The Rise of the Third Reich

In March 1940, Germany had concentrated 136 divisions (including 10 armored divisions and 4 motorized divisions), more than 2,500 tanks, and more than 4,600 aircraft (including 600 transport aircraft) on the Western Front. Moreover, three army groups A, B, and C have been formed according to the top-secret "Operation Sickle Plan" (the official code name of the "Manstein Plan") and are deployed in place, so that they can launch a large-scale campaign to destroy France's Second Germany at any time. A massive offensive!

On the French side, there was a sudden change of prime minister! The Daladier government of the left-wing Radical Socialist Party, which has been in power since 1938, finally collapsed and was replaced by the Paul Reno government of the right-wing Democratic Alliance.

Paul Reno, the new official, didn't know that his country was facing catastrophe because everything seemed fine. The "Maginot" defense line seems to be impregnable, which is reassuring. The strength of the French Army is becoming more and more powerful as more and more mobilized troops join, and the first batch of British Expeditionary Forces (a total of 10 divisions) are already in place. When Paul Reynaud took over as Prime Minister, the British and French coalition forces deployed a huge force of 105 divisions (including 9 British divisions) on the northern battlefield bordering Germany and Belgium.

And they are all fresh troops that have not been consumed by the war!

The French Navy was also in very good shape at this time, with one aircraft carrier (Béarne), six battleships (three Kolbe-class, three Bretagne-class), two battlecruisers (Dunker) K-class), seven heavy cruisers, twelve light cruisers and more than fifty destroyers. There are also two super battleships "Richelieu" and "Jean Bart" that will be completed soon. Its strength "firmly ranks" second in Europe, "far surpassing" its old enemy Germany.

Only the French Air Force, which had suffered heavy losses in months of attrition, was now weaker. There are less than 400 relatively modern Ms.406 fighters left (as of March 1940, the French army had received a total of 1,064 Ms.406s), while the more advanced D.520 that can fight against the BF-109 and Fokker Zero has just When it was put into production, only more than 30 aircraft were equipped with troops. However, the main bombers of the French Air Force, the LeO451 and MB.210, suffered little loss because they adopted night attack tactics. There are currently more than 300 of these two medium-sized bombers in service with the Air Force. There are still nearly 200 Breguet series attack aircraft, light bombers and heavy fighters that can still be put into use.

In addition, the "HK75" fighter jets France ordered from the United States began to arrive in large quantities in February and March 1940.

In general, the current French Air Force also has a certain degree of strength, enough to carry out several missions to bomb the Soviet oil-producing areas.

"Is it really necessary to bomb the oil-producing areas of Baku, Grozny and Batumi?" Paul Reynold, who had just taken over the Matignon Palace, heard that Churchill and Viscount Halifax, who came to congratulate him on being elected prime minister, proposed bombing the Soviet Union. I was very surprised by the proposal of the oil-producing area.

"That will completely break us from the Soviet Union. Will this bring greater difficulties?..." Paul Reno looked at Churchill. He knew that this short, fat man who had been Lord of the Admiralty in the First World War would soon take over No. 10 Downing Street. If nothing else happens, this world war will be fought under the joint leadership of him and Churchill.

"Mr. Prime Minister, the bombing is necessary because we must cut off Germany's oil supply!" General Gamelin, Chief of General Staff of the French Ministry of Defense and Commander-in-Chief of the Army, obviously supported this seemingly crazy plan.

He said: "There is sufficient intelligence to show that since the outbreak of the war, Germany has imported about 500,000 tons of oil from the Soviet Union every month. This is three times more than their imports from Romania. It is this oil that supports Germany's huge war machine.

Most of the Soviet Union's oil was collected from the oil-producing areas of Baku, Grozny and Batumi. It is less than 900 kilometers away from our airport in Syria and completely within the combat radius of our latest LeO451 bomber. "

Seeing that the French Prime Minister still seemed hesitant, General Gamelin added: "We and the Royal Air Force's aircraft have conducted deep reconnaissance in places such as Baku, Grozny and Batumi many times. It can be determined that the Soviet defenses there are very empty. There is neither radar nor high-performance aircraft. If we are determined, the air attack can succeed! Oil production in the oil-producing areas of Baku, Grozny and Batumi will be reduced so that we may not have to launch a large-scale ground attack. We can win through blockade and air raids.”

The concept of not launching a large-scale ground attack was very attractive because it meant that there would be no casualties that would be overwhelming to the French people.

"But will we break with the Soviet Union because of this?" Renault was still a little worried, "Have you considered this risk?"

