The Rise of the Third Reich

"What? You're going to attack Ireland?"

The next day, still at the Eagle's Nest, Adolf Hitler seemed hesitant when hearing Hessmann's proposal to attack Ireland.

"Reichsmarschall, you know that Wilhelm II and I both promised the Republic of Ireland." Hitler said thoughtfully, "And the Irish now have a strong leader who will lead the Irish if we invade. Fight us to the end, just as he fought the Irish and the British."

The fighting spirit between the Irish and the English was very fierce in the 1920s and 1930s, and the Irish also adopted KB doctrine. The Irish Republican Army and Sinn Féin were very famous at that time!

"That won't happen," Hersman said, shaking his head, "because that Irish leader is actually your admirer. If we really enter Ireland, he will lead the Irish to fight alongside us."

"What?" Hitler was stunned. "You said that the Prime Minister of Ireland, Eamon de Valera, is an admirer of mine? How come I haven't heard of it? Reichsmarschall, what evidence do you have?"

Hersmann's words are of course well-founded, because after Hitler's defeat and suicide, the Irish Prime Minister personally went to the German Embassy in Ireland to express his condolences to Hitler on May 2, 1945! Irish President Douglas Hyde also publicly issued a letter of condolence.

What does it mean to see the truth in need? This is a friend in need is a friend indeed!

But this "evidence" cannot be told to Hitler now, and Hitler doesn't look like he is going to commit suicide...

But Hersman still found evidence that the Irish leader was pro-German. He said: "Master, the military courts in Ireland have been convicting Irish armed forces personnel who served in the British army for the past two years. Even those who died on the battlefield In fact, the leaders of the Irish knew very well that only if Germany won the war could they truly become independent and take back Northern Ireland, which is still occupied by the British.

Moreover, if we ultimately want to use military means to solve Britain, then it will definitely be more advantageous for the decisive battle to be fought in Ireland than in England. Because we do not have enough tank landing ships and infantry landing ships to deliver enough troops to the beaches of England at one time. "

After the end of the Western Front campaign, spring came for the shipbuilding industry in Germany and even the entire European continent. After the Mediterranean Campaign, as the supply problems of oil and non-ferrous metals were actively solved, Germany began to release the stocks accumulated before the war to meet the needs of the industries of various European countries under its leadership. Therefore, the heavy industrial production of various countries quickly returned to the highest level before the war. However, under the leadership of Germany, shipyards in various European countries are now mainly busy with the construction of various surface combat ships, so that Germany can have a naval strength that can overwhelm Britain and the United States. Various landing ships have not always been a top priority for the European shipbuilding industry.

Of course, just because it's not a top priority doesn't mean nothing is being done. As early as the formulation of Plan Z, Hersman proposed a plan to design and build landing ships and landing craft. Shortly after the Battle of the Western Front, a series of ships were designed for landing operations, including various types of landing craft with a displacement of several tons to hundreds of tons (numbered from A landing craft to O landing craft), and some with a displacement of 900 tons. Various landing ships (P type, Q type, R type, S type and T type) ranging from (light load) to 1500 tons (light load). However, the total number of these landing craft and landing ships is still small. All models added together, there were only more than 1,700 ships by the beginning of 1942, and at most three fully-manned motorized infantry divisions could be sent to the British. beach.

At the same time, the British were also doing their best to prepare for a decisive battle on the beachhead. There were fortified defense zones everywhere in southern England near the English Channel. Hundreds of thousands of infantry and 7 armored divisions are guarding there, which is simply not something that a mere 3 motorized infantry divisions and 1-2 airborne divisions can handle.

Therefore, landing in southern England has never been one of the options for the German Wehrmacht.

"Reichsmarschall, what do you want to do?" Hitler thought silently for a moment, and then asked Hersmann.

"Now we should prepare for a landing battle with great fanfare. If the United States resumes providing supplies to Britain, then we will prepare for the landing!" Hersman said, "Assemble ships and troops near the English Channel in northern France and Belgium. Pretending to cross the English Channel."

"Is this a hoax?" Hitler asked.

"Yes, the real target is Ireland." Hersman said, "So only the landing ships and landing craft concentrated in Brest are real, and the other places are replaced with fakes.

