The Rise of the Third Reich

Maxim Maximovich Litvinov lived in London for a long time when he was young and married the daughter of a wealthy British Jewish businessman. Therefore, he was considered a "pro-British faction" within the Soviet Bolsheviks. When Stalin was preparing to move closer to the West, he would gain importance. When Stalin was preparing to unite Germany, he lost his position as People's Commissar of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and his status as member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

However, he was only "hidden" rather than "purged" because Stalin still had time to use him.

For example, today, September 3, 1939, he flew all the way from Moscow to London - as the secret envoy of the great leader of the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin.

On the way to Whitehall Street, Litvinov discovered that this city he was very familiar with was full of the smell of gunpowder. Although Britain has not yet declared war on Germany, everyone knows that war will break out soon, because London has begun to deploy air defense.

There were many white balloons floating in the gray sky. They were very big and very high and were tied to trucks on the ground with wire ropes. This is an anti-aircraft balloon. It would be terrible if a plane accidentally hits it. This kind of balloon can protect against low-altitude bombing by enemy aircraft.

Anti-aircraft gun positions are also being arranged. Old-fashioned 3-inch anti-aircraft guns have been set up in empty squares, and new 3.7-inch anti-aircraft guns have been set up in more important places such as airports and docks.

In addition, Litvinov also saw firefighters conducting drills, many buildings were being reinforced or demolished, and rice-shaped tapes were beginning to be put on the glass windows.

Apparently the British were very worried about their capital being bombed by German planes!

However, as far as Litvinov knows, the Germans currently have no plans to attack Britain. Their navy is too weak, and a war with Britain would mean that maritime traffic would be cut off. Therefore, the Germans' plan has always been to enlist the Soviet Union to deter Britain and France.

Therefore, London's air defense preparations can only mean one thing - Britain will soon declare war on Germany, and France will definitely follow suit.

The Polish-German War will soon turn into an inter-imperialist world war! The Soviet Union, a peace-loving socialist country, had absolutely no reason to intervene in imperialist wars. The purpose of the Soviet Union is only to recover the lands that originally belonged to the Soviet people, including Ukraine, the Baltics, Lithuania, and perhaps Finland...

"Mr. Minister," Litvinov met with the British Foreign Secretary Viscount Halifax in Whitehall Street. Litvinov showed the Soviet point of view without any concealment. He said, "I think you know this very well. The current Soviet-Polish border was imposed on the Soviet Union by Poland taking advantage of the Soviet-Russian civil war to launch a war of aggression. This is unacceptable to the 160 million Soviet people and must be carried out. correct!"

Viscount Halifax looked at the Soviet envoy who flew in from Moscow in a hurry - the secret envoy, and wondered about Stalin's intentions.

This Red Tsar is obviously more greedy and shameless than any Russian Tsar in history! The whole world knows that Germany is an ally of the Soviet Union, and the two countries have had a 20-year friendship. Without Germany's help, the Soviet Union would never have become the world's fourth (the British considered themselves the world's third) industrialized country in such a short period of time. Without the help of the Soviet Union, Germany would not have been able to build such a huge military force.

But now, facing the alliance between Britain, France and Poland, the communist tsar felt scared and wanted to betray Germany. It looked like the Germans were going to lose the war soon, they had no chance.

"This is indeed a mistake," Viscount Halifax said with a smile, "but any act to unilaterally change the status quo is also a huge mistake. As an ally of Poland, the UK will not sit idly by."

It’s a very strong statement!

Litvinov thought to himself: The casualties, losses and results announced by the Germans on September 2 seemed to be very accurate - this was also the opinion given to the political situation by the General Staff of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army after study.

The Germans deliberately exaggerated their victories and concealed their losses in order to prompt the Soviet Union to join the war as soon as possible.

"Didn't Poland's invasion unilaterally change the status quo?" Litvinov's tone has become serious. Although the political situation hopes to "peacefully recover" right-bank Ukraine, when there is little hope for "peaceful recovery", the use of force is an inevitable choice.

"The Soviet Union loves peace, but that does not mean that it will give up our land for peace!" Litvinov pointed out, "Poland is now being attacked by Germany, the Soviet ally. If the Soviet Union joins the war at this time and attacks with Germany, Then Poland’s demise is inevitable.”

"Poland will not perish!" said Viscount Halifax. "This is a brave nation, and it also has powerful allies like Britain and France. The alliance of Britain, France, Poland and possibly Italy is invincible. !”

Italian leader Mussolini gave a speech in Rome on the day Germany invaded Poland, condemning Germany's atrocities, expressing solidarity with the Polish people, and announcing in a high-profile manner that he would send 10 divisions to the German-Italian border.

