< World War II - Waves of Steel (1) >
June 28, 1940
Berlin, Northern Germany – Governnt Building As Dietrich Schacht and his aide, Claudia Schacht, got out of the car and were about to enter the Governnt Building, a swarm of reporters followed them.
“Vice-Chancellor Schacht, a word please!”
“Vice-Chancellor! When does Germany plan to declare war on France and the Soviet Union?”
As the bodyguards naturally restrained them, a reporter from the Frankfurter Zeitung asked a question.
“Your speech may have reduced the anti-war protests, but conflicts are arising between those who still oppose the war and those who denounce them as cowardly traitors. What are your thoughts on this!”
Dietrich Schacht, who had been walking toward the building, turned around at the last question and opened his mouth.
“The very people who can still oppose the war now are the ones absolutely necessary for Germany to establish democracy in the future. Do not think of them as enemies just because they have different thoughts.
They are neither traitors nor cowards. They are free German citizens with the courage to speak their convictions.”
While the reporters scribbled furiously, Dietrich Schacht gave a slight smile to the reporter who had asked the question and added.
“No matter what I or anyone else in the governnt says, do not follow blindly.
I am proud of the current situation where my fellow citizens and I are grappling with these issues.”
Dietrich Schacht turned his back after those words, but the reporter who had asked the question just stood there blankly.
He only started writing after Claudia, who was once his senior, gave a faint smile and followed the Vice-Chancellor inside.
-
“Participation in the anti-war protests has decreased significantly, and thanks to that, the factory operation rate has recovered.”
At the statent from Minister of Labor Kurt Schumacher, the governnt officials looked at
as if they were seeing sothing truly remarkable.
This feels very strange.
“It's a remarkable effect in a short ti, but that doesn't an there's no opposition.”
The Minister of Propaganda, Theodor Heuss, forrly the editor-in-chief of the Frankfurter Zeitung's Berlin branch, spoke with a complicated expression.
He was a mber of parliant who had seen the Weimar Republic fall, incited by Hitler, and had worked as a freelance journalist against the Nazis.
It seed he couldn't be purely happy that public opinion had changed so much with just one speech from .
To be honest, even I, the one who gave it, am half-overwheld and half-concerned, so it goes without saying for him.
“Well, if the Vice-Chancellor has done this much, shouldn't we do sothing too?”
The words themselves sound grateful, but the fact that the speaker is my father with that rotten smile makes
uneasy…
“Statents of support for the Vice-Chancellor's speech have arrived from Arican President FDR, British Pri Minister Winston Churchill, Finnish President Ky??sti Kallio, Polish Inspector General W??adys??aw Sikorski, and Generalissimo Jiang Jieshi of the Republic of China.”
Foreign Minister Weizs??cker spoke, and beside him, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Erich Kordt added.
“This is unofficial, but President FDR has requested that we help Britain, stating that he will seriously push for aid after the November 5th election.
If he's elected this ti, it'll be his third term. That's so incredible confidence.”
I felt a great sense of relief. Arica, Arican support.
There are still five months to go, so it's a long way off and not yet confird, but it gives
hope. It feels like all my diplomatic and political efforts are finally bearing fruit.
“Excellent. International support will be very useful for public relations, won't it?”
Receiving my father's gaze, Minister of Propaganda Theodor Heuss nodded.
“Then the Ministry of Propaganda will make the most of the opportunity the Vice-Chancellor has given us.”
It's impossible to win nationwide support with a single speech from a re individual, and it shouldn't be.
The seed has been sown; the rest must be left to the Ministry of Propaganda.
No matter what choice is made, not all citizens can be satisfied.
As a governnt, we must proceed with the war while hiding as few facts as possible, explaining, and persuading.
In the end, we will have to go to war with France and the Soviet Union, but we must also embrace the voices of the citizens who oppose it.
That is what we must naturally endure as a democratic nation.
Nevertheless, if our choice is not understood by the people, then we will have to take responsibility for the decisions we made as politicians.
“For now, we will further strengthen our provision of munitions to Poland and Finland. Before the Soviet Union's offensive preparations are complete, we'll decisively neutralize Italy and turn public opinion to decide on entering the war.”
Hearing my words, my father nodded.
