The Rise of the Third Reich

The night of September 6, 1939 was very restless. First of all, British and German aircraft launched a fierce air battle over the Netherlands. The fighting took place in the German cities of Hardenberg, Emmen, Kuffelden, etc. near the east of the Netherlands. In the air in Hoogeveen and other places.

Not only were machine guns and machine guns shooting at each other in the sky, but there were also strings of bombs falling on the ground - British bombs, of course. Many bombers were chased by German BF-110s and had no choice but to drop their bombs and escape.

The bombs fell on Dutch soil, creating many large craters, destroying a farmhouse, and killing several farmers and a herd of cows. Several bombs also fell in the city center of Hoogeveen, destroying a fountain that was more than 100 years old. Several other planes crashed in the Netherlands, all British Wellington bombers. And, of course, there were the British pilots who parachuted into the Netherlands.

All this shows that the neutrality of the Netherlands has been completely destroyed, and now both Britain and Germany have an excuse to violate it!

And Berlin was bombed too!

Schleicher's assurances were not fulfilled. Intercepting enemy bombers at night would be very difficult unless radar could be installed on the aircraft. The eight British squadrons dispersed after approaching Germany. It was precisely because German radar found that they were going to disperse into Germany that the Air Defense Command decisively ordered the fighter jets to cross the border. However, 31 Wellington medium bombers from 3 squadrons still flew over Berlin and dropped more than 50 tons of bombs.

Most of the bombs fell in the Berlin Zoo, killing the only elephant in the zoo and destroying many cages. Many animals, including several wild wolves, tigers and leopards, took the opportunity to escape, and one was lost. Giant panda donated by the Chinese government.

In addition, 22 Berlin citizens were killed in the bombing, 13 were injured, and dozens of houses were damaged to varying degrees.

The anti-aircraft guns deployed in Berlin roared for most of the night, firing tens of thousands of artillery shells into the air indiscriminately, and only shot down two Wellington bombers. Several crew members parachuted to escape and landed in Berlin. In order to capture them, the SS and the Volkssturm struggled until the afternoon of the next day.

In short, Berlin's first bombing did not cause much damage. But it caused quite a bit of chaos, and most Berlin citizens were angry. Hitler delivered a hysterical speech to the crowd gathered in front of the Chancellery the next morning, declaring that he would retaliate and use bombers to level London to the ground!

After the collapse of Haikou, Hitler immediately called Marshal Schleicher to his office for a secret discussion behind closed doors.

"Leader, the Air Force can now send up to 38 He-111s, and the Navy has 109 He-111s and 80 Ju88s available. A total of 227 aircraft can take off from the three major HNA airports in Wilhelmshaven tonight to bomb London!"

Schleicher also seemed to be angered by the British air raid on Berlin, and had ordered the Air Force and Naval Air Force to prepare bombers.

"Bomb London?" Hitler glared at Schleicher. "Now is not the time to consider bombing London! Your BF-110 broke into Dutch airspace last night, where it engaged in air combat with the British and shot down many The British plane made a big fuss... Now the whole world knows what happened!"

The whole world knew that the war had reached Dutch airspace.

However, there are two versions of the "Dutch Air War Incident" known to the world. One is Gobert's version. Germany's Propaganda Minister has just held a press conference, accusing British bombers of flying through the airspace of the neutral Netherlands, rushing into Germany, and massacring Unarmed civilians and elephants!

The other version is Churchill's version. British Admiralty Minister Churchill, with his head wrapped in gauze like an Arab, told reporters on Whitehall Street: The British bombers were driven into Dutch airspace by German fighter jets... Just as the British pilots When they were about to land at the Dutch airport and accept supervision in accordance with international law, the German plane broke into the Dutch airspace without explanation. Not only did it shoot down the British bomber, but it also dropped bombs on Dutch soil in an attempt to blame the British!

Whether Churchill was right or Gobert was right, one thing is certain: the Netherlands' neutrality has been destroyed - the Netherlands is not the United States, and its neutrality is not based on its own strength, but on the recognition of the belligerents.

But now that Britain and Germany have invaded Dutch airspace and are still fighting in Dutch airspace, the neutrality of the Netherlands no longer exists.

The question now is just when did the Netherlands officially get involved in the war, and on whose side?

Hitler sighed and said: "I sent Ribbentrop to Amsterdam last night. I didn't ask the Netherlands to join us. I just hope that the Netherlands can delay it for two weeks... Kurt, what do you think if the Netherlands and the Netherlands can join us?" With Belgium joining the war, how long will it take for the French mechanized troops to reach the German-Dutch border?”

