The Rise of the Third Reich

Ironside was riding through the city of Paris in a car, passing by a convoy of vehicles that was blocked on the road and could not be seen beyond. They were all convoys leaving the city, including cars, trucks and carriages. All the vehicles were piled with luggage and full of people! The panicked French! The French don't want to fight at all!

This is in sharp contrast to the scenes of countless soldiers riding buses to the battlefield when the German army approached Paris during the last World War.

Can this generation of French people compare to their brave fathers? The unsettling question kept running through Ironside's mind.

The Germans only announced that they were going to bomb Paris, and sent several Ju88s to drop leaflets, but not a single bomb actually fell, and the whole city was panicked. If the German tanks arrived on the banks of the Marne River, wouldn't these French people kneel down and surrender?

"Did you see it?" Gamelin shook his head and said, "Everyone was scared. 10,000 tons of bombs! 10,000 tons! The Germans are going to blow up Paris! How could they do this? This is Paris!" "

The French commander-in-chief was also frightened! Ironside thought of Joffre, who was known for his slowness. Although Joffre was not smart enough, he was definitely a determined general. But does Gamelin have that kind of will?

"Don't worry, there will soon be a British fighter squadron to defend the skies of Paris." Ironside said with a smile, "We will also bring the most advanced radar to France, so that we can dominate the air battle. Opportunity."

Now the reason why the French Air Force is being beaten by the German Air Force in frontline air battles is not only because of the poor performance of the aircraft, but also because of the lack of radar! Radar stations deployed in Saarland and Freiburg, Germany, can detect hundreds of kilometers of sky behind the Maginot Line, which is very detrimental to France.

"Maurice, we have just achieved a great victory!" Ironside tried to force out a smile, "We have surrounded the 'Scharnhorst' in the Port of Heroes in the Azores! This ship The German battleship has been severely damaged and cannot escape. In addition, we are still pursuing and besieging the German aircraft carrier Seidlitz, which cannot escape either because we have occupied Iceland and the Faroe Islands. The return route of the 'Sedlitz' has been completely blocked!"

"By the way, I remembered you mentioned Iceland and the Faroe Islands," Gamelin touched his chin and said, "When I came to the airport, I heard that the Kingdom of Denmark was going to sue you to the League of Nations. The Italian leader Mussori Nigeria, Japanese Prime Minister Nobuyuki Abe, Chairman of the Soviet Council of Ministers Molotov and US President Roosevelt have all issued statements condemning your aggression."

Of course, condemning the British Empire is a very honorable thing to do. It shows that the country is strong and not afraid of British retaliation. Therefore, the only ones who stand up to condemn now are the Soviet Union, Italy, and Japan, among the six hooligans of the League of Nations, and the American imperialists who did not join the League of Nations.

Because Germany is now at war with Britain and France, Dr. Gobert is condemning Britain and France every day, which is no longer a problem. France and Britain are allies, so of course they must support the British Empire.

As for other countries, they are silent for the time being and are waiting to see how the situation develops.

Of course, countries that condemn Britain do not mean they are enemies of Britain. It's just that these countries are world-class powers. Now that "Chi Guoguo" aggression has occurred in the world, they always have to show their attitude.

When Germany attacked Poland and the Soviet Union attacked Poland, they were also condemned. Britain and France also proposed a resolution to impose international sanctions on Germany in the League of Nations, but since the resolution had not yet been voted on, Poland had made peace with Germany, so it was dropped.

And this time, the British Empire is not afraid of any international sanctions, because no country dares to really sanction Britain.

What really worries the Chief of Staff of the British Empire is France, an ally that seems less reliable than it was more than twenty years ago.

Now I wonder if these French people are willing to follow the British Empire to occupy Norway? Ironside glanced at the long team fleeing from the city, feeling a little uneasy in his heart.

…

"Minister, the entire German fleet has left Wilhelmshaven!"

First Sea Lord Pound opened the door of Churchill's office and told the Lord Admiralty the intelligence he had just received.

"All?" Churchill was stunned.

"Yes, all! Including 'Gneisenau', 'Deutschland', 'Graf Hippe', 'Schel' and 'Sekt' as well as 5 light cruisers and 10 destroyers, all Everyone is out!"

Going out in full force, is this a desperate effort? Churchill frowned, "What do the Germans want to do?"

"Maybe it's to save the Seydlitz." Pound frowned and said uncertainly, "Maybe it's to seize Iceland or the Faroe Islands!"

Fatty Qiu stood up suddenly, his face suddenly darkened. He only sent two battalions that were not full to occupy Iceland and the Faroe Islands. Because the governments of Iceland and the Faroe Islands did not dare to fight against the British Empire, they successfully occupied them without firing a shot.

