed to have a greater effect than initially expected.
The Abwehr reported that the Wehrmacht had all but lost its will to fight.
It was a relief, as a Wehrmacht with low morale would surrender that much more easily.
Although I had practically started this civil war myself and was resolved to accept the sacrifices, it was, of course, better to have as few unnecessary sacrifices as possible.
I especially hoped for the surrender of the personnel who were a burden on my mind—Model, Richthofen, Klens, and Michael—but there was no such news yet.
The offensive planned by Manstein was proceeding very smoothly. At least, according to Manstein, the enemy seed not to have noticed our intention.
Despite it being his first ti operating an armored unit, General Hamrstein succeeded in luring out the enemy's main armored unit with few losses, and General Lutz was making a rapid advance past Dresden.
On top of that, with the 4th Army of Army Group North defecting to our side, Berlin was even halfway to being encircled.
"I wish it would just end like this, but things are going so smoothly that it's actually making
worried."
The obsession that I must end the civil war quickly and with few casualties resurfaced whenever I tried to forget it.
No matter how much we tried to hush things up with a dia war, or how smoothly the operation proceeded, sacrifices would continue to pile up even as I sat here comfortably.
The Nazis had almost no cards left to play.
The problem was the Luftwaffe, but since there was nothing we could do about them, there was a limit to our response.
All I could do was hope that Richthofen wasn't crazy enough to drop incendiary bombs on the heads of defenseless German people.
Though it was true he was a Bombing Maniac and quite broken in the ethics departnt, he was at least a patriot and a man with a great attachnt to the Luftwaffe.
I was holding onto the hope that he wouldn't massacre the German people in a war that was already lost, nor drag his subordinates down as war criminals.
"Don't say such worrying things. More importantly, you've beco quite the celebrity, Vice Minister."
Claudia smiled softly at my monologue and handed
the telegrams that had arrived for .
"Ah, thank you, Aide."
Until just this August, I was a re Captain, and now in that short ti, I was in a position to receive telegrams sent directly from major figures of other countries as a high-ranking official of the new governnt.
Thinking back, it had only been two months and fifteen days since the start of Operation Widerstand. They were intense days, like walking on thin ice.
The problem was that my reward for it was a teoric rise that was almost embarrassing. The departure ceremony speech drew a better-than-expected reaction dostically, but it also seed to have garnered considerable attention overseas.
[I heard about you from Crown Prince Louis Ferdinand, Vice Minister, but that was a far more impressive speech than I had expected. I would like to et you if the opportunity arises.
I hope your nation's struggle to overthrow the dictator and win freedom will bear fruit in the near future.]
This was from FDR, President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
When I first fell into this era, I never even imagined I would receive sothing like this from that famous Arican president.
I knew the sheer scale of Arica's national power, and since they were a major exporting country of oil, which Germany lacked most, it was best to be on good terms with them.
I'm glad that thanks to the Crown Prince and my speech, I seem to have made a good first impression.
The problem was, now that things had turned out this way, there was no way of knowing how Arica would move in the future.
The sleeping giant, Arica, began to awaken as the Arsenal of Democracy while watching Hitler and the Axis powers sweep across all of Europe, and it fully joined the Allied Forces after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
But by ousting Hitler, I now had no clue how Arica, with its imnse national power, would act from now on.
This was a matter for consultation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but compared to Britain and France, whose moves could be roughly predicted based on their interests in Europe, Arica was a truly uncertain variable—and far too large a variable to leave uncertain.
Take the attack on Pearl Harbor, for instance.
The great performance shown by Hitler and the Axis powers on the European front must have had no small influence on the Empire of Japan's decision to launch the attack.
But now, Nazi Germany, the core of the Axis powers, was facing its demise before the Axis had even been ford.
The current situation was that I couldn't even predict how the Empire of Japan would move.
Of course, whatever the Empire of Japan did, I had no intention of just leaving them and their colony, Korea, alone.
Fortunately, my father, Hjalmar Schacht, and Falkenhausen, who was currently in Germany, had connections with high-ranking officials in the Republic of China who were in touch with the Independence Army.
However, since we've adopted democracy as our ideology, the fact that we have to act by ans that the people can assent to is giving
a headache.
Right now, I hold the official title of Vice Minister of the Chancellery, which doesn't suit my age, but this is only due to Wilhelm III's sponsorship filled with selfish motives and the special characteristic of being an ergency warti cabinet.
If we truly wish to build a democratic nation, this is the first position that must be abolished as soon as the war is over.
There are really too many things to think about.
[You landed a fine blow on that bastard Hitler, Vice Minister.
You're better than the politicians of the so-called democratic nations.]
Still, amid my throbbing headache, the telegram from Churchill made
chuckle.
It was so like Churchill that I had nothing to say.
Besides that, I was quite pleased to receive telegrams from various other countries, especially from President Ky??sti Kallio of Finland, expressing deep gratitude and pledging that Finland too would wage a resolute resistance.
I don't know when the Winter War will break out, but it must be in the near future. It would be better if it was after our civil war ends, if possible—
"The problem is this one, I suppose."
The contents of the telegrams from Britain and France, sent not to
as an individual but to the new governnt's side, were coincidentally almost identical.
