The Rise of the Third Reich

On May 3, 1940, the third day that the German army on the Western Front implemented the "Red Plan", the French army faced collapse on various battlefields. The three main army groups on the French northeastern front were either annihilated or surrounded in the battles in April. As a result, the newly formed troops were extremely short of qualified officers and non-commissioned officers, and there were not many experienced veterans. Except for a very small number of troops (a few divisions under the 10th Army), most of the troops fell apart the moment they encountered the assault of the German armored divisions. Therefore, on May 3, General Weygand suggested that the government evacuate Paris and declared Paris an undefended city.

His proposal was approved by the government on May 3, and the retreat had already been planned. The new seat of the French government is Tours, 200 kilometers southwest of Paris. However, Tours is not the center of French resistance, but the capital of the capitulationists and escapees. The option now before the French government is to persist in resistance at home.

The current French top brass is divided into two factions: surrender and escape. The leader of the surrender faction is Marshal Pétain, the hero of the last world war.

He believed that the French had lost the courage to "sacrifice their country with a smile" after the last world war. Even if the government fled overseas, it would be impossible to direct the local French people to continue to resist.

After the French government flees, the Germans are likely to adopt the strategy they adopted after the Franco-Prussian War that year, allowing France to vote for a new president and parliament, which will split French politics. Moreover, the French government retreating overseas is likely to face the embarrassing situation of denying the legitimacy of democratic elections.

In addition, those who advocated surrender were not just military politicians with right-wing and French fascist backgrounds like Pétain, but also the center-left Socialist Party pacifists and the center-right Democratic Alliance "pacifists". Even the semi-banned French Bolshevik Party (they were banned after the Batumi air raid because they advocated defending the Soviet Union) became active after the defeat on the front line was determined, seeking to establish a Soviet government to make peace with Germany, and also tried their best to Undermining the country's defense. By the end of April, hundreds of Bolshevik party members had been arrested, and four of them were shot for sabotaging an aircraft factory. They became revolutionary martyrs who dedicated their lives to the cause of human liberation.

Under this circumstance, Marshal Henri Pétain believed that once the French government left, it would be immediately abandoned by the French people and become a tool for Britain to seize the French overseas empire and fleet, turning it into a French rebellion!

The leaders of the faction advocating escape were Prime Minister Paul Reno and Deputy War Minister de Gaulle. Among them, Paul Reynaud also wrote a letter asking for help to Roosevelt on May 3. The letter imitated Churchill's tone and said: "It will be in front of Paris, behind Paris...in the provinces, in North Africa, and if necessary, in Battle in the Americas.” But at the same time that the letter was sent to the United States in the form of a telegram, Reno announced that Paris was undefended.

The French Prime Minister is obviously suffering from schizophrenia. At one moment he shouted for resistance, and at the next he ordered no defenses here and no defenses there. In the end, all cities with more than 20,000 residents were left undefended. What a waste of resistance. .

While the French political and military circles were in panic, the French people also did not show enough will to resist. In addition to the refugees who always cause serious road congestion, they just don’t want the war to burn in their hometowns. After Italy declared war, residents in many places in southern France even pulled carriages and trucks to the airport to prevent the British and French troops there. Bombers took off to bomb Italy because they were afraid of Italian bomber retaliation!

On May 5, just as France was in chaos, thousands of officers and soldiers of the "Gross Deutschland" and "Adolf Hitler" banners, the vanguard of the attack on Paris, formed a majestic lineup and launched an assault. Accompanied by artillery and armored vehicles, they drove into the undefended French capital Paris.

Gustav Schwarzenegger also led his platoon in the procession entering the city. After more than twenty days of fierce fighting, only eighteen people were left in his platoon (the rest were either killed or injured). But each of them was in high spirits at the moment, and it was one of the happiest days of their lives.

"But the citizens of Paris were not happy at all, and no one welcomed us with flowers or applause. The contents in the history textbooks were all nonsense. How could they welcome us when we attacked France?" After the war, he returned to Austria and became a policeman. Director Gustav Schwarzenegger later said this to his burly son.

"Actually, we entered the city amid a lot of crying. I found that every Frenchman on the street was crying, crying very sadly. But apart from crying, these useless Frenchmen had no other act of resistance. . If crying can be considered resistance, they have resisted. In fact, this is the only resistance in Paris.

