The Rise of the Third Reich

Poland's Lieutenant General Julius Rommel arrived in Berlin one day earlier than Molotov. He is now the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Polish Army and Rez-Khimigwi's chief staff. Like the Germans, British, Soviets, and French, the Poles' wishful thinking failed.

Originally, Rez-Chimigwi only planned to hold high the anti-Soviet flag at the Brest Fortress in order to appease the sentiments of nationalists in Poland.

In his opinion, there should be no difficulty in this matter. 99% of Western Belarus was given to the Soviet Union. Can't the Poles occupy this 1%? Moreover, the Brest Fortress is the last fortress of the Piłsudski Line of Defense. It has been continuously expanded and reinforced since the Soviet-Polish War (because of the annexation of right-bank Ukraine, the Poles did not dare to imagine long-term peace with the Soviet Union, so they made sufficient defensive equipment. ), a defense system combining fortified defense zones and fortresses has now been formed. If the Soviets want to attack by force, they will definitely suffer heavy losses.

But he did not expect that Comrade Stalin was not afraid of losses at all! Beginning on October 5, the Soviet Red Army began to violently attack the outer positions of Brest for 10 consecutive days. Although a considerable price was paid, no decisive breakthrough was achieved.

But it also cost the Poles a lot. There were more than 6,000 casualties and missing persons, and more than 80 7TP tanks were completely damaged beyond repair. In addition, hundreds of cannons were destroyed in artillery battles and bombings by Soviet aircraft.

The human losses can be easily supplemented. After all, the Polish nation has a population of more than 20 million, and the Germans have successively released most of the prisoners. Rez-himigwi has enough lives on his hands to expend. But the loss of weapons and equipment made the Polish marshal feel helpless.

Although Poland also has a certain industrial base, it cannot be compared with the Soviet Union. And now Poland has lost the developed areas in the west, the coal and iron ore mines in Lviv (which became Germany's raw material collection site) and the parts supply from Britain and France. The output of various weapons and equipment is completely unable to meet the consumption of the Brest-Litovsk front. It is not a problem to fight for ten days and half a month. If the fight lasts for several months, Poland's weapons and ammunition stocks will be exhausted.

In addition, the Polish Air Force had long been wiped out by Germany. The sky on both sides of the Bug River is now completely dominated by Soviet aircraft. Although the ground troops of the Soviet Red Army did not cross the river, their aircraft did not have such restrictions. As long as the weather is good, Soviet aircraft will bomb targets west of the Bug River indiscriminately!

Faced with this dilemma, Polish Marshal Rez Himigwi had no choice but to turn to his original enemy Germany.

"Lieutenant General Rommel," Hessmann said to the visiting Polish Lieutenant General in the reception room of the General Staff Headquarters, "Natalie has already told me about your request. But we cannot provide you with ourselves. weapons and equipment because we have a special relationship with the Soviet Union.”

In fact, Hersmann had no "specific position" on the war situation east of the Bug River. If Poland can persist on its own, then Germany cannot occupy Poland - because Poland has demonstrated its value as a human shield! If the Poles can't do it, then the German troops will enter peacefully with the welcome of the Polish people!

Whichever situation is good, Germany does not need to be too supportive of Polish resistance.

"But we can support you in producing your own weapons and ammunition to resist the Soviet Union," Hessman smiled and added, "I have told you this opinion through Natalie before. If Poland puts arsenals, aircraft manufacturing plants and tanks The factories are all managed by our people...not our Arms Administration, but German companies. Then I guarantee that production will increase in the short term.”

Poland's Lieutenant General Rommel knew that the Germans wanted to take this opportunity to completely control Poland's industry and turn Poland into a vassal of the German economy.

But Rez-Chimigwi and the Polish government are now in a dilemma, and the banner of "resisting Russia and saving the country" has been raised. If the impregnable Brest is abandoned now, how will the Polish government and Rez-Khimigwi step down?

Moreover, even if Brest is abandoned, it does not mean that the war will end. No one dared to sign the treaty ceding West Belarus and Right Bank Ukraine. In this way, the war must continue...or the Polish government "requests" German protection!

"We can let German companies take over the arsenal," Lieutenant General Julius Rommel was silent for a moment, "but we don't have aircraft that can be used to fight the Soviet Union. What we lack most now are fighter jets..."

"You have the P.24," Hirschman said with a smile. "Just have it. Leave it to Anthony Fokker... I guarantee that he can turn this aircraft into an eagle that can fight against Soviet aircraft. You have to do it. Yes, just get the pilots back together.”

