The Rise of the Third Reich

It was already past three o'clock in the afternoon when Hersmann left Adolf Hitler's Chancellery, so he did not go back to the General Staff Headquarters in Zossen for work, but went directly back to his manor in Zossen. When he walked into his living room, his wife Chloe stood at the door to greet him as usual, gave him a hug and a kiss, and gently took off his heavy military coat for him. Then the two held hands as if they were a newlywed couple and went to a restaurant to have dinner together. Married for more than 20 years, Hessman and Chloe have always been so close, even in the family of a conservative Junker officer, they are exemplary.

Dinner was already on the table. It was relatively simple, including vegetables, bread, sausages, broth, pickles and some cut apples. Because Chloe cooked it herself, the taste was really not that good - the Hersman family had several servants, one of whom was a cook, but Chloe was still used to cooking for her husband herself, and that cooking skill The Polish cook, who was far superior to her, only served as her assistant most of the time and was responsible for the meals of the servants, adjutants and guards.

Fortunately, Hersman is not a foodie, and there is not much delicious food in Germany. After living for more than 20 years and almost 30 years, he has long been accustomed to this monotonous diet.

After half-full, Hersman put down his knife and fork and began talking to his wife, Chloe.

"Oh, dear, you told me last time that Queen Elizabeth wanted to find a husband for her sister, Princess Margaret?"

"Yes," Chloe said, "The little queen wants to find a Frenchman for her sister, from the Bourbon and Bonaparte royal families." She glanced at Hessman, who was thoughtful, "Is that okay? "

Hessman nodded and smiled: "Yes, of course. We don't want Canada to return to the territory of the British Empire. That will not be good for us. Now we only have two demands for Canada. It cannot be divided and it cannot be divided. Any foreign control. I think the Bourbons and Bonapartes should be an option that all Canadians would be willing to accept to maintain the unity and unity of Canada.”

However, Chloe frowned slightly because she discovered that her husband said something that she shouldn't have said - the European Community's requirements for Canada are confidential, and it is certainly not something that a noble woman like Chloe who does not have any public office can know. And Hessman has always abided by various confidentiality regulations. Even if he accidentally leaked it, the slightly old-fashioned Chloe would remind him.

"Honey, is there anything I should know about Germany's demands on Canada?" Chloe asked.

"You should know." Hessman paused and said with a smile: "And Elizabeth and Olga should also know... I think you should actively participate in the matchmaking activities for Princess Margaret."

Chloe is now a duchess, a prominent figure in Europe's most exclusive social circles. Playing matchmaking for the royal family was actually part of the social activities of a woman like her. However, because her husband is the Chief of the General Staff of the Wehrmacht, one of the most powerful people in Germany, she actively participated in this royal matchmaking activity, which means that the General Staff of the German Wehrmacht supports Margaret. Married to the French royal family.

"Okay, okay, I will follow your instructions." Chloe already understood what was going on - Hessman was ordering her, and of course this was a mission to serve the country.

As for why Hessmann wanted Elizabeth and Olga to know Germany's demands for Canada, that was not Chloe's place to ask. But even without asking, Chloe could guess that this must be part of a deception plan formulated by the General Staff.

…

"Mr. President, we have received a special piece of information."

At the White House Cabinet Military Meeting on January 30, 1945, Director of Strategic Intelligence Donovan reported to President Truman: "Elizabeth of England is acting as a matchmaker for 15-year-old Margaret and wants to marry her to a child of the French royal family. , and also received the support of German Chief of General Staff Hessmann and Russian Empress Olga.”

"Margaret?" Truman had never heard of this name. "Who is she?"

"She is the heir to the British throne." Donovan paused and added, "To be precise, she is the heir to the Canadian throne."

"Canada may not become a kingdom," Secretary of War Wallace interjected, "that depends on the choice of the Canadian people."

Truman glanced at his Secretary of War, feeling helpless. To be honest, he doesn't like Wallace, a white leftist, but Wallace is a hero of the Democratic Party and has his own small faction - the Democratic New Deal Alliance. There are only seven or eight representatives and senators who belong to this small faction. The number is not large, but for the Democratic Party, which is already at a disadvantage in Congress, it is very important! Therefore, Truman had no way to kick Wallace, the white left leader of the Democratic Party, from the cabinet.

