The Rise of the Third Reich

On September 14, the world war seemed to have entered a "truce period". The Eastern Front had ceased fire, and the Western Front continued to sit-in. After Poland sued for peace, Britain and France had no interest in using the Netherlands anymore. Instead, they persuaded Belgium to join the war - so that Britain and France could set up defenses in Belgium and use the rivers and fortresses there to completely block Germany's westward passage. Then use the sea blockade and the protracted war on land to slowly bring down Germany, just like it did in the last war.

In the lands of Belarus and Ukraine further east, there is a kind of calm before the war. Under this calm, the two countries stepped up their deployment of troops. A life-and-death battle on a scale as large as the German-Polish War was about to begin.

Of course, not everything is peaceful during this short "truce period." German submarines began to attack frequently at sea, using "unrestricted submarine warfare" and "wolf pack tactics" to ruthlessly kill the British transport fleet in the Atlantic!

Suddenly being aboard a sea transport became more deadly than being in the trenches of the front line, and British merchant sailors became the most dangerous profession these days.

And Hersmann, who returned to Berlin from the Eastern Front Headquarters in Stettin, knew very well that because of the victory at Scapa Flow on September 3, the German Navy could actually make more noise in the Atlantic.

"Kurt, what did the Navy think of the 'Raid at Scapa Flow'?"

At the Berlin train station, Hersmann exchanged a few words with Defense Minister Schleicher who came to greet him, and then asked the Navy about its views on the "surprise attack on Scapa Flow."

"This is a great victory," Marshal Schleicher said with a smile. "It changes the balance of power in the Atlantic. Marshal Raeder has already planned to send the 'Scharnhorst' and 'Seidlitz' to attack "

The Army defeated Poland in 12 days. In fact, it was the Naval Air Force of the Air Force that blew up Scapa Flow. Only the Navy did not perform well. Even in order to compete for the military budget, Redel had to risk the fleet to wander around the Atlantic Ocean.

"I think it's okay," Hessmann said to Schleicher as he walked out of the train station. "As long as you don't use those three 'Deutschland's. They are too slow and can only be used to support landings. The battle cannot be broken."

It is reassuring to have the "Scharnhorst" and the "Seidlitz" attack together. The "Scharnhorst" is equipped with sea and air search radars, and the speed of the two ships is not slow. . This is very advantageous for them to use the cover of night to break out into the Atlantic Ocean.

When he walked out of the train station building, Hessmann suddenly saw several 88mm anti-aircraft guns in the station square. The muzzles of the guns were pointed high into the sky. Soldiers in anti-aircraft uniforms were practicing loading and aiming over and over again.

"It smells like gunpowder," Hessmann looked at the anti-aircraft guns on the square and said to Schleicher with a smile. "The air raid on the night of September 6 was quite scary, wasn't it?"

"I don't know. I spent the night at Zossen's villa that night. But later on, I had to work hard to capture the animals that escaped from the zoo." Schleicher shook his head and pointed at a Mercedes-Benz 770K sedan, motioning for Hersman to get in with him. The limousine was followed by two open-top Beetles painted in the military's field gray, with Schleicher's adjutant and guard standing beside them.

Except for these two Beetles and a large Mercedes-Benz, there were no other motor vehicles in the entire square. Since the war began on September 1, gasoline and diesel have become strictly controlled materials. In Berlin, moving cars became rare items overnight.

"Ludwig, should I go to the Chancellery first or take you home first?" Schleicher asked at this time.

Of course Hessmann had official business when he returned from the front. He came to attend a meeting to discuss "occupied zone policy." This was a very important meeting!

In its original history, Germany's occupied area was not small, and included many industrialized countries, such as France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. However, there was no way to truly mobilize the industrial potential of those countries.

"Let's go to the Chancellery first," Hersmann turned around and said to his adjutant, Lieutenant Colonel Speidel. "When we get to the Chancellery, first call Chloe and ask her to come to the house in Charlottenburg. Wait for me, I'll spend the night there."

While fighting on the front line, Hessmann was so preoccupied with the war situation that he even forgot to inform Chloe when he returned to Berlin. But when he returned to Berlin, he immediately thought of Chloe, his wife who had lived with him for 20 years.

…

"Leader!" Hersmann raised his hand and saluted Adolf Hitler in a very grand office.

"General!" Hitler returned the greeting politely, and then told Hessmann the good news, "His Majesty just called me and he has decided to promote you to field marshal. Congratulations."

Hersman smiled and said, "Chloe will be very happy that she married a marshal."