However, plans to further send troops to Iceland and the Faroe Islands have not yet been implemented. Currently, there are hundreds of British troops on the two islands plus a few "Beaufort" torpedo bombers (Iceland has 6 and the Faroe Islands have 3) and "Walrus" seaplanes (Iceland and Faroe have 3 each).

In addition, there are several outdated old ships (the frigate Infingham, the light cruiser Caledon and an old W-class destroyer) and several submarines.

If the Germans use their naval resources to counterattack, they might be able to seize Iceland and the Faroe Islands before the British army has a firm foothold - looking at the scale of the German fleet dispatch, seizing the islands will be a piece of cake! Once Iceland and the Faroe Islands fall into German hands, the British Empire's trade routes will really be cut off.

Thinking of this, Churchill was already breaking out in a cold sweat. "We can't let the Germans capture Iceland and the Faroe Islands! Absolutely not!" He shouted loudly, "Reputation, let the Reputation rush to the Norwegian Sea at full speed!"

After the "Hood" was laid down, the "Reputation" with a speed of 28 knots (originally 31.5 knots, but the speed dropped after major changes) became the fastest warship in the Royal Navy.

Pound replied: "Minister, the Reputation and several heavy cruisers are already on their way to the Norwegian Sea!"

"Okay, then I'm relieved." Churchill wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. The Renown has six 15-inch cannons. Although it is not as good as the "Hood", it should be able to deal with the "Gneisenau".

Can you really rest assured? Admiral Pound looked at the somewhat haggard Churchill and thought: If the main force of the German High Seas Fleet joins the "Seidlitz", it will be a dual-carrier formation, with at least 20 dive bombers... We will definitely have to turn back. A reminder to the captain of the "Reputation": Don't take any more risks.

The British Empire badly needs an inspiring victory.

Now that victory is finally won, don't join another battlecruiser and turn victory into defeat!

…

Marshal Hessmann, the acting chief of the general staff of the German Wehrmacht, did not think of capturing Iceland and the Faroe Islands at this time - because he did not know that the British power there was so weak, otherwise he would have tried, even if it was only to temporarily recapture it. There are political interests.

Hessmann is now an integral part of history, not a prophet standing on the outside. The course of history has changed because of him, so what he faces is no longer the world war he knows, but a brand new world war!

This morning, he attended a headquarters meeting in Berlin to discuss issues such as rescuing the Seydlitz, starting work on converting three cruise ships into aircraft carriers, and "protecting" Denmark.

The first issue was quickly decided, and the remaining main force of the German navy was immediately dispatched to the Denmark Strait.

Converting cruise ships into aircraft carriers quickly gained unanimous approval - after all, everyone has seen the value of aircraft carriers and the fragility of battleships (not easy to sink, but too easy to be damaged, and it will take a long time to repair one injury).

The latter discussed for several hours before reaching an agreement: First, strive for a peaceful entry into Denmark. At the same time, Denmark does not need to take the initiative to declare war on Britain and France. It is best to achieve "neutrality under the protection of Germany."

The work of persuading the Danish government will be done personally by the elderly German Emperor William. The old emperor will tell the Danish king and government that the war between Germany and Britain and France will not last long, because Germany will soon use large-scale bombing to force France to make concessions.

Of course, the German emperor believed that this kind of inhumane bombing would probably not happen because the requirements of the German Empire were not high. I just want to claim back the compensation, colonies, compensation states (referring to the land ceded to Belgium) and part of the Lorraine-Alsace land with iron ore buried...

After the high command meeting, Hersmann, Schleicher and Hitler went to see the emperor. They reported to him the failure of the navy in the Atlantic and the British occupation of Iceland and the Faroe Islands, and asked him to come forward. Deceiving the indifferent Danes.

Then, Hessmann hurried back to Zossen's General Staff Headquarters, had a simple dinner in the cafeteria, and then went to chair a very important military meeting to discuss how to "blow up" Paris.

"Bombing Paris is not our goal. It is our goal to consume the strength of the French and British air forces." Hessman said bluntly at the meeting, "In addition, the air strikes are to paralyze France and Belgium and make them think that we only want to Win by bombing.

In order to achieve these two goals, the air strikes will not focus on urban Paris as the main target. The air force airports and radar stations east of Paris are the objects that need to be destroyed. They can be monitored at the Saarland radar station and the Freiburg radar station as much as possible. Conduct air operations within the range. I estimate that the air raids and air battles will continue for several months until the French and British air power is exhausted to a weak level. At that time, it will be our time to defeat France! "