"George VI is our ally." Secretary of State Edward Stettinius was Truman's confidant and understood the president's intentions, so he immediately reminded Wallace. "The United States cannot betray its allies, otherwise our international credibility will be affected."

"Ally?" Wallace smiled mockingly, "Then why did he marry his daughter to a prince controlled by the Nazis?"

"Who else can you marry if you don't marry a European prince?" Stettinius shook his head. "The Queen of England's spouse must come from the royal family. This is tradition. And choosing the French royal family instead of the German royal family has already explained Canada. The future stance of the Kingdom is not pro-German. Moreover... France is a republic, and the royal family is an opposition faction, not official, nor Nazis."

George VI's choice of a French prince as Princess Margaret's husband also took into account the feelings of the American people - the French royal family, whether it is the Bourbon family or the Bonaparte family, is kind to the United States. The former was foreign aid when the United States was founded. Without the support of Louis XVI, it is hard to say whether the United States would have survived! The latter sold a large area of ​​land in the Mississippi River Basin to the United States at a low price, allowing the United States to expand in North America. Moreover, the Bourbon and Bonaparte royal families are now in power and are not on the side of the Nazis or Fascists at all.

"But the Germans support this marriage!" Wallace put forward his own reasons, "This must be a conspiracy!"

"William, what do you think?" Truman pushed the question to Intelligence Director Donovan.

"This is not a conspiracy," Donovan said, "but a tacit understanding among many parties."

"tacit agreement?"

Donovan nodded and said: "The Germans obviously do not want Canada to return to the British Empire. This will make it possible for Britain to use Canada to revive and become a powerful country that can compete with Germany for European dominance. And Elizabeth and her husband Frederick also did not want Canada to return to the United Kingdom, because it would affect their rule in the United Kingdom. As for George VI, I am afraid that he wanted to stay in Canada as the king rather than return to Europe. Once he returns to England, he will lose power and become a prisoner of the Germans, and will also cause Canada to escape the control of the House of Windsor."

His analysis was clear and logical, and the leaders of the US government and military present nodded their heads frequently. When he finished speaking, Truman added: "I think such a Canadian kingdom is what the United States would like to see." He glanced at Wallace, "What else can we do? Turn Canada into several states of the United States. ?"

Wallace shook his head. Of course it would not work to turn Canada into several states of the United States. If the world war is won, the United States and Canada may be fully integrated, but now the United States has a problem with self-preservation, so how can it have the energy to expand?

"But we must still prevent Canada from falling into German hands," Wallace thought for a moment and said, "There must be a large number of our troops stationed on Newfoundland."

"There are many American troops there now," Truman nodded and said, "as many as two hundred thousand troops! Are these many troops enough?"

"That's enough for now." Wallace replied, "Judging from all the intelligence we have, the Germans should not invade Canada. However, we must also remain vigilant, and the Army ground troops stationed on Newfoundland cannot be reduced under any circumstances. "

The fact that the Army's ground forces cannot be reduced means that the number of Army Air Force aircraft deployed on Newfoundland can be appropriately reduced. The U.S. Army Air Force, which was originally supposed to have loose military strength, was already somewhat stretched by early 1945. Especially after the U.S. Army Air Force began to take on the task of airlifting supplies to Trinidad and Tobago, a large number of P51s were used for day escorts.

Because Trinidad and Tobago are too close to German-controlled Guyana, German Fokker 636s can fly directly to Trinidad and Tobago to attack American transport aircraft. As a last resort, the U.S. Army Air Force had to invest a large number of day fighter aircraft for escort. The mid- and low-altitude performance of the P51 is not as good as that of the Fokker 636 (the practical ceiling of the C47 is only 8,050 meters, and before landing on Trinidad and Tobago, the altitude must be lowered first, so they are often below 5,000 meters Attacked by a Fokker 636), a large number of P51s had to be invested to ensure the safety of the C-47 transport aircraft flying to Trinidad and Tobago. However, the U.S. Army Air Force found that they did not have enough P51s, because they also needed a large number of P51s to intercept German missiles attacking the east coast of the United States. Therefore, as a last resort, the U.S. Army Air Forces had to work hard to expand the size of the P51 fleet (that is, let pilots flying P47 fly P51 instead), and on the other hand, deploy P51s from Newfoundland and northeastern Canada to reinforce the Caribbean.