The Rise of the Third Reich

On September 4, 1939, although the Royal Navy suffered a catastrophic defeat the day before, the British Isles were immersed in excitement and joy on this day. Because all the newspapers used bold and enlarged black letters to announce the two great news.

The first good news was that the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy taught the German aircraft that came to attack Scapa Flow a lesson, shooting down 132 aircraft, capturing 18 pilots, and 11 German aircraft made an emergency landing in Norway.

The second good news is: at 9 pm on September 3, the American passenger ship "Athena" carrying more than 1,000 passengers was sunk by a German submarine in the northwest waters of Ireland!

Is the sinking of an American passenger ship also good news? It depends on who it is for. It is definitely not good news for the United States, but it is also bad news for Germany, because the sinking of the American passenger liner is likely to become an excuse for the United States to intervene in the European war. However, for Britain, the United States' participation in the war undoubtedly meant the inevitable victory of the war.

Therefore, in the major British newspapers on September 4, the "Athena Incident" occupied a larger page than the "Victory of Scapa Flow", and it was further forward.

"The cruelty and shamelessness of the Germans were once again demonstrated in the sinking of the Athena!" British Foreign Secretary Viscount Halifax said to the Soviet envoy Litvinov who visited Whitehall Street. "They sank the passenger liner. , but I dare not admit it! This is the behavior of a coward, and a coward...cannot win the war!"

"Of course they can't admit it," Litvinov shrugged, "but the Americans will not declare war on Germany because a passenger ship was sunk. After all, the passengers on the ship were rescued."

This was a fly in the ointment. The "Athena" was hit on the stern by a German torpedo, the power cabin was flooded, and the main engine was destroyed, but it did not sink immediately. Moreover, there were many passing merchant ships and oil tankers nearby. They quickly rushed to the rescue and rescued most of the passengers. For the United States, the loss was nothing more than a passenger ship worth several million dollars. Even if President Roosevelt wanted to go to war again, he could not declare war for this reason. After all, isolationism and anti-war sentiment in the United States are still very high.

"Actually, we don't need the United States to join the war," Viscount Halifax smiled and said, "because we, France and Poland will soon defeat the Germans! Their air force just encountered an enemy in Scapa Flow Heavy damage."

A stack of black-and-white photos that had just been developed were handed to Litvinov. The photos were all about the wreckage of German aircraft and captured German pilots or German pilots who died in battle.

"We shot down more than a hundred German planes, and 11 planes made an emergency landing in Norway, and some planes crashed at sea." Viscount Halifax said with a relaxed face, "They lost planes and pilots Accounting for more than 5% of the total number of aircraft owned by Germany, plus their losses in Poland in the past few days, the Germans lost 10% of their aircraft and pilots in just three days.”

"What about your losses?"

"A battleship and a large training ship were sunk, and three aircraft carriers and a battlecruiser were severely damaged." Viscount Halifax smiled bitterly, "This is a military secret and cannot be disclosed to the outside world."

He looked at Litvinov, "The Germans actually did a good job, but we still have 15 battleships and battlecruisers available... This does not include the French battleships and battlecruisers. The Germans only have two. Battleships can be used, and the balance of power at sea will not change at all because of this air strike. "

"But three of your aircraft carriers were severely damaged," Litvinov said. "If I remember correctly, you only have seven aircraft carriers."

"Aircraft carrier?" Viscount Halifax smiled, "Find some merchant ships, like the 'Athena', dismantle the superstructure and put on the flight deck, then it will be an aircraft carrier. The Navy Department decided to start modification work last night 20 aircraft carriers can be completed in a few months at most.”

What can be completed in a few months at most is an escort aircraft carrier that can only run a dozen knots at the fastest. On the night of the "Scapa Flow Air Raid", a cabinet meeting held at the Admiralty decided to immediately refit 20 escort aircraft carriers for future Atlantic escort.

Because members of the British cabinet have realized that Britain no longer has the power to stop the German break-up fleet with the "Scharnhorst" class and "Seidlitz" class as the core from entering the Atlantic Ocean!

To maintain British maritime transportation when the German break-up fleet entered the Atlantic Ocean, the only way was to send out an escort fleet composed of battleships and escort aircraft carriers to protect the transport convoy throughout the entire process. For the British Royal Navy, such a task is not only dangerous, but also extremely onerous. For this reason, the number of ships in the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean must also be reduced...