I don't know if they coordinated or not, but they were full of flowery language, wishing us good luck in our resistance against the fascists, and hoping for a swift resolution to the establishnt of democracy and the issue of 'other countries' under German rule after the end of the civil war.
As for the establishnt of democracy, whether they are concerned or not, it's just a matter of holding an election after the civil war ends.
In any case, the core parties of the Weimar era—the Centre Party, the Social Democratic Party, and the Free Democratic Party—seem to be preparing for their re-formation in preparation for the election.
The problem is the 'other countries' part.
Internally, there are quite a few officials who wish for the continuation of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, but Czechoslovakia is not a land we should keep. The mont we declare our intention to keep it, the favorable public opinion of the international community toward our new governnt will turn against us in an instant.
But it would also be a problem to be seen as surrendering to pressure from Britain and France and giving it up with nothing in return. Therefore, the mont the civil war ends is when the new governnt—no, the new Germany—will truly be put on the testing ground.
Even if we succeed in ousting Hitler, it's not like those devoted to Nazism will all disappear in an instant, and the eastern region of Austria still remains Nazi territory.
In any case, they don't have enough influence to incite the Austrian residents to attack us, and we're too busy stopping Italy to stir up a hornet's nest, so we're just leaving it alone for now.
Although Italy may have shown unseemly behavior, they are still one of the Great Powers. Rather than their total capacity being that low, it was a favorable factor for us that they thought entering Austria would be too easy and pushed in without proper preparation.
"To think that there are so many problems piled up even when things are going well according to plan… we really did a precarious tightrope walk."
"Why the surprise? Didn't you know what you were getting into?"
I burst out laughing at Claudia's words and got up from my seat.
Today, I have to move with His Majesty the Emperor, whom I can't stand.
We were scheduled to visit the Kriegsmarine (the German Navy), which had been pretending to be neutral in na only, to receive their formal pledge of loyalty to the Emperor.
"Pray that I don't get indigestion, Aide."
"Hmm, I don't think praying will help. Good luck, Vice Minister. Have a safe trip."
Claudia, who was reading today's newspaper, looked up at my words and replied with a teasing air.
"And here you were telling
not to say worrying things…"
My brow furrowed on its own. She's rciless.
-
November 19, 1939
Tyrol, Southern Austria, Headquarters of the Italian Invasion Force of Germany Having ambitiously declared war on the new German governnt, Mussolini was enraged by the news that his 'Iron Army' was suffering a crushing defeat not even by the new governnt's National Defense Force, but by the likes of the Austrian Border Guard, and began to pour all of Italy's military power in the direction of Germany.
A full month and a half after the very first battle started, the Italian Army had finally finished gathering all the troops needed for the German offensive and completed its preparation for a general offensive.
In effect, Italy had assembled all of its available military power.
"Field Marshal Italo Balbo, I deeply regret that it has co to this. The Duce desires a clear result before Hitler's defeat and has unavoidably ordered a replacent of the commander."
Dismissed before the offensive had even begun, Italo Balbo's shoulders slumped wretchedly before Field Marshal Rodolfo Graziani, who had co from the ho country, making his Field Marshal rank insignia seem aningless.
"I have shown unseemly behavior in my latter years…"
Graziani said nothing, and Field Marshal Balbo looked at him quietly before speaking weakly.
"I wish you well in your hard fight. They are not to be underestimated."
The Austrian Border Guard, long garrisoned in the border area of the Alps Mountains and familiar with the mountainous area, and the Austrian volunteer soldiers who rushed to defend their hotown and fatherland, had put up a fierce resistance under the command of General Karl Eglseer, routing the Italian Army.
Furthermore, the morale of the National Defense Force dispatched by the new governnt from the German mainland was incomparably higher than that of the Italian Army, and even the equipnt superiority they possessed was rendered useless thanks to the Alps Mountains.
"Do not worry. The Duce ordered
to take Tyrol by any ans necessary, and I, of course, will do so."
"…I wish you good luck."
At Graziani's words, which sounded almost arrogant, Balbo gave a short reply and left the command room to return to his ho country.
Watching the scene with a bitter expression, the Deputy Commander of the Italian Invasion Force of Germany, Giovanni sse, rendered a salute to the new commander, Rodolfo Graziani, who had replaced Italo Balbo.
Graziani gave a cursory return salute to sse and walked over to the commander's seat, plopping down.
"With all due respect, Your Excellency, the situation of our forces engaged in the offensive is serious. The Duce has ordered the fall of Tyrol, but with winter approaching, continuing a reckless offensive is… even if the newly assembled units are fine, the state of the other units is…"
At sse's words, Graziani gave a faint smile.
"Ah, don't worry too much about that, Deputy Commander."
"Pardon?"
Graziani looked at sse and smiled, showing his white teeth.
"We will get our hands on Tyrol. After all, the Duce never said we had to leave it intact, did he?"
"W-What do you an by that…"
Whether Giovanni sse was flustered or not, Graziani grinned and said.
"I hear they still don't have a proper Air Force, right? Let's scramble the entire Air Force and burn it all down. All of it."
Looking at the speechless sse, Graziani smiled once more.
"The Duce will, of course, get his hands on Tyrol. Well, I don't know how many people will be left there, though."
The Devil of Italy, Rodolfo Graziani, who had annihilated Ethiopia, began to extend his evil hand toward Austria.
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