"He is still a marshal who led the German army to victory in the World War!" Schleicher said aside, "The results of the Polish campaign show that our army is extremely powerful and the World War will be won without a doubt!"

He and Hessmann were the souls of Germany's war preparations, and of course they knew how powerful Germany was now.

"There are still many battles to be fought!" Hersman was not as optimistic as he was. "And defeating a country's army is only the beginning of conquering that country!"

He sat down on a chair, then took out a stack of documents from the briefcase handed to him by Speidel and placed them on Hitler's desk.

"This is the 'Resource and Land Survey Report of Western Ukraine' submitted by the Ukrainian Free State Government. The Western Ukraine occupied by us now includes 6 provinces, with more than 110,000 square kilometers, which is about 30,000 square kilometers more than the provisions of the Brest-Litovsk Treaty (most of Volyn and Rovno do not belong to Austrian Ukraine). We will occupy it first and see how the Soviet-Polish war develops. The current population there is about 8 million. In addition, the Lviv Province of Western Ukraine has very rich natural resources. The large coal fields that have been discovered include the Donbass coal fields, and the Krivoy Rog iron ore has been developed to a certain extent. There is also the Lviv oil field, which is very Very old oil fields. In addition, Lviv also has manganese, chromium, titanium, lead, zinc, aluminum, nickel and other non-ferrous metals. "

"It is indeed a good place," Hitler picked up the report and read it carefully, "Western Ukraine should be merged into the empire in the future..."

"It is best to formulate an investment and development plan as soon as possible," Hersman said, "After a while, many Ukrainians may migrate from the east, and a resettlement plan needs to be formulated."

Population is also an important resource. At present, Germany has only about 90 million people. If the newly joined Ukrainians, Lithuanians and some Poles can be used well, the population may reach 110 million.

"These people are farmers, miners and construction workers first, and secondly, they are sources of soldiers," Hersman was worried that Hitler would not accept Ukrainians, so he explained, "If we go to war with the Soviet Union in the future, Ukrainians will be good cannon fodder."

Hitler said with some concern: "But accepting these Ukrainians may increase the tension in food supply."

Germany could not be self-sufficient in food before the war, and it needed to import about 1.5 million to 2 million tons of grain every year.

"Then we should accept Ukrainian farmers even more," said Hersman. "Western Ukraine belongs to the black soil belt and is very open. There is enough land to be cultivated."

"But I want to settle Germans in Western Ukraine!" Adolf Hitler said his plan. "The land occupied by the Poles in West Prussia, Posen and Silesia should also be taken back to settle Germans."

"Of course the land in West Prussia, Posen and Silesia should be taken back. It is German land." Hersman nodded.

He paused and said, "But in Western Ukraine, we can't be too explicit now. Ukrainians are the ones we need to win over... With their support, we can develop Western Ukraine in the shortest possible time. If the war lasts for five to six years, we will need the resources and black soil of Western Ukraine."

"But that requires investment!" Hitler reminded Hersmann, "I know what Western Ukraine has. I am Austrian (Western Ukraine once belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Empire), but I also know how backward it is."

"Well, let's invest," Hersmann glanced at Hitler, "Start investing now!"

"Easy to say!" Hitler snorted, "That requires machines, materials, fuel and a lot of labor!"

"It requires money!" Hersmann said, "Machines can be purchased from the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland, and Ukrainians can be hired for labor. Leader, what we need now is money, not just relying on barter trade!"

Barter trade is a form of international trade developed by Germany in the absence of hard currency. Its core is "balance" - machines for food, or arms for oil, etc., basically maintaining balance. The purpose of trade is to exchange what you have, not to accumulate gold, silver or foreign paper money.

This form of trade certainly has its advantages. Barter trade contributed greatly to the maintenance and expansion of Germany's foreign trade in the 1920s and 1930s.

However, barter trade also has a disadvantage, which makes it difficult for Germany to use monetary means to overdraw the future - for example, when Britain and the United States need to use foreign resources, machines and labor, they just need to swipe some money.

And Germany must use barter or... plunder!

The former is limited by Germany's own productivity, and the cost of the latter is actually not small. Germany must continue to expand the occupied area, which will consume a lot of energy and manpower.

"Money?" Hitler looked at Hersmann, "Money is waste paper!"

"Leader," Hersmann laughed, "If Germany is just a robber, then no one will trust the mark. But if we can dress Germany up as a righteous European leader, then we can issue a European mark that can compete with the US dollar and the British pound."