The Rise of the Third Reich

"4367 people? How many kilometers have we broken through?" Gobert, the Minister of Propaganda and Education of the Third Reich who was not good at telling lies, received the battle report from the Ministry of Defense in the early morning of September 2, 1939 - this is the " Battle Report of September 1st" is the most authoritative battlefield report.

Dr. Goebel will announce to the world the illustrious achievements of the German Wehrmacht on the first day of the war at a press conference held at 7 a.m. on September 2.

"Army Group Northern advanced 55 kilometers in depth into Poland's Maritime Province and continuously broke through the Polish army's Tuhola Forest defense line and Brasi River defense line."

Defense Minister Marshal Schleicher yawned and replied: "The Southern Army has advanced 47 kilometers and 42 kilometers into Lodz Province and Lesser Poland Province respectively... This is the situation as of 7 o'clock yesterday afternoon. By midnight, we estimate that our Both army groups have penetrated more than 70 kilometers into the enemy's depth. The Polish Maritime Army and the Krakow Army have now suffered devastating blows. They have captured too many prisoners, killed enemies, and seized too many weapons. There is no time to count, and the specific number may not be available until the afternoon.”

"70 kilometers...in less than 24 hours, two Polish armies were defeated, and only 4,367 people were lost, of which only 914 were killed. This is so unreal!" Dr. Gobert looked at Marshal Schleicher in embarrassment. , "Your Majesty Marshal, do you think anyone will believe this report?"

Schleicher shrugged and said: "I just believe it, because it is true. The mode of war has completely changed. It is no longer the era of trenches and machine guns. Tank groups can easily achieve breakthroughs. In the past few years, All military exercises have proven this. Unless the opponent has a mobile anti-tank gun group, it will not be able to withstand the attack of the tank group. "

"But, others won't believe it!" Dr. Gobert shook his head repeatedly. "Propaganda is also war, and the essence of propaganda war is not to tell the truth or to tell lies, but to tell what people are most willing to believe and what is most important to us. And the best thing to do is to convince the Soviet Union, Britain and France that Germany has made a major breakthrough, so the numbers we publish internationally had better appear more authentic and credible..."

Dr. Goebel is a propaganda expert and understands the importance of propaganda warfare. Now the war has just begun - in the eyes of Gobert and Hitler behind him, it will last a long time - and Germany must win over the Soviet Union and stabilize Britain and France in order to achieve final victory, so a successful propaganda strategy is necessary.

Before the war broke out, Dr. Goebel had developed a comprehensive propaganda strategy. Including exposing the atrocities committed by the Poles against the Germans, praising the bravery and fearlessness of the German soldiers, and publicizing the barbarism and backwardness of the Polish army.

But Poland's bravery should not be denied. Bravery is the consistent impression that Poles have given to European people, and there is no need to subvert it. Nor should Poland be packaged as a vulnerable opponent... This is neither factual nor can it easily give rise to the impression that Germany is bullying the weak.

Moreover, Germany's overly strong performance is not conducive to reconciliation with Britain and France after defeating Poland - Hitler's government has not yet made up its mind to fight a world war!

"Doctor, what are you talking about?" Schleicher said impatiently, "They believe it or not. According to the current situation, we will win in less than two weeks, so you can announce it like this. "

As he spoke, the proud marshal stood up and patted Gobert's thin shoulder, "Okay, the war will be won soon. Now I'm going to the royal palace to report the good news to His Majesty the Emperor. Over there, the Prime Minister , please excuse me, Doctor."

…

"Treachery! Treachery! Damn the Bolsheviks! We should never trust them at all..."

When Dr. Goebel came to Hitler's Prime Minister's Office worriedly, he heard Adolf Hitler shouting loudly before he entered the door.

Entering the Prime Minister's Office, Dr. Goebel saw Göring, Hess, Ribbentrop and SS General Roehm inside. Hitler was angry, waving his fists, walking around the office, looking a little anxious.

"What happened?" Gobert quietly walked up to Ribbentrop and asked him in a low voice.

"Soviet Union!" Ribbentrop's face turned pale. "Stalin broke his promise. What he submitted to Poland was not an ultimatum. He just asked Poland to dissolve the federation..."

"What?" Gobert's heart skipped a beat. No one is sure that Germany will challenge the three major powers of Britain, France, and Poland alone!

If it were not for the reassurance given by the Soviet Union over the past 20 years, this war would have been "almost impossible" to happen.

"Gobert, what information do you have?" Hitler noticed Goebbels.

"Leader," Gobert quickly raised his hand and handed Hitler the latest battle report he brought from the Ministry of Defense. "The report from the Eastern Front Headquarters is here. We lost 4,367 people in yesterday's battle, defeated two Polish armies, and both the northern and southern fronts advanced 70 kilometers..."

