The Rise of the Third Reich

"Marshal, you said the British would attack the French fleet?" Adolf Hitler was startled, "Did the intelligence department discover something?"

"No." Hessman shook his head. This kind of thing must be the top secret. I'm afraid only a few people know about it. It is very difficult to find out. "However, the British rulers will do whatever it takes to maintain their criminal empire, and they will not let us get the French naval fleet."

"I remember that there was a plan to seize the French fleet in the 'Liberator Plan'," Hitler said. "Can it be used?"

The "Liberator Plan" is different from the "Operation Sickle" plan. It is just an outline to guide the Mediterranean operations, not a specific action plan. Corresponding plans need to be formulated based on the progress of the French campaign. Among them, of course, was a plan to prevent the British Mediterranean Fleet from destroying the French Navy.

"There is a 'shield vehicle programme'," Hersman said, "which is a sub-program under the 'Liberator Program', preparing to use naval aviation to cover the French fleet anchored in Toulon and at the same time attack the British fleet trying to approach Toulon. . But in order to implement the 'shield vehicle plan', Italy must first be persuaded to join the war, and we must use the airport in Italy."

If Italy did not provide an airport, German aircraft would have to take off from Freiburg Airport, which is close to the border between Switzerland and France. The one-way journey is more than 600 kilometers, and it would be difficult to protect the French fleet in Toulon.

Moreover, Italy also has a powerful air force and fleet, and can even start a decisive battle with the British Mediterranean Fleet with the cooperation of German naval aviation.

"The Italians..." Hitler glanced at Hessmann and said slowly, "We want a European Community led by Germany, while Mussolini wants the Roman Empire!"

Hitler had been traveling between Rome and Berlin during this period, discussing with Mussolini the proposed German-Italian alliance. However, the negotiations did not go very smoothly. The two sides had differences on the division of spheres of influence and dominance of the Mediterranean battlefield.

Mussolini also had his own imperial dream. He did not want Italy to become a member of the European Community in the future - what the Italian leader wanted was the Roman Empire! It was an Italian Roman Empire with the Mediterranean Sea as its inner lake!

Hitler shook his head, with a wry smile on his lips, "The Italian leader believes that Italy can bear the responsibility for the Mediterranean war alone, and Germany does not need to intervene. It only needs to provide Italy with a large amount of strategic materials such as oil, coal, and steel... and He also wants Provence and Corsica in France!”

The conditions proposed by Mussolini now are no different from those in history. And as far as Hersman knew, Mussolini's war preparations were no better than they had been historically. The only difference is that there are more oil reserves, and there are two more aircraft carriers converted from cruise ships.

"Leader, we cannot agree to Italy's request for Provence and Corsica." At this time, Hersman showed a very disdainful expression. "Everyone knows that Italy's combat effectiveness is zero. They cannot compare with France at all. If it were not for geography, For the above reasons, we don’t need to win over Italy at all.

Moreover, our war with France is actually a 'war of brothers'. The purpose of defeating France is just to build a European community with France. We and the French will eventually become one family, while the Italians are and will remain outsiders. So we can't let Italy get involved in France. "

"Maybe we can let the Italians take Provence and Corsica themselves..." said Adolf Hitler, "before we sign an armistice with France."

In fact, Hitler did not want Italy to take advantage of France too much, but Mussolini was not that easy to deal with.

"Leader," Hessman said thoughtfully, "otherwise, we can express clear support for the Italian leader's ideal of establishing the Roman Empire... Many of the lands along the Mediterranean that were conquered by the Arabs were historically part of the Roman Empire. Part of it. Now it is occupied by Britain and France and turned into a colony. Only by liberating those areas can Italy be able to revive the Roman Empire. Therefore, France's colonies in North Africa and Syria can be handed over to Italy, but France and Italy cannot get involved.

At the same time, combat operations in the Mediterranean battlefield will also be dominated by Italian troops. "

This is equivalent to cutting the European Community from the Roman Empire. The Mediterranean coast of Europe (excluding France's Mediterranean coast) will be the sphere of influence of the Roman Empire. For Italy, this is a big deal. Moreover, France's territories in North Africa and the Middle East will be ceded to Italy.

"But will this make Italy too powerful?" Defense Minister Marshal Schleicher interjected with a frown, "And once Italy controls most of the Mediterranean coast, the oil-producing areas in the Middle East will also fall to Italy. hand."

