The Rise of the Third Reich

September 1, 1939, 1 p.m.

The western front of the Polish Maritime Army (this unfortunate group fought on two fronts), with the breakthrough of the Brasi River, was determined to be cut into two parts.

At this time, Marshal Rez Himigwi, the top commander of the Polish army, was calling the Warsaw Castle to report the good news.

"Yes, Mr. President, we have resisted." The Polish Marshal said in a joyful and affirmative tone. "On the northwest front, our army has blocked the Germans on the west bank of the Brasi River, and a new line of defense is being built. ; On the northern front, the Modlin Army repulsed the German army. German corpses piled up in front of our trenches. If we are willing, we can invade East Prussia immediately; on the southern front, the situation is a little more serious. The Lodz Army The battle with the Krakow Army was very difficult, but the Carpathian Army fought very well and crushed the attacks of the German and Slovak armies (as a vassal of Germany, Slovakia also participated in the war against Poland)... Danze Port The situation was not bad. The German fleet was blocked from the harbor. We also sent seaplanes to drop torpedoes, but unfortunately they missed, but the Germans were also shocked. "

Of course, the Polish Marshal was lying. The lie was not told to Polish President Ignacy Mościcki, but to the British Ambassador who was a guest at Warsaw Castle - at 12:45 , the secretary of Warsaw Castle called and told Rez-Khimigwi: British Prime Minister Chamberlain believed that peace negotiations could be considered based on the "six opinions" proposed by Germany!

In other words, Britain is still quite hesitant about going to war with Germany! If Britain backs down and no longer fulfills its obligation to participate in the war, Poland will be in doom.

Therefore, Marshal Rez-Chimigwi understood what the Polish President meant at that time, so he temporarily ignored a lot of military affairs that seemed to be a headache, and first called the Presidential Palace to "report the good news."

The voice of the British ambassador soon came over the phone: "Your Excellency, Marshal, I heard that your air force suffered a lot of losses due to the sudden attack of the German Air Force?"

There is no way to hide this. The Luftwaffe's second air raid on Warsaw has just ended! Although there were not many casualties, Warsaw's airport, train station, highway out of the city, and several warehouses storing supplies were all bombed. There is also some panic in the entire city.

"Yes, the losses of the air force are very heavy!" said Marshal Rez-Chimigwi, "but the Polish people will not be intimidated by German air raids! We will persist in resisting, no matter how many tons of bombs they drop on Warsaw!" "

"The Polish people are so brave," the British ambassador said appreciatively. Then he paused, "So, Marshal, do you really not consider the six peace conditions proposed by the Germans?"

"No," Rez Himigvi said in a very angry tone, "Mr. Ambassador, it is Germany who should consider suing for peace now! Because their military offensive has completely failed, we will soon put in our reserves. Carry out a counterattack... We have such ability and determination! First of all, the Modlin Army and the Narev Tactical Group are ready to invade East Prussia, and the attack will begin soon!"

"Oh," the British ambassador was silent for a while, and then asked in a tentative tone, "You ask for East Prussia? Is this your peace condition?"

"Yes!" Rez-himigwe said, "Who allowed them to launch a war and suffer defeat? Please, Mr. Ambassador, tell London: Stupid losers should be punished!"

"Okay, I will report your words to Whitehall Street (referring to the British Foreign Office)." The British Ambassador said.

Rez Himigwe hung up the phone and sighed softly. He had already said his big words. It was hard to say whether the British would believe it and immediately declare war on Germany. And now Poland is facing more dangers than Germany, the Soviet Union is also ready to take action. According to the latest report of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, the Soviet Belarusian Special Military District and the Ukrainian Special Military District have now been renamed "front forces." This probably means that the Soviet Union will soon attack Ukraine on the right bank...

…

Foreign Office, Whitehall Street, UK, 1.30pm (GMT, 1 hour behind Germany and Poland). Rez-Chimigwi's "peace terms" were telegraphed to the British Foreign Secretary, Viscount Halifax, from the British Embassy in Warsaw.

"The Poles rejected Germany's peace proposal and put forward their own peace conditions." Viscount Halifax shook his head slightly. "The Poles believed that they had gained a considerable advantage, so they wanted to get East Prussia after victory. "

"I think we can consider it." British Admiralty Minister Churchill immediately nodded in agreement - Fatty Qiu, British Prime Minister Chamberlain and other cabinet members were all meeting in Whitehall Street to discuss the declaration of war against Germany.