"What? What?" Hitler was also shocked, but he did not doubt Hersmann and the Eastern Front Headquarters. "This is really surprising! The Poles are so unbeatable."

Adolf Hitler seemed to calm down a little. He stopped and thought for a while with his arms folded. Then he said to Ribbentrop: "Go tell the Soviets this news and tell them that Germany's blitzkrieg tactics have achieved amazing success. Whether he believes it or not, Poland has been defeated by us. If they still want the right bank of Ukraine, they should act quickly, otherwise we will take more territory."

"Understood, my leader." Ribbentrop said.

"Ernst." Hitler called Rohm's name again. This SS general who was sidelined by Hessmann was very lucky. He is still alive and still maintains friendship with Hitler.

"Leader, what do you want?" Rohm asked.

"I remember there was a plan to capture Lviv by airdrop in the "White Plan"?" Hitler asked.

"It's not about capturing Lviv, but about capturing the Lviv oil field," Rom said. "The output of this oil field is not large, but it's better than nothing for us. However, the Eastern Front Headquarters canceled this plan at the end of August."

The current Polish Federation was originally an oil-producing country. There are the Jaswo oil field and the Krosno oil field in the Carpathian Province, and the Lviv oil field in the Lviv Province of the Free State of Ukraine. Although the output of these three oil fields is limited, it is always good to get them.

So when formulating the "White Plan", Hersman asked people to formulate plans to capture the Jaswo oil field, the Krosno oil field and the Lviv oil field. Among them, the task of capturing the Lviv oil field was originally intended to be completed by the paratroopers of Air Force Major General Student and the SS's Great German Infantry Regiment. But later, because the Air Force and Naval Aviation had heavy tasks and could not spare too much force to cover the airdrop, the operation was canceled. However, because the plan required the use of the SS's elite Great German Infantry Regiment, Hitler knew about it.

"Ernst, go and tell General Hessmann in person to carry out this airborne operation as soon as possible. Both the paratroopers and the Great German Infantry Regiment must participate." Hitler waved his hand and issued an order, as if he was the head of another time and space. "As long as our people appear in Lviv, Stalin will definitely lose his patience!"

...

When Ernst Rohm arrived at Stettin, where the Eastern Front headquarters was located, by plane, the Eastern Front headquarters was full of joy. Stalin's betrayal did not cast any shadow on the hearts of the officers of the Eastern Front headquarters. Because 30 hours after the outbreak of the war, the German army has won a decisive victory.

The vanguard of the 19th Armored Corps has now arrived at the bank of the Vistula River and is seizing a bridge - because the German army's advance was too rapid, the Polish engineers did not even have time to place the explosives to blow up the bridge!

In addition, the 9th Division of the Polish Coastal Army abandoned its position and began to flee since last night, and is now being chased by the German Army and Air Force. After the 27th Division of the Coastal Army lost its artillery regiment, it was blocked by the 2nd Motorized Infantry Division of the 19th Armored Corps when trying to break through. It suffered heavy losses and is now almost collapsed.

At the same time, the three armored corps of the Southern Army Group, the 15th, 16th and 22nd Armored Corps, also advanced very smoothly. The Polish army was completely stunned and could not organize effective resistance at all.

Moreover, the weather on September 2 was still clear, which was definitely a good day for the Air Force to go out for bombing. This was undoubtedly great news for the German army that controlled the Polish airspace.

"Airborne Lviv Oil Field?" Hessmann listened to Ernst Rohm's retelling of Hitler's "order", thought about it and said, "The leader is completely redundant to Britain and France."

"General, do you think Britain and France will not go to war with us?" Ernst Rohm asked.

"No," Hessman shook his head, "We will defeat them! France is vulnerable and will collapse under the attack of our armored group like Poland. And Britain... their huge fleet is actually outdated, just like the Polish army. The Air Force and Naval Aviation will be responsible for defeating them."

"General, can the airborne operation be implemented?" Ernst Rohm did not believe Hessman's words. Poland is Poland, France is France, and the British Empire's navy has dominated for hundreds of years. How can it be so easy to deal with? It is better to quickly bring Stalin into the group.

"Okay," Hessman thought for a while, and waved to the deputy chief of staff Major General Rommel in the operations room, "Erwin, when can we carry out "Operation Duke"? "

"Operation Duke" is the code name for the airborne landing on the Lviv oil field. Rommel thought for a while and replied: "Everything can be prepared on September 6. If the weather is good, we can airborne."

Herssman said: "Okay, let's arrange it on September 6."