Schleicher thought for a while and said: "I don't know much about the situation of the French. If it were us in Germany, we could mobilize the troops in a week at most, take another three days to complete the deployment, and launch an attack within 10 days!" "

"Today is September 7th," Hitler said. "What's the soonest date? September 17th?"

"If the Netherlands and Belgium really decide to join the war, we will launch air strikes on bridges and roads in these two countries." Schleicher said, "This will slow down the French army's advance... It can be postponed for 10 days."

"September 27th at the earliest?"

"Yes." Schleicher nodded, "If the French mechanized forces are as good as ours."

Hitler took a breath, "Now it depends on Ribbentrop's ability!"

…

"You invaded our airspace first, and then the German planes came to intercept, right?" Chairman of the Dutch Council of Ministers, Hendrikus Crane, was meeting and talking with the visiting British Foreign Secretary, Viscount Halifax. .

Viscount Halifax arrived in Amsterdam earlier than Ribbentrop, arriving on the afternoon of September 6. He came to the Netherlands with only one purpose, which was to persuade the Netherlands to join the Allies in fighting Germany.

In response to the question from the Chairman of the Dutch Council of Ministers, Viscount Halifax just smiled: "It doesn't matter who comes first, what matters is who wins!"

He looked at the chairman of the Dutch Council of Ministers, whose face was pale and his eyes were full of fear, and said in a very confident tone: "If you join today, at least 50 divisions of French and British troops will arrive in the eastern Netherlands before the end of September. . This is a powerful assault force including two powerful armored divisions and a large number of mechanized and motorized troops! They will flood into Germany and defeat Germany again in at most 1 month. The losses suffered can be claimed from Germany.”

The speed of mobilization of the British and French coalition forces cannot be compared with that of the German army. The end of September is the fastest time given by Gamelin. If the Germans use bombers to delay the coalition's operations, the completion of the deployment will definitely be greatly delayed.

But this is not a problem, because as soon as the Netherlands joins the war, Germany must transfer its main force from Poland to the Western Front for defense. In this way, the Polish army can take the opportunity to counterattack, and the war will evolve into a protracted war like the last war.

Relying on the blood transfusion of their huge overseas colonies and the naval blockade of Germany, Britain and France will definitely be able to achieve final victory.

As for how many bombs and artillery shells the Dutch will suffer, who cares?

…

"Airborne in Lviv? No problem, absolutely not."

Soviet special envoy Litvinov had just learned about the fight between the British and German air forces in the Dutch airspace, because from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m., he was in the Soviet Embassy using coded messages to contact Moscow to verify a somewhat strange thing - —The Polish government in exile in Lublin sent a telegram saying that thousands of Soviet paratroopers landed in Lviv on September 6 and occupied Lviv Airport!

After confirming that the Soviet Union had not parachuted into Lviv, Litvinov hurried to No. 10 Downing Street to meet with Chamberlain.

"Could it be the Germans who landed in Lviv?" Litvinov asked worriedly, "The German army is advancing very fast, and they may be about to invade Ukraine."

"No, their offensive has been frustrated." Chamberlain replied with a smile, "On September 6, the leading troops of the German army on the southern front attacked 30 kilometers south of Warsaw. However, they did not pursue the victory and attack the panic-stricken Warsaw. It was to turn back and advance towards the Vistula River to the north, seemingly to join up with a German group heading south. This stupid move gave Marshal Rez Himigwe an excellent opportunity to counterattack... I think on the Marne River. The miracle will now be repeated on the Vistula! Moreover, the Dutch will soon join the Allies, and Belgium will then fight with us. This way the Germans will not be able to rely on the Siegfried Line to protect their flanks, which they will soon have to do. In dire straits!”

"Will the Dutch really join the Allies?" Litvinov was a little skeptical. "Perhaps they will join the German side. After all, the relationship between the Dutch royal family and the German royal family is very good. Emperor William has taken refuge in the Netherlands for more than ten years."

"This is not a question of whether the relationship is good or not," Chamberlain said with a smile, "but a question of who will win! The Germans overestimated their capabilities and went to war with the most powerful navy and the most powerful army in the world at the same time. Their failure is inevitable."

"So, when can we start negotiations with the Poles on Ukrainian independence?" Litvinov didn't want to listen to Chamberlain's nonsense at all. He only cared about Ukraine now - because Stalin only cared about Ukraine now!

The Soviet Red Army really did not have any airdrop troops to Lviv! So those who parachuted there on September 6 were undoubtedly German troops!