Of course, the Italian leader was paid to speak eloquently for four hours from the balcony of Rome's Palazzo Venezia as four tankers laden with Iraqi oil headed for Italy through the Suez Canal. This Iraqi oil was given to the leader free of charge by the British government as payment for his speeches. It amounted to about 42,000 tons. The leader's appearance fee for one hour exceeds 10,000 tons of oil, which is quite expensive!

"The Soviet Union's sovereignty over right-bank Ukraine is indisputable," Litvinov said. "If we cannot achieve our goals through peaceful means, then the Soviet Red Army will liberate right-bank Ukraine! We will fight with our German allies, even if the opponent is Britain, France and Italy!”

It seems that the Soviets are determined to take over Ukraine on the right bank!

Viscount Halifax had figured out the Soviet Union's trump card, and his attitude immediately softened, "Mr. Special Envoy, we are only opposed to unilaterally changing the status quo by force, just like Germany's invasion of Poland. This is not allowed. But We have no objection to the Soviet Union gaining sovereignty over right-bank Ukraine through friendly negotiations with Poland.”

"Negotiation?" Litvinov asked, "When will it start and how long will it take?"

Viscount Halifax laughed, "Mr. Special Envoy, I don't know when we can talk or how long we need to talk. Because I am not the Polish Foreign Minister. But I can assure you that the Soviet Union can definitely achieve its goals through negotiations. "

Litvinov nodded, noncommittal.

Viscount Halifax added: "We need some time to convince Poland. I think the first round of negotiations can be held at Warsaw Castle on October 1." He paused, "Before that, I think the Soviet Union should Show full goodwill to Poland.”

"Goodwill?" Litvinov realized that Viscount Halifax wanted the Soviet Union and Germany to dissolve their alliance. He immediately shook his head, "There is no goodwill to be released to Poland! They are being attacked by Germany and they want to survive. We must make concessions to the Soviet Union! I hope that the mistakes regarding Right Bank Ukraine can be corrected before October 6.”

The last time given by the Bolshevik Party and Government of the Soviet Union to Poland was October 10, and the brilliant diplomat Litvinov blocked it for another four days. However, at this moment, he would never have thought that the negotiations on October 6 would not be held at all, because Warsaw had long been dominated by the Germans by then.

…

An hour after the meeting between Viscount Halifax and Litvinov ended, an ultimatum from the British Empire was placed in front of His Excellency Adolf Hitler, leader and chancellor of the German Empire.

The British Empire requires Germany to provide a guarantee of an armistice within 2 hours, otherwise Britain and Germany will be in a state of war!

The British Ambassador read out the ultimatum in front of Hitler, Hermann Goering, who was discussing the "Uranium Project Investment Plan" with Hitler in the Chancellery, and Foreign Minister Ribbentrop who accompanied the British Ambassador. Hitler's secretary Himid translated on the spot.

After reading out the ultimatum, the British ambassador nodded to Hitler very gentlemanly and walked away. Only the three "chief culprits", Hitler, Göring and Ribbentrop, were left stunned.

This time, unlike the military, which had long been prepared to go to war with Britain (actually things were a bit beyond the expectations of the military bosses, the Soviet Union, its ally for 20 years, actually betrayed Germany at a critical moment), Adolf Hitler has been fighting The idea of ​​avoiding war with Britain and France.

Because in his view, there is no endless conflict of interests between Germany and Britain - Germany is a continental country and Britain is a maritime country. Germany dominated Europe, and Britain dominated the oceans. Two countries that are very similar in blood can jointly dominate the world...

After an unknown amount of time, Goering was the first to come to his senses. He turned back and said to Hitler: "If we lose this war, then God, Britain, forgive us."

Hitler glanced at the fat man and said nothing. At this time, the phone on the desk rang. Himid picked up the receiver and heard the voice of Defense Minister Marshal Schleicher.

"Leader, it's the Secretary of Defense calling."

Hitler took the receiver and said: "Marshal, Britain has just submitted an ultimatum, and now we may have to go to war on two fronts!"

Marshal Schleicher on the other end of the phone was very calm, "Leader, I'm calling you exactly for this matter. The Wehrmacht hopes the government can immediately reject the ultimatum and declare war on Britain, so that we can defeat the British before dinner today." Britain."

"What?" Hitler was stunned for a moment, "Today before dinner? Marshal, are you kidding me?"

"No, of course not. 280 bombers and torpedo bombers (dozens fewer aircraft than originally planned due to unfinished production tasks and participation in the Polish operation) are already ready at the Wilhelmshaven Naval Airport. According to accurate information, The main force of the British Home Fleet is currently anchored in Scapa Flow, and if war is declared now, the British Home Fleet will be paralyzed in three hours!"