“It seems Britain is in a real hurry.
If we just enter the war, it'll ease our budget worries considerably.”
Britain has the budget secured by Halifax through disarmant, but with the fire at their feet, they've asked for our help to buy ti for rearmant, promising to support our war funds if we join.
Just like Winston Churchill not to hesitate in pouring resources into a war. It would be great if he just avoids his characteristic military blunders.
“There are still no signs from within France of sending troops to Italy.”
Abwehr Director Canaris reported.
Whether the rumor of them entering the war was a ploy to stop us from doing the sa, or a governnt mistake, is still unknown, but France has yet to show any signs of intervening on the Italian front, even though they have an alliance with them.
Whether it's to avoid provoking us, or a problem between them—
They will have to pay a heavy price.
“Preparations for Operation Adler (Eagle) are complete. The expansion of air force bases in the Tyrol region and the deploynt of all units to the Italian front are finished, so we can comnce at once if you give the order.”
At the words of Minister of Defense Field Marshal Ludwig Beck, my father spoke with his characteristically unpleasant smile.
“The best way to raise support for the war is victory.
Let's see if France can stand by and do nothing while the Italian army gets shattered to pieces.”
The anti-war sentint has been significantly hushed up.
If we now inflict a serious blow on Italy, support for the war within Germany will rise, and France will have a fire at its feet.
We have to wait until General Roml's troops finish moving and complete their preparations anyway, so we'll strike Italy first.
If France is forced to show support for Italy, we can imdiately declare war on them.
…This is all fine, but.
Sohow, it feels like we're the villains, Father.
-
June 28, 1940
Moscow, Capital of the Soviet Union Stalin didn't hide his displeased face, and those present with him swallowed dryly with tension.
“Our air force, it's that inferior?”
“Regrettably, yes, Comrade General Secretary.”
At the report delivered with a grim face by Georgy Zhukov, Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army, Stalin furrowed his brow.
At the start of the Spanish Civil War and the Winter War, the Soviet Union had not been very worried about its air force.
The Soviet Union's first monoplane, the I-16, had been responsible for the Republican faction's air superiority in the early Spanish Civil War.
There were reports that it was later pushed back by the new Bf109 fighters committed by the German Army, but since the Soviet Union was also developing new aircraft, it wasn't taken seriously.
In the early Winter War, the skies over Finland belonged to the Soviets, and they could deliver 'Molotov's bread baskets' as they pleased.
In the initial battles with Poland, the Polish Air Force, already depleted from its war with Germany, was at an overwhelming disadvantage against the Soviet Air Force.
Thanks to the prolonged Winter War, unlike in the original history, Arican F2A Buffalos arrived in Finland, and the Soviet Air Force in the Finnish direction began to suffer attrition, but Stalin didn't pay much mind to it.
However, the situation changed when Germany, having finished its war with Poland, began to seriously supply both nations with munitions.
“I am sorry to have to say this, but the German-made Bf109 fighter is superior to any current Soviet fighter.”
The Bf109, which had seen great performance since the Spanish Civil War, was being churned out like mad from an optimized military production line, unlike that of the Nazis, and was being provided directly to Finland and Poland.
The latent power of the Polish and Finnish air force pilots, which couldn't be seen when they were being crushed by quantity and quality of aircraft, began to show its true worth when they were given the Bf109.
The Bf109s, piloted by the excellent pilots of Poland and Finland, overwheld not only the already obsolete I-16 but also the Yak-1, the new model the Soviet Union had ambitiously developed.
Once air superiority was lost, the artillery could no longer fire at will, and once the artillery couldn't fire at will, the superiority of the Soviet Union's heavy equipnt also faded.
Even the heavy equipnt that Poland and Finland had been lacking was slowly being supplented by the tank destroyers, field guns, and 88mm anti-aircraft guns that Germany was persistently sending.
“Damn it, are those German bastards giving away all the equipnt they should be using themselves, just to make others bleed for them!”
Stalin erupted in resentnt.
There was a reason Stalin hadn't hesitated to imdiately grasp the hand offered by French Pri Minister La Rocque.
The war the Soviet Union was currently waging was, in fact, not a war against Poland and Finland.