However, Viscount Halifax would not truthfully tell the Soviet envoy the difficulties faced by Britain. Now Britain must pretend to be a winner and show aggressiveness.

The Viscount said: "But I doubt whether the Royal Navy can really use those aircraft carriers, because the Germans will probably not insist on the completion of those aircraft carriers."

"Really?" Litvinov asked noncommittally.

"Yes," Viscount Halifax said, "I will reveal to you some more military secrets. The French will soon launch an attack on the Western Front. Now the German troops are concentrated on the Eastern Front. Their Western Front The line is so empty, as long as the French are determined, they can break through the Siegfried Line, so that the Rhineland will be occupied by France, Germany will lose the war, and the brave Poles will launch a counterattack on the Eastern Front at the same time. , to contain the main force of the German army."

Litvinov asked: "When will the counterattack begin?"

Stalin needed to know the exact time - not to alert the Germans, but to observe the situation...if the French and Polish counterattacks were decisively successful. Then the Soviet Union can only temporarily forget Comrade Lenin's will.

But if France and Poland's counterattacks are ineffective, then sorry, the Soviet Union will submit an ultimatum to the Polish government.

"Before the end of September, the Germans will once again taste a disastrous defeat!" Viscount Halifax replied.

…

"End of September?"

In the Kremlin, on Joseph Stalin's desk were photos of the air raid on Scapa Flow that had just been sent by "air express" from Germany.

Of course, the photos above all show British ships burning and sinking! At the same time that Britain announced its victory, Germany also announced its results: three British aircraft carriers were sunk, two battleships were sunk, three battleships were severely damaged, and five cruisers were sunk.

Every victory is evidenced by at least 3 different photos!

Now Stalin has seen these photos, but he doesn't know whether they are true or false.

People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Molotov was now sitting across from Stalin's desk. In addition to these photos, he also brought Litvinov's secret message.

In the telegram, Litvinov reported the rescue situation of the "Athena" passenger ship and the counterattack plans of Britain, France and Poland.

"Do the British want us to sit still until the end of September?" Stalin said while stuffing tobacco into his pipe.

"Comrade General Secretary, I think this is what they plan to do," Molotov said. "If their counterattack is ineffective, the move to regain Ukraine on the right bank may be..."

"Will it work?" Stalin shook his head. "In the Maritime Province of Poland, the German armored forces have crossed the Vistula River, and at the same time, a German army has entered the city of Danze. The Poles fought hard Oops, that’s for sure.”

"But the French offensive may be successful!" Molotov reminded, "In this way, the war on the Western Front will continue for a long time."

"That's for sure!" Stalin lit his pipe and took a puff of cigarette, "And it will be very good for the Soviet Union!"

Stalin obviously did not want to sit back and watch Germany's "complete defeat". If that happened, the Soviet Union might be besieged by imperialism.

"After all, pseudo-socialism still uses the name of socialism," Stalin said, puffing out smoke. "Its existence can always attract some imperialist firepower."

"You are absolutely right." Molotov complimented, "Then how should we reply?"

"Answer?" Stalin snorted softly, "The Soviet Union does not need to reply to imperialism! In addition, tell the Germans the news that Britain and France are about to launch a counterattack."

Molotov understood what Stalin meant. Although Stalin did not trust Germany, he even less trusted Britain, France and Poland. If Britain, France, and Poland agree to "Ukrainian independence," then the Soviet Union may be able to limit the scope of military operations to Ukraine.

However, the British adopted a policy of perfunctory and delaying, which was unacceptable to Stalin!

…

News that the British and French waves were about to launch a counterattack reached the Eastern Front headquarters in Stettin through various channels. General Hersman's reaction was to let out a sigh of relief, because what he was worried about was not the enemy's counterattack, but the compromise between Britain and France - the scale of the bombing on September 3 could have been larger. Although Hersman now has no authority to interfere with the Naval Air Force (he is not currently the deputy chief of staff), he still has influence.

Thousand-plane bombing is not possible - each army group on the Eastern Front requires more and stronger air support - but the possibility of dispatching 500 aircraft is still possible, because each aviation regiment now has a group of supplementary pilots and aircraft available.

But Hersman ultimately did not exert influence on the Naval Air Force because he was worried that the British might compromise due to heavy losses. Given Hitler's current position of wanting to make peace with Britain, a temporary compromise is very possible!

This was not good for Germany, because the British Empire would not give up its policy of hostility to Germany, and the French Army would also accelerate the pace of mechanization as a result of the Polish campaign.