For some days after that, we were stationed in Paris and had a great time. Eating delicious French food, living in a comfortable room, and many beautiful French girls...Arnold, don't tell your mother about girls, do you understand? All in all, it was a very happy time, the most comfortable we lived in the Second World War. "

…

"My dear, I admire you so much. You are greater than Count Moltke. Being able to marry you and have children for you is the greatest happiness in my life. I will definitely give you two more children..."

On May 6, 1940, while driving to the Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin for a banquet, Chloe kept talking and dedicated passionate kisses to Hersmann from time to time. Hessmann is now her most admired idol, because under his leadership the German army really marched into Paris with a victor's attitude!

The news reached Berlin, and the capital of the German Empire erupted in joy. The 81-year-old Emperor William appeared in the square outside Charlottenburg Palace, dressed in full military uniform, and delivered a "victory speech", declaring: "A new era in which Europe unites around Germany and moves forward together. There will be no more war, poverty and turmoil." The beautiful era is coming soon. This is the mission God gave us as a German nation, and we have finally completed it..."

And when the convoy of senior officers of the Wehrmacht General Staff entered the city of Berlin under the cavalry escort of the Royal Guards Cavalry Regiment. Both sides of the road were already crowded with jubilant Berlin citizens. The adult men were all wearing various military uniforms, either brown stormtrooper uniforms or old field gray uniforms. The women, dressed in their most beautiful clothes, waved desperately at the convoy escorted by cavalry. From time to time, some people raised their hands and shouted, "Long live Germany!" "Long live the Wehrmacht!"

"Two more?" Hessman smiled and touched his wife's belly. "This is already the sixth one, and you are already in your forties."

"I think I should give birth to eight children. This is my responsibility as a German mother." Chloe replied with a smile. "As the Marquise and the wife of the Marshal, I should lead by example in this regard."

The current German government encourages childbirth. Mothers who give birth to four children will be awarded the bronze "German Mother" Cross; those who give birth to six or seven children will be awarded the Sound Cross; those who give birth to eight or more children will be awarded the German Mother's Cross. It's a gold medal.

The Marchioness of Heinsberg, Chloe, has always been a woman with a strong sense of mission. She believes that she is strong enough (to give birth), rich enough (to afford to raise children), and is also a respected aristocrat (should do so). good example), so there is no reason to shirk the responsibility of having children for Germany.

However, this is a bit of a problem for Hersman. It is not that he is worried about what will happen to Chloe, but that the German government's policy of treating women as child-bearing machines over the years will affect Germany's war potential.

For the German Empire, which had a relatively small population, having more children was not a bad thing, but encouraging women to have children during wartime instead of letting them go into factories to replace men serving in the army would reduce Germany's armaments production.

Thanks to the German government's unremitting propaganda, most German women now regard having children as a top priority (German men also think so), and the war situation is excellent. It seems that under the current circumstances It was impossible to mobilize German women to work in factories. And this matter does not fall under the jurisdiction of the General Staff...

Then digesting and integrating the production capabilities of European countries controlled by Germany has become the key to whether Germany can defeat Britain and the United States in industrial production.

Among all continental European countries that have been or may be controlled by Germany, France is undoubtedly the most powerful in industrial production capacity. It is the fifth largest industrial country in the world after the United States, Germany, the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom.

Thinking about these questions, Hersmann's car drove into the splendid Charlottenburg Palace amidst the cheers of everyone.

The courtyard of the palace was already filled with luxury cars of various colors, most of which belonged to German military and political officials. They were all heroes of Germany's conquest of France. There were also ambassadors from friendly countries who came to express congratulations to the German Emperor on behalf of their own countries. There are many cars with old family crests painted on them (Hersman's car also has one, two lions and a cross).

"Two-headed eagle!" When Chloe stepped out of the car, she suddenly pulled down Hersman's sleeve, and then pointed to the emblem on a car of unknown make (Hungarian Labau).

"Is this the two-headed eagle of the Habsburg family?" Hersman was stunned when he saw the emblem. "Whose car is this?"

"It should be His Royal Highness Crown Prince Otto," Chloe said. "It seems that he has returned from Belgium."