A significant portion of the weapons in their hands was being produced by Germany's munitions factories, and this was already a prelude to the German-Soviet War.
“Start the offensive at once! Aren't those damn Germans laughing at us while hiding behind Poland and Finland!”
“But Comrade General Secretary, our army is not yet ready.
We have deployed troops who haven't even completed proper basic training to et France's demands, and because we've deployed too many troops inside the Polish border, equipnt provision is incomplete and supply problems are incessant.”
It was manageable when fighting a war with Finland, right next to Leningrad.
In the original history, when the Soviet Army was fighting in Poland, they had already beco elite after gaining much experience in the hellish German-Soviet War, and their deficiencies were being filled by Arica's Lend-Lease.
But the current Soviet Army was going through all that trial and error with the aftereffects of the Great Purge still lingering, and as they tried to operate a large force with an already insufficient officer corps and supply capability, countless problems erupted.
“No matter how many of the people you have to sacrifice, solve the problem. What I want is to crush Poland and Finland and land a blow on that damn Germany!”
Zhukov suppressed the urge to click his tongue and replied.
“We will begin the offensive as soon as we are ready, Comrade General Secretary.”
“Plan to take Warsaw within July.”
Zhukov couldn't bring himself to answer Stalin's words. The Soviet Union's capability and its potential were certainly powerful.
This was rely the process of overcoming the aftereffects of the Great Purge and awakening its dormant latent power.
However, Stalin's impatience, just as in the German-Soviet War of the original history, was forcing unnecessary damage on the Soviet Union.
Of course, Stalin's impatience was not entirely without reason.
“Those damn Germans must be weak in their holand defense from giving so much to Poland and Finland.
If we crush Poland before they can make Italy surrender, we can violate them with France on a two-front war.”
Considering the German munitions pouring into Poland and Finland, Stalin's thinking was not unreasonable, but unfortunately, the industrial capacity of the German Fourth Reich far exceeded their predictions.
The Nazi Germany of the original history had conquered almost all of Europe, but due to the corruption and inefficient administration characteristic of the Nazis, plus the trendous backlash from the occupied territories, they failed to properly utilize that capability.
But the Fourth Reich minimized corruption and inefficiency in its administration and drastically cut unnecessary products to significantly boost productivity.
Furthermore, compared to Nazi Germany, which had mobilized 3 million troops for the invasion of France at the sa ti, the Fourth Reich had so far only mobilized 2 million.
Nazi Germany of the original history had mobilized so many troops that they forced foreigners and Jews in occupied territories into forced labor in factories, and they worked reluctantly, frequently engaging in strikes and sabotage.
Thanks to that, the Nazis had to split their already insufficient military force to maintain public security, and even then, they repeated a vicious cycle by committing considerable manpower to the Holocaust.
On the other hand, the 1 million difference not conscripted by the Fourth Reich left a sufficient number of key personnel like skilled factory workers, and those skilled workers taught their know-how to the won who filled the vacancies of the conscripted laborers, minimizing the loss of industrial capability.
The efficiently working German laborers were also the primary agents of economic activity, and their economic activities and much better diplomatic situation had solved the chronic problems of funding and resource shortages that the Nazis had suffered.
As a result, the current military production of the Fourth Reich, even without the Czech Republic, was not at all inferior compared to the Nazi Germany that had conquered all of Europe, let alone the one after the annexation of the Czech Republic.
“Don't worry too much, Comrade General Secretary. We hear that Germany is suffering from anti-war sentint and strikes due to the success of the NKVD's operation.
Those weak democrats won't be able to take the initiative for war in such a situation, so we just need to quickly plan for Poland.”
The sudden rise of anti-war sentint and large-scale protests in Germany, tid almost perfectly with France's surprise invasion and the Soviet Union's preparations to invade Poland, was an operation carefully prepared by the NKVD.
“Ahem, the NKVD at least does its job properly. The Red Army should do its job properly, too.”
Zhukov felt a surge of anger at the sight of the smugly smiling Beria and Stalin's disapproving gaze, but he could only grit his teeth and endure it.
Of course, Beria could afford to smile now only because the unbelievable report that the NKVD's elaborate operation had been shattered by a single speech had not yet arrived.
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