"Winston, the Poles are bragging!" Neville Chamberlain glared at Admiralty Churchill. Letting this almost thorny congressman into the cabinet is entirely to appease the militant faction within the Conservative Party. But this does not mean that Neville Chamberlain wants to go to war with Germany.

Because Chamberlain knew very well that once the war started, it would never end. Either Germany will collapse completely, or the British Empire will fall apart - this is simply a huge gamble with the fate and future of the empire at stake!

"What are we waiting for?" Winston Churchill spread his hands. "The Poles are still fighting bravely. The German attack is likely to have suffered a setback. Even if the Poles exaggerate their results, we will not We should retreat. Because this is the obligation of the British Empire. If we violate our obligations and betray our allies, no country will trust us in the future. As for the Soviet Union, we do not need to worry about our and French aircraft. Isn’t it already in the Middle East? If Stalin dares to take advantage of the situation at this time, then he has made a wrong calculation. "

"Of course, of course, I know..." Neville Chamberlain knew that the militant faction among the members of the Conservative Party already accounted for the majority. "But we should still consult with France."

He still wanted to delay for a while to see if there could be a turnaround. He looked at Halifax and said, "Viscount, go to Paris and discuss with Prime Minister Faraday the issue of submitting an ultimatum to Germany." He paused. , added: "In addition, the French need to discuss the air attack on Baku and the establishment of the Eastern Army."

The so-called Eastern Army is based in Iraq, French Syria, and Lebanon, and is used to block the Soviet Union's southward march to the Middle East. The commander-in-chief is tentatively designated as French General Weygand - he is now the commander-in-chief of the French army in Syria and Lebanon!

"In addition," British Prime Minister Chamberlain thought for a while and then said, "you should discuss the issue of entering Crimea and Romania with French Prime Minister Faraday."

Britain and France have now formulated an extremely risky plan - they do not dare to fight Germany to the death on the European continent, but they always want to attack on the "periphery" to trap Germany. In addition to bombing the Baku oil fields, Britain and France also planned to send ground troops to southern Russia and Romania (this plan was also planned in history, because the German attack destroyed France too quickly, and the plan was ruined).

…

Comrade Joseph Stalin, the great leader of the Soviet Union, did not expect that Britain and France were planning to attack the Soviet Union at this time. In his opinion, Britain and France would probably try to win over the Soviet Union now.

"Are you ready for the ultimatum to the Poles?" Stalin held a cigarette in one hand and a report from the Red Army Intelligence Department in the other - a report on the ongoing Polish-German war.

The report said that the German air force performed well and suppressed the Polish air force from the beginning. Moreover, in the air battle over Warsaw, the Germans also used an advanced aircraft that had never been seen before.

This aircraft showed an overwhelming advantage against the Polish PZL.11 fighter jet!

However, the situation of the battle on the ground was unclear. The German army seemed to be "eager for success" and launched the attack without enough time to prepare artillery fire. In addition, the Germans also concentrated on using tanks to launch fierce attacks on the north and south fronts. The attack may have made some progress, but the top Polish military officials in Warsaw were relatively optimistic...

"It's ready," Molotov, the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs who came to report to Stalin, replied. "Our ambassador to Poland can hand over the ultimatum at any time. In addition, the German Ambassador Count Schulenberg has just called the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs The Ministry of Foreign Affairs hopes that we can immediately fulfill our obligations under the treaty and go to war with Poland. Comrade General Secretary, what should the People’s Commissariat for Foreign Affairs respond?”

Stalin remained silent and did not speak. Molotov did not dare to ask questions. He just sat respectfully. I don’t know how long it took before he heard Stalin say: "Tomorrow at the earliest! But we have to give the Poles a few days to reply." "

"Are you going to hand over the ultimatum tomorrow?" Molotov asked cautiously.

In addition to the ultimatum, the People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs prepared another plan - prepared, of course, on Stalin's instructions.

"Use Plan No. 2 first. If the Poles are willing to dissolve their federation, then Right Bank Ukraine will be a matter between us and the Ukrainians." Stalin paused, "In this way... we can do without Western Belarus and at the same time not interfere with them. The war with the Germans.”

This is actually no different from an ultimatum, except that it lacks the threat of war.

"Understood," Molotov stood up and wanted to leave, but Stalin suddenly said: "Go and talk to the Poles today and tell them that we recognize Poland's independence, and now we just want to take back the lost territory in Ukraine on the right bank."