The Rise of the Third Reich

The German navy's operation to scuttle warships in Scapa Flow, England, was part of Project Rainbow. In fact, this was caused by a misunderstanding, because the ultimatum issued by the Allied Powers to the German government expired before noon on June 21. Although the German government had decided to surrender, it did not notify the fleet commander von Reuter in Scapa Flow in time. The surrender plan formulated by the German Navy - "Plan Rainbow" originally included a scuttling plan to prevent the heavy surface fleet from falling into the hands of the enemy.

Therefore, von Luter sent out a predetermined signal-a rainbow according to the plan. The German fleet anchored in Scapa Flow then raised the forbidden fleet flag, battle flag and Z signal flag, opened the sea valves and watertight hatches of each ship, and began the tragic and helpless self-sinking operation. The entire self-sinking operation lasted about 6 hours, and 52 of the 74 detained German warships sank to the bottom of the sea, including 10 of the 11 battleships and 5 battlecruisers. The tonnage of sunk warships is 95% of the total tonnage of the seized fleet.

When the news that the Germans began to scuttle battleships arrived at the Palace of Versailles, most of the battleships were still floating on the sea. However, the British are now powerless to prevent the scuttling, because their fleet has already left Scapa Flow to go to sea for training. There are now no ships in Scapa Flow that can stop the Germans.

"Germans, have the Germans rejected our ultimatum? The world war will continue, right?"

U.S. President Woodrow Wilson asked loudly in a hoarse voice. Because "nothing was achieved" at the Paris Peace Conference, many people in the United States began to wonder whether participating in the war was worth it. The results of the midterm elections held in 1918 were also unfavorable to President Wilson's Democratic Party. If the world war continued and the Soviet Union and Germany joined forces to fight against the Allies, the United States would really be in big trouble.

"Yes, the Germans are looking for death!" Marshal Foch's voice was full of excitement. "We have millions of troops armed to the teeth. It only takes a few months to completely crush Germany!"

"There are also Soviet Russia and Hungary!" British Prime Minister Lloyd George said with his eyes closed. "Austria will probably join the war. We will face a war that is larger than the past four years...Germans, Russians, Maza The Erns and perhaps the Turks will stand together and fight us to the end.”

"Then crush them together!" French Prime Minister Clemenceau muttered, "We have such power, don't we?"

Britain, the United States and France certainly had the power to crush Germany and Soviet Russia. But the question is what to do after crushing it? Let France swallow half of Germany, then support a pro-French Greater Poland to control Eastern Europe, and finally add a Russia that fell apart in civil war and foreign wars? Isn’t this the European order that Emperor Napoleon dreamed of?

There was dead silence in the conference hall. There were footsteps again, and it was French Foreign Minister Stephane Bihun who walked in, with a relaxed smile on his fat face.

"Thank God! The Germans surrendered! They basically accepted our demands, except that they wanted to maintain an army of 300,000 men to deal with the growing threat of the Bolsheviks..."

"No! This won't work!"

Clemenceau and Marshal Foch roared almost simultaneously.

"One hundred thousand troops is enough!" Marshal Foch said. "Considering their current evil actions of supporting the Hungarian Bolsheviks and scuttling the fleet, the German Army should be completely disbanded."

"And then let the German working class seize power?" the US president asked.

"The French army can suppress it!" Clemenceau emphasized.

"Mr. Bi Xun, have the German delegation arrived at the Palace of Versailles?" Lloyd George did not want to talk nonsense with the "unreasonable" French Prime Minister. He saw Stephen Bi Xun nodding, so he added, "Then let them send two people in to state their reasons... In addition, I also want to listen to their explanation for the scuttling of the fleet."

…

"Your Excellency Minister, this 'Teutonic Warrior Labor Service Company' has been under our surveillance for a long time, but their business does not violate the laws of the country, nor does it evade taxes. It is a model company."

Lieutenant Colonel Hessmann had already left Budapest and returned to Berlin. Just after noon today, after the news came that the Hungarian Red Army had made a surprise attack on the Chalduk Pass and broke into Romania, he was urgently summoned to the Ministry of Defense Building.

It was Defense Minister Gustav Noske who summoned him. It was the Social Democratic politician who led ten divisions of the Freikorps to suppress the Berlin Uprising. After the Berlin suppression, Noske presided over the reorganization of the "Provisional Wehrmacht", preparing to cut the millions of German troops during the war to 400,000. Now that the disarmament plan is underway, many German officers and soldiers have lost their iron jobs. Hersmann's father, Otto von Hersmann (the same name as Hessmann's younger brother), is one of the unemployed officers. Now I have gone to Hungary to find another job.

While a large number of officers and soldiers were laid off and unemployed, a company called "Teutonic Warrior Labor Service Company", which was mainly engaged in labor export and specialized in finding jobs abroad for unemployed officers and non-commissioned officers, suddenly appeared in people's sight. This company published advertisements in major German newspapers, in the name of recruiting architects, engineers, chefs, skilled workers and ordinary workers, and recruited a large number of officers and non-commissioned officers who had participated in the world war.

The destinations for the labor export provided by the company are countries at war, such as Russia, Hungary and Turkey!

"Lieutenant Colonel!" Nosk glared at Hessman, "Do you want me to believe that a lot of officers who have been in the army for half their lives are now working as cooks in Hungary, Russia and Turkey? Such a thing It’s so ridiculous, no one will believe it! Not even the Allies! Can you guarantee that there are no military advisers from Germany in the Hungarian Red Army that is marching towards Bucharest?”

Hessman tilted his head and said helplessly: "Your Excellency Minister, I can guarantee that the operations of this company are legal... We have checked for a long time and there is nothing that violates the law. As for those retired military officers and Sergeants, they are free to go wherever they want! We are now a republic that guarantees civil liberties. According to the sacred constitution, they have the freedom to work as cooks in Hungary, and when they arrive in Hungary, they change their careers to become mercenaries. Their freedom..."

"I know what freedom is! Lieutenant Colonel! I know better than you..." Noske pounded the table with his fist. "But freedom does not mean putting the country in danger!"

Didn’t freedom in November 1918 put Germany in a dangerous situation? Hersman was tempted to answer that.

But in the end, he resisted saying anything and just shrugged: "Not only freedom, but also the problem of food... The German working class needs to eat, so we German soldiers don't need to eat? Most of those officers and non-commissioned officers are professional soldiers, except If you join the army, you won't do anything else. How is the German economy now? You know better than I do that it is impossible for us soldiers who entered Gross Hillifeld at the age of 9 or 10 to find a job in Germany after we retire.

Moreover, the Allied Powers want us to continue to reduce the number of troops to 100,000. By then, more soldiers will be unemployed and have no food to eat. Going abroad as mercenaries is also a way to survive. The quality of our German soldiers is recognized by the whole world. This time the Hungarian War once again illustrates this point - if you want to win the war, you have to hire our German military consultants. This is actually a good thing! "

"Good thing? Why can't I see it?" Although the Allied Powers have not protested about this matter, Noske can already imagine how furious the Allied heads of state meeting in Paris were. Maybe more severe punishment will be imposed on Germany soon!

"Of course it's a good thing!" Hessmann said plausibly. "If these unemployed German soldiers cannot find jobs abroad, then they will become members of the proletarian army because of their unemployment... By then they will become The power of extremist parties!”

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