The P.24 is a derivative of the P.11. It has a better engine (French product) and therefore has stronger combat effectiveness. However, the Polish Air Force did not use them themselves and exported them all, so the German Air Force did not encounter them.

…

"Marshal, the next person I want to see is Major General Rosenberg, Vice Chairman of the Army Policy Council." Major Albert Schnetz entered Hessmann's office immediately after Rommel left in Poland.

"Major General Rosenberg is asking for an urgent meeting. He flew directly from Oslo." Major General Schnetz said.

Alfred Rosenberg was Hessmann's earliest secretary. He followed Hessmann to join the Military Intelligence Agency and the Stasi, and for a time he was Hitler's superior. However, Hitler did not promote him much after he came to power, and now he is still hanging out with Herschmann. He is the head of the Army Policy Committee, and is also in charge of the affairs of the National Socialist Party International. Liaison with foreign social and political parties is now in his charge.

"Marshal," Rosenberg walked in excitedly. As soon as he entered the door, he told Hessmann a piece of great news. "Norway's former Defense Minister Vidkon Quisling hopes to come to power in a coup with our support!"

Vidkon Quisling is the leader of the Norwegian National Unity Party, which also pursues the line of national socialism and is a member of the National Socialist International. Vidkon Quisling himself served as Minister of Defense from 1931 to 1933.

However, his Norwegian National Unity Party is not a major party in Norway and cannot come to power through democratic elections. Therefore, launching a coup is the most feasible way for Quisling to seize power.

"Sit down and talk," Hessmann showed an interested expression and waved to Rosenberg, asking him to sit in a high-backed armchair opposite him. "How much strength does Quisling have that he can rely on?"

Now that the German army has peacefully entered Denmark, which is only a strait away from Oslo, the capital of Norway, it is not difficult to occupy Norway by force. And because Britain's control of Iceland and the Faroe Islands has formed an "island chain", Germany must capture Norway if it wants to break through, and then use Norway as a base to conduct air strikes on the Shetland Islands and the Faroe Islands.

Therefore, controlling Norway is an inevitable choice. The question now is just how to control it?

"Quisling has stormtroopers, and he also has many followers in the Norwegian army." Alfred Rosenberg looked very excited. "The commander of the garrison at Narvik Port, Colonel Konrad Sundlo, is his people."

It's a pity that he is not the garrison commander in Oslo. Hessmann thought that historically Germany had taken no trouble in occupying Norway. This Quisling indeed contributed a lot, but he himself did not have enough power to seize power.

"Is it possible for a coup to succeed relying on these forces?" Hersman asked doubtfully.

"Of course not," Rosenberg said. "The Norwegian National Unity Party needs our help."

"Help?" Hessman asked, "How?"

"The Brandenburg Special Forces (the original Miuta Special Forces)!" Rosenberg said, "could raid Oslo, take control of the Norwegian government and king with Quisling's help, and then force the Norwegian king to appoint Quisling as prime minister. "

The plan is feasible, Hessmann thought, but it is not a coup, but an invasion, which is not in line with Germany's current policy.

"No, don't do this first," Hessmann shook his head. "If we want to invade, the Brandenburg special forces alone will not be enough... We should try to strengthen Quisling's power. He should act like a real national society "

"Marshal, what do you mean..."

Hersman said: "The British occupied Iceland and the Faroe Islands a few days ago... This is an invasion of Denmark! And their next target is the northern port of Narvik in Norway, and then captures Yeli in northern Sweden. Vale Iron Mine to cut off our supply of iron ore. Now, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark are all facing the possibility of being invaded by the British, and Germany should support them in self-defense.

If Norway and Sweden do not want to rely on German protection to survive like Denmark, then they should strengthen their defense capabilities. Because neutrality without national defense cannot be maintained! "

In the past few days, Germany's propaganda and intelligence agencies have been working hard to spread the news that Britain will soon invade Norway and Sweden. Moreover, some people in Norway and Sweden are worried that they will follow in the footsteps of Iceland.

Hersman considered and added: "Moreover, due to the close relationship between Sweden, Norway and Denmark in history and now. They should now unite to defend themselves. National socialists in Denmark and Sweden should be allowed to go to Norway to serve as volunteers. This can be established A Viking regiment to defend Norway. We in Germany can provide funds and military advisors, and weapons and equipment can be purchased from Sweden. I think Quisling should make such a suggestion and then appeal to the National Socialists in Sweden and Denmark. At the same time, Germany. The government will also make corresponding suggestions to Norway, Sweden and Denmark.”