"No," Hessmann smiled and shook his head and said, "Because the Italians can't defeat the British at all. The British just need to put in a little effort to let Italy know that they can't do without us, Germany. By then we will If you go further, you can dominate everything.”

"What if the Italians win?" Schleicher asked again.

"Minister, they can't win, I guarantee it!" Hessman answered with certainty.

His words sounded profound to Schleicher and Hitler - if the German General Staff did not want Mussolini to win, then he would definitely not win!

Adolf Hitler thought about it seriously, then nodded after a while and said, "That's fine. If Italy wants to realize its ideals, it must rely on Germany. Let them suffer a little first."

…

"We evacuated more than 7,500 people from Belgium last night. Four destroyers encountered mines, and two of them were sunk..."

On April 22, in the cabinet meeting room at No. 10 Downing Street, First Sea Lord Pound reported to members of the British cabinet on the withdrawal of troops the previous night. The Home Fleet dispatched 4 cruisers and 18 destroyers to pick up people from 3 ports in Belgium. More than 7,500 people were rescued, at the cost of two destroyers being severely damaged. Two destroyers were sunk by German mines, more than 1,500 people fell into the water, and more than 500 people were missing.

"7,500 people..." Churchill took a puff of his cigar. "It seems that the withdrawal of 100,000 people is also possible." He looked at the Foreign Secretary Viscount Halifax, "Viscount, what is the reaction of France and Belgium?"

Britain's withdrawal of troops from Belgium was kept secret not only from Germany but also from Britain's allies France and Belgium.

"No report has been received yet," Viscount Halifax replied. "They may not know yet, but I'm not sure how long they can hide it."

Churchill nodded and said: "Conceal it as much as possible. If France and Belgium ask, you must deny it resolutely!"

Churchill had already considered that the withdrawal of the British Expeditionary Force must be carried out secretly before the large-scale public withdrawal began. Only in this way can the French and Belgian armies continue to resist and create conditions for the British army to retreat.

In order to justify himself, after the large-scale evacuation began, Churchill asked the British propaganda department to package a "miracle" of the evacuation, and by the way, encourage the people of the British Isles.

"Understood, Prime Minister," Viscount Halifax replied.

Churchill asked again: "How is it going in Arras?"

General Ironside, Chief of the General Staff, replied: "We are still fighting hard. Our armored forces have suffered heavy losses. The French's three light mechanized divisions and the 1st Reserve Armored Division have suffered heavy losses at the same time."

This is to be expected, the breakout will certainly not be successful. Churchill calmly smoked his cigarette and said: "If we fail at Arras, then consider an open and massive withdrawal of troops from Belgium."

The Battle of Arras was a key battle for the British and French forces stationed in Belgium to break through and move south. If they were defeated, the British and French forces would have to retreat by sea. By that time, all ships will definitely be mobilized to retrieve people, and there will be no confidentiality at all. Moreover, if we want to withdraw our troops at that time, we cannot withdraw only the British troops but not the French troops.

To withdraw the French troops at the same time would inevitably reduce the number of rescued British troops. And now Germany is trying to induce France to surrender, and through Spain and the Netherlands, it has offered "the formation of a European Community", a peace condition that is not necessarily a bad thing for France.

In the unlikely event that France surrendered after its defeat at Arras, the French troops withdrawn from the beaches of Belgium would no longer fight for British interests. Even after the British Mediterranean Fleet attacked the French Naval Fleet, these people were likely to become the enemies of Britain!

"And once the Battle of Arras fails," Churchill said in a very solemn tone, "France may fall. As an ally of France, we have an obligation to preserve France's rejuvenation power."

What does this mean? People in the cabinet meeting room looked at each other, a little unsure.

"Prime Minister, do you mean that we should try to get the French government to move to Algeria?" asked Viscount Halifax, the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

"This is of course the first choice," Churchill nodded. "It is the best choice for the French government and the fleet to move to Algeria together. But we must also be prepared for bad things to happen!" He was silent for a moment, "If the French government is unwilling to leave , so what should we do?”

Churchill glanced at the people in the conference room, and then said: "We should support a political force that truly represents the French people and has the ability to lead France's overseas territories to resist, and we must now start working hard to find and cultivate this force. !”