"Mr. Prime Minister, Stalin and the Soviet Union have always been enemies of free time." British Foreign Secretary Viscount Halifax said, "Whether they will completely switch to Germany does not depend on whether their relations with us are friendly, but on Is it possible to obtain huge benefits by following Germany? The prerequisite for obtaining benefits is to win the war! If the Soviet Union and Germany lose the oil necessary to win the war, then what reason does the Soviet Union have to stand with Germany, which is bound to lose? "

Reno was still hesitating. Churchill, who was smoking a cigar, said in a serious tone: "Mr. Prime Minister, if we cannot make up our minds to do this, then by 1942, it is probably not the 24 armored divisions that will crush Germany, but the Soviet Union." The 15 super battleships of the German Combined Fleet crushed the British and French navies! "

"15 super battleships?" Renault took a breath. Churchill said: "Each one is bigger and more powerful than your Richelieu class!"

Each one exceeds the "Richelieu" class... and there are 15 more! Paul Reno was silent for a long time, and finally nodded and said, "Okay, I can approve this adventure." He glanced at Gamelin, who looked determined, and Churchill, who was confident. "I hope this decision will not destroy France!"

"No, absolutely not." Gamelin promised.

Churchill said: "The British Empire will stand with the French Empire!"

This probably means that there is a fire pit where everyone jumps together. In the bombing plan known to Gamelin and General Wei Gang, the commander-in-chief of the French army in Syria, France will dispatch 8 squadrons of 96 LeO451 bombers to take off from Syria and attack the Soviet Union's Batumi Petrochemical City (Petrified City in Georgia, Basumi The output of the Kuda Oilfield accounts for about 70% of the Soviet Union's total oil production, and the oil produced there is mainly processed by the Batumi refinery).

The UK will dispatch 120 Wellington medium bombers from 10 squadrons and 36 Blenheim long-range fighter aircraft from 3 squadrons, taking off from Iraqi airports to bomb the Soviet Union's Baku oil fields and Grozny oil fields ( At this time it was the second largest oil field in the Soviet Union after Baku).

According to the plan, British and French bombers would take off at 2 a.m. on March 30, 1940, use the cover of night to rush into Soviet airspace, arrive over the target area after the beginning of the day, and conduct the first wave of bombings. Six and a half hours after the plane took off, the bombers will return to the base to replenish fuel and bombs. The second wave of air strikes will begin at 10 a.m., and the third wave of air strikes will begin around 6:30 p.m. (This is a night attack on oil fields and petrochemical plants. The fire will guide the aircraft at night).

If all 96 French LeO451 bombers can complete three waves of bombing, then 403.2 tons of high-explosive bombs will fall on the Petrochemical City of Batumi in the Soviet Union. According to the calculations of the British and French air forces, these bombs will at least completely paralyze the largest oil processing center in the Soviet Union. The repair time will be more than 12 months...

…

"Comrades, the bourgeoisie and landlord Finland have rejected the good intentions of the Soviet Union, which shows that the Finnish reactionary ruling group will act as a lackey for the British and French imperialist groups to invade the Soviet Union. This is something that the Soviet Union and the working people of the world cannot tolerate!"

Stalin, the fatherly leader of the Soviet Union, did not know at this time that the British and French imperialists would soon bomb the Soviet Union. He is currently chairing a political meeting in the Kremlin to discuss the liberation of Finland.

Although the war to liberate Western Belarus and Right Bank Ukraine lasted longer than expected, in general the performance of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army was not bad. Rapid groups of the Red Army advanced quickly over open terrain, but lacked the ability to attack fortified fortresses and heavily fortified large cities.

But in the end, Kiev, Vinnitsa, Odessa and Brest were captured, more than 1 million Polish and Ukrainian reactionary troops were eliminated, and more than 400,000 prisoners were captured - most of whom would be given the opportunity to undergo labor reform, about The die-hard elements among the 100,000 officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers were imprisoned in the Katyn Prisoner of War Camp, about 19 kilometers west of Molensk...

Such a record would definitely be considered great if Germany did not defeat Poland in 12 days for comparison. Therefore, the kind-hearted leader did not embarrass the generals fighting on the front line in the end, and even promoted many of them and issued medals.

The fatherly leader of the Soviet Union then turned his attention to Finland. As a country that split from Russia after the February Revolution, the Finnish people have been suffering in dire straits for two decades and now it's time to liberate them.

Stalin emphasized his tone and said: "Therefore, I suggest that the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army immediately take drastic measures to liberate the entire territory of Finland by force!"

"Agree!" "I agree!" "Agree!" "..."

The political bureau members who came to attend the meeting once again unanimously agreed to Stalin's suggestion.