At the same time, we should also prepare for a decisive battle at sea! This will be a battleship battle on a scale comparable to Jutland. We will have 2 Hindenburg-class (H-class), 2 Bismarck-class, 2 Barbarossa-class, and 1 Scharnhorst-class ( Gneisenno) can be put into battle, the Italians have 3 Veneto-class ships (Veneto, Littorio, Roma) available, and the French have 3 Richelieu-class ships (Richelieu , Jean Bart, Napoleon) can be used. So even without air superiority, we could beat the British.

After the naval battle is won, the landing troops of three divisions will sail to Ireland on 1,700 landing ships, and two airborne divisions will also conduct air assaults in Ireland. "

The Barbarossa class is the original O class, but it is different from the historical O class. It is actually the 380mm main gun type of the Scharnhorst class, with various technical indicators and Gneisenno modified with a 380mm main gun. The number is exactly the same.

The Italians now have three Veneto-class super battleships, and the No. 4 ship "Imperial" will also be commissioned in the near future. The French Richelieu-class ship No. 3 was also completed in early 1942, but it could no longer be called the "Clémenceau" but was renamed the Napoleon Bonaparte.

Therefore, after the Spring Equinox in 1942, Germany, Italy and France will have as many as 14 battleships at their disposal!

As for the British side, although they worked hard to build ships after the Shetland War, how can the industrial strength of the British country compare with that of most of Europe under the leadership of Germany? Therefore, by the beginning of 1942, the only usable battleships in the hands of British Prime Minister Churchill were the "Nelson", the "King Camouflage V", the "Duke of York" (under sea trials and planned to be commissioned in March 1942), "Anson" " (under sea trials, scheduled to enter service in April 1942), and another battleship "Howe" will enter service in the second half of 1942.

In addition, the construction of three powerful "Lion"-class battleships, "Lion", "Fruit" and "Conqueror", was fully promoted after the Battle of Shetland, and it is expected that they will be completed from the end of 1943 to the beginning of 1944. . There is also a battleship "Vanguard" that was also started soon after the Battle of Shetland and is scheduled to be commissioned in the third quarter of 1944.

"Well, by the third quarter of 1944, we will have 4 King George V class, 3 Lion class, 1 Vanguard class, and 1 Nelson class, a total of 9 super battleships. And the United States' South Dakota class, A large number of Ahua-class ships will also be put into service, and several Montana-class ships will be completed. By then, control of the Atlantic Ocean will be back in our hands!"

Churchill had a gift for always speaking inspiring words in the most difficult of times. But today in the bunker of the War Cabinet, everyone who heard him say these words had a sad face, looking like a disaster was about to happen.

Because most of the super battleships Churchill mentioned would not be completed and put into service until 1943 or 1944. In the first half of 1942, the United Kingdom and the United States had only one North Carolina class, two or three South Dakota class, three King George V class, and one outdated Nelson class. To sum up, there are only 9 ships, which is far less than the 14 ships of Germany, Italy and France.

Moreover...the Germans also have Japan's 80,000-ton super battleship, which is a ruthless character that can destroy the North Carolina class! There are one or two 80,000-ton battleships in the Pacific. The US Atlantic Fleet should just treat them as air now. Therefore, there are only 4 super battleships that the British Empire can really rely on now!

4 against 14. As long as you can do arithmetic, you will know that there is no hope. So knowing that 4 is much less than 14, Princess Elizabeth has now begun to learn German, and has also corresponded with her cousin, Prince Friedrich of Germany, and seems to be preparing for a vigorous aunt-nephew romance.

However, King George VI of England and his daughter took a completely different stance towards Germany. After Japan invaded the Hawaiian Islands, he still publicly called on the British people to unite and resist the impending invasion - of course, the king is an enlightened monarch and will not interfere in his daughter's private life, nor will he prevent Princess Elizabeth from taking the Swedish royal family's cruise ship Went to the Netherlands to date my cousin nephew Prince Friedrich of Germany...

"Mr. Prime Minister, the Spring Equinox is coming soon, and the weather in the North Atlantic and English Channel will improve, which will be conducive to combat and landing."

Admiral Alexander looked at Churchill, who still had the support of the king and was confident himself, and said with great embarrassment: "And now there is intelligence showing that Germany is in Calais, Normandy, Picardy, Brittany, France, and Brussels in Belgium. Troops are being assembled in Japan, Antwerp and other places. It seems that the invasion is imminent! And the Royal Navy is too weak now..."

Churchill glanced at the unconfident Admiralty and interrupted him, "No problem, we still have the Army and the Royal Air Force, and we have